Striving to achieve the Perfect Handstand

I can hold over 1+ min handstand so I decided to work on getting a perfect form now. This is my handstand training video including freestanding HS, Press to Handstand, and L-sit to Handstand. Let me know if you have any advice for me!

To let my opinions to be clear i'll attach a photo as a comparison

i want to emphasize that when you bodyline is correct you can trace ONE line that must pass over

-wrist

-shoulders

-center of the hips

if you trace those lines separately (wrist-shoulder, shoulders hips) probably, with correct alignment , they will pass exactly on the red line.

If i trace the red line in you handstand you can see how the red line is not aligned with the previous 3 body parts. this probably is a sign of lack of shoulders opening (less flexion).

to be sure of that i traced 2 green lines across the single body parts and , as expected, they are following different directions creating, in the point of junction, an angle less of 180°.

the arched back is a strategy that your body uses to compensate lack of flexibility in both shoulders and upper thoracic section.

I'm sure that Handstand One can fix you problem immediately.

alex87 said:

To let my opinions to be clear i'll attach a photo as a comparison

 

comp.png

 

i want to emphasize that when you bodyline is correct you can trace ONE line that must pass over

-wrist

-shoulders

-center of the hips

if you trace those lines separately (wrist-shoulder, shoulders hips) probably, with correct alignment , they will pass exactly on the red line.

 

If i trace the red line in you handstand you can see how the red line is not aligned with the previous 3 body parts. this probably is a sign of lack of shoulders opening (less flexion).

to be sure of that i traced 2 green lines across the single body parts and , as expected, they are following different directions creating, in the point of junction, an angle less of 180°.

 

the arched back is a strategy that your body uses to compensate lack of flexibility in both shoulders and upper thoracic section.

I'm sure that Handstand One can fix you problem immediately.

thanks a lot Alex!

i tried again today.  I do still arch a bit but I think my shoulders are more open now. Let me know what you think!

Not bad, but you need still some more. You are starting to get the work done from your upper back which is good. A good test to see if your shoulders are where they should be is to try to pike(or tuck) your handstand SLIGHTLY and see if you maintain a straight line. Film it from the side. If the piking makes your point of balance move more forwards onto your fingers it means you are leaning front to compensate for lack of active flex.  You want to be able to do this while staying in the middle of your palm or even move slightly onto the heel of it, without arching your back. These are several tricky cues at once. 

This is a perfect way to illustrate how press handstand has very much to do with shoulder mobility. I hear people excusing their presses on their pike flex(which also is important, but matters more during the bottom part) but from the top you dont need to pike many degrees at all. What is more is that you will gradually be able to lower further while staying stacked on top of your shoulders. Top down builds good technique as well so it is another reason to get on the negatives.