Stiff shoulders during handstand

My shoulders are very stiff and when I do handstand my arms can never reach 180 degrees even against wall which causes arch in the back - my question is : Should I still practise handstands and stretch my shoulders or I should stop doing handstands until my hands can go to 180 degree from the stretching I do?

Keep training as long as it does not cause you any pain. With or without the flex you need to build strength and proprioception in the position that you cant build by doing something else. Do a lot of stretching and mobility work as well to improve your position and really work to shrug from your trapezius every time you are in a handstand. Also do a lot of stomack against the wall hs with proper form as this is an excellent way to build active flex in the position.

when I do it stomach against wall as I come closer to the wall I feel unstable,is that normal?

Jhaek said:

when I do it stomach against wall as I come closer to the wall I feel unstable,is that normal?

Yes. That's how you learn how to balance

Excellent answer phrak. Learning handstands is just like learning to walk as a child. FIrst you balance with bigger, more wobbly movement until you become strong and efficient in the position.

You probably feel unstable because when you come close to the wall, your shoulders can not stay at a 180 degrees angle from your torso. They go front with the weight stacked on top, which will make it hard for you. Go only as close as you can with good form, though sometimes it might be good to go a little further just to push yourself to really extend the shoulders.

reccently i saw that I arch my back even during easiest variation of wall handstand (back to wall).should I do them arched because i cant do them straigth.

If you do not care about being straight, or the form and strength that comes with being straight, that yes go ahead and arch your back. However, there are ways to make yourself straight. It just takes time. I practice my handstand (stomach to wall) every day. Monday i work on it for 20 min (including rest time) Tuesday i do 6x30s. My form is close to perfect but i am not quite there yet, so i am keeping it at 6 sets so i don't kill myself. then i practice my kick ups for 5x5. Wednesday i practice mild kick up work and hold against the wall for maybe two sets of 15 because Wednesday is my rest day, Thursday is same as Monday and Friday is the same as Tuesday. Saturday and Sunday I kick up into a handstand as often as i possibly can (make my wife nervous sometimes ) Even with all this practice, I can hold a perfectly straight handstand 1 out of 5 tries and even then its only 2 or three seconds. But that is a lot better then where I was. I was arched so much that my lower back muscle hurt every morning. But I tell you something, I have gone on Youtube and have seen MANY people saying in the title of their video "perfect handstand" and they are so arched they look like a Banana. However, for these people, all they anted to do was stand on their hands in the easiest way possible and did not care about form. If you don't care about form, sure being arched is fine, if you want good form, there are many threads throughout the Handstand work forum that say the same thing, "Handstand (stomach against wall will help your form, back against wall has its advantages too but form is not one of them." Coach posted a thread on wall handstands as well, that i found very informative.

Hope this Helps.

-Ian

I do care about form and im trying to do it with good form but my shoulder flexibility does not allow my back to be straight:)

I have a shoulder injury from falling off a skateboard, and it prevented me from doing good handstands too. What really helped me were things like german hands, Ido's shoulder routine, and wall extensions...still not amazing, but i am getting close to ideal now.

-Ian