What shoulder strength is gained from handstands?

Is the strength gained in a handstand purely from the anterior shoulders, or is there a lot of strength gained from posterior shoulders as well?

Both and more. Holistic houlder stability is sincerely cool.

I remember very distinctly Alex87 said that the posterior deltoids will work more and more as the arms approach full flexion.

 

Can someone with a good depth of anatomy explain this in more detail? In traditional anatomy classes we are taught that the function of the posterior deltoid is in extension and transverse movements. Is the posterior deltoid working in tandem with the external rotators during handstand?

It's not just your typical shoulder muscles, such as the rotators and the delts. The gold in handstand training is the scapular strength and control. Serratus, Levator, and traps. These are hard to train in anything but straight arm work (esp the serratus and levator). The other shoulder muscles you could train in a variety of ways, but not get the overall joint health and strength that you will with handstand work.

It's the opposite, grip wide more rotator cuff and rear delts, closed grip more traps work

Thanks for the clarification, Alex!