Backlever --> Press Handstand

Hey guys, I got a question.

Does Backlever help you to get the necessary strenght in your lower back for a press handstand?

Im not able to do a full lay BL at the moment, also I can't do a press handstand, but will my press handstand maybe improve, if im able to do the full BL?

Press handstand is failing in my case because of my lowerback (lack of strenght and coordination) and not because of weak shoulders.

Thanks for your answers

Greetz

The press to handstand should be mastered before doing back levers. 

bikegigant said:

 

Press handstand is failing in my case because of my lower back (lack of strength and coordination) and not because of weak shoulders.

Maybe, Maybe not. It might even be a lack of mobility in the shoulders.  

You can strengthen the lower back with press negatives and also exercises like reverse leg lift.

I think it would greatly help you do put a video in the digital coaching forum. Perhaps we can find a weak link you haven't considered.

Neither the back lever nor the press handstand require much lower back strength. If you can do a handful of reverse leg lifts then you have the lower back strength for either. By far the hardest strength part of either is the shoulders and upper back. 

If you were to do skin the cat to backlever presses that might help but I don't think that is the right route to take in training for your press. 

Get some panel matts, put your feet on those, and hands on the floor and just go for reps with a spotter helping you up by pulling at the hips. This will definitely build your press strength up to the point where you can do it on the floor by yourself. 

Remember, in a press you want your shoulders to be ahead of your hands.  This momentum / weight shift will greatly reduce the amount of strength necessary to pull your legs up and roll your hips over. 

good luck! 

andymassar said:

...Remember, in a press you want your shoulders to be ahead of your hands.  This momentum / weight shift will greatly reduce the amount of strength necessary to pull your legs up and roll your hips over ...

This is incorrect.

In a press, we want the shoulders stacked over the hands with as little lean forward as possible. Executed perfectly, there would be no lean whatsoever.

Planche press handstand is however another matter. These two press handstand variations have almost nothing in common technically other than arriving in a handstand at the conclusion of the press.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

This is incorrect.

In a press, we want the shoulders stacked over the hands with as little lean forward as possible. Executed perfectly, there would be no lean whatsoever.

Planche press handstand is however another matter. These two press handstand variations have almost nothing in common technically other than arriving in a handstand at the conclusion of the press.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Interesting, I was always taught that a press handstand benefits planche, and that my shoulders should be slightly ahead of my hands. 

The elements you speak of deserve their own separate journeys and maps. Back Lever has very little crossover to Press Handstand. With Back lever the emphasis is building flexibility in the shoulders and then strengthening the muscles until they can support the weight of the body. Press HS is about developing complete pike and straddle flexibility, shoulder flexibility, active straddle and shoulder flexibility, and too many other things to mention without writing an essay that Coach has already written. On a scale of hard to do.... Back Lever is an A in difficulty. While Press HS is a B and even a C for junior athletes because its that necessary to develop this total body exercise.

So to sum it up.. get to work, however, remember that these exercises merit separate training methodologies. 

andymassar said:

Interesting, I was always taught that a press handstand benefits planche, and that my shoulders should be slightly ahead of my hands.

There's always going to be carryover, with moves as similar as these two.

As far as planching your press handstand goes, in some ways it makes it easier and in some ways it makes it harder. If you lack the necessary mobility to reach the floor with your feet while remaining perfectly stacked (and some people are just built with shorter levers) then it's necessary to planche slightly. This should be a minor adjustment tho, and rectified as soon as you can get into correct alignment.

Needlessly stressing the shoulders will just make your press handstands harder, and will hold back both your strength and your technical development.

 Press HS with lock arms is only a B on Rings. It's just an A on FX or PB and probably the same in the women's code though it might be given extra value on BalanceBeam (I would need to check).