Practicing freestyle handstand while doing H1

I'm doing H1. My current level is in the PE range and I'm not pushing it further yet due to a lack of mobility in the shoulders. Dislocates are pretty hard for me unless I'm using a really wide grip.

 

But I still like to spend some time just trying freestyle handstand. I can usually hold it for about 20 to 30 seconds but obviously my form is far from being good (shoulders not open, not straight, banana-form, etc.).

 

My question is: would you recommend stopping the freestyle practicing? Will it hold me back from properly progressing in the H1 program?

 

I'm just doing the freestyle practicing because I really enjoy it. But if there are strong recommendations against doing it, I might/should consider stopping.

 

I think the main points against it is

- structurally you might be putting strain on joints and muscles if not properly aligned due to mobility/conditioning issues

- You might also be grooving bad habits that will be hard to break later.

 

Progressions are like compound interest.  The more you do and the earlier you do it, the more it pays back in the future.

Think of freestyle handstands as playing not practice.  You spent a lot of money to work on handstands, you're already proficient at handstands, so have fun with your handstands.  Just make sure it doesn't get in the way of your H1 work.  Work first play second.

As long as the majority of your handstand practice time is spent on your progressions, you should be fine spending 5-10 minutes playing at the end.

 

Just remember, you have to earn your 'play'.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I've had good results trying to incorporate what I've learned in H1 into my handstand as quickly as possible. So, try to clean up your handstand by getting on top of the shoulders, employ the ppt cues etc. Remember that you need a decent non-arching hs for HBP16 & 17, and you'll get to those drills soon enough...

Thanks for all the answers. That's what I've started doing and what I'm going to do for the next few months now: working on H1 first, then at the end of the practice session playing around with my handstand for about 10 minutes.

 

Here's a picture of my freestyle play-around handstand that I can hold for about 45 seconds now. I'd be very interested in hearing what would be the first thing that I should try to correct/change when doing it.

 

That's quite a lot of banana. Maybe your time would be better doesn't doing chest-to-wall handstands instead?

Point your toes. Opening your shoulder, pelvic tilt, and general banana will be taken care of through the upcoming PEs and IMs.

straight arms and push the floor away. really push it overhead. the ppt has to be pretty solid and point the toes as if you were elogating. your jaw will drop when you lock in that position. the few times i've hit it, it feels wild. absolute control.

Lately this couple of videos helped me seeing where the issues are:

 

Explanation, but bad camera angle:

 

No explanation, but nice angle:

 

 

Oh to have such control of a handstand.  He was carrying on a conversation while holding an ugly unstable handstand....and then effortlessly pulled it in to perfect alignment.