Handstand Allignment

Hi all,

I'm having a problem with my handstand allignment in that I tend to lean to oneside (my left). My handstand is pretty solid, in that I can hold a freestanding consistently for 30 + seconds and pb of around one min freestanding. My arms are both definitely straight so I'm not sure why I have this lean, it appears to be coming from my hips.

I can upload a vid if it would help, but any tips on how to correct this would be great as I figure a problem like this will really impact success in a rings hs and higher level skills.

Cheers

i vote yes on vid

I'm going to make a wild guess here but are you right handed?

Haha yes I am right randed.

I can't upload at the min cuz my net stinks, i'll try and upload a vid tommorrow.

Demus said:

Haha yes I am right handed.

Being right handed your left side is weaker than your right side due to a lifetime of preferential use of that side of your body. It may not be entirely evident but your situation might indicate that. Without looking at you in person that is my best guess. The obvious solution is to work to strengthen your left side.

If you think about boxing you'll notice that right handed boxers present their "weak" side forward. That is they jab with their left hand keeping the elbow in. You present your weak side to your opponent so if it gets attacked you still have your strong side to work with.

Okay here is a vid of my handstand, not the best but u get the idea of the problem, I think it mainly comes from my hips. Anyway advice on how to correct would be good

Cheers

yAvdSw_9mx0

Don't know if the link is working ne way

As I see it, the problem starts in your shoulders. Push your left shoulder out more, i.e. make the distance between your left hand and the left hip the longest you can.

Also your shoulders seem to be more over your left hand. Moving them to the right might help.

It's not necessarily related to your lean, but your arms should be perpendicular to the floor, putting your hands closer together will help here.

Eddy Macguire / who wants to be a millionaire in the background

First of all, you are getting aesthetically really strong.

The thing i notice is that you don't fully extend your elbows and you correct your position bending elbows. Try with locked elbows and extended shoulders, and correct handstand position by moving the shoulder girdle but not bending elbows.

Really awesome strength actually. I'm impressed.

As I said above I thought perhaps you had an imbalance across your back which it seems your video does show. Your right lat looks quite a bit more developed than your left lat. When you invert the left lat is collapsing a bit, it's subtle and it's one of those things you cannot really "feel". Can you do one arm HS? Try to use that to see if there is a difference in strength side to side. If you can hold the right side longer and more comfortably than the left side I'd say you've found the issue...

Looking a bit further it may also be the case that your left lat is tight. YOu could work to release the lat using a foam roller or other stretching technique.

I think, actually, that your shoulder alignment is fine. You also seem to be coping fairly well with the lack in full arm extension by having lots of power. I have the same issue but I'm not near as strong as you are.

Thank you all for the replies,

I'll definitely try with a slightly narrower handstand and see if this helps. thanks palmcron.

Serotonin, even tho it looks like I'm not fully extending my locked out arm is not at 180 degrees its a little less so at times in the vid I'm pretty sure I was at full lockout, but your right in that i correct too much with bending my arms

nickvb yeah Ed was in the background, God he's a moron

Demus,

To see if your twisting is coming from your shoulders or hips, you might try filming yourself in a headstand, or simply hanging from a bar by your feet, if possible. If you still see the twist, perhaps it's something to do with your hip socket; this is a fairly common imbalance.

best,

jason

Shoot it from a side and not front!!!!