Shoulders during a wide arm handstand

Been on occasion doing some wide arm handstands (tons of bicep strain the lower I go) and had a question about the shoulder position. Are you suppose to be shrugging the shoulders up as much as you would in a regular handstand?

Some other questions:

- Am I right to think that an inverted cross is a progression in handstand work or is this none-related?

- Even though the inverted cross is rated at c and maltese a d, I've seen a lot of people with malteses who did not have an inverted cross or had a hard time with it. Is this the norm or is it just because people would rather spend time on training the maltese since it's ranked higher?

Shrug shoulder up in WideArmHS.

There could definitely be some favoring going there from gymnast to gymnast. Some may find x skill easier, thus work it more. For taller/longer guys planche and maltese are probably tight dreams, though they can usually get front levers. Cross doesn't seem as difficult for taller guys as is wide arm.

I had a question about wide arm handstands; Do you brace your arms against the floor and press outwards and down, or do you pull your arms together?

Lavastine said:

I had a question about wide arm handstands; Do you brace your arms against the floor and press outwards and down, or do you pull your arms together?

For me (and I am obviously no expert on this) the wider I put my arms out the more I have to press into the floor in a motion similar to that of closing your arms above your head. The closer together the arms the more it becomes a press outwards and down that you described.