Handstand balance question

Hi, I've been noticing that my balance is better when I'm with my legs straddle then when I'm completely inline.

Is this "normal"?

I believe one of my problems keeping balance is lack of hips lock.. I keep loosing core tension and simply loose balance. Need to work more on hollow holds I guess..

I find that too, I think its because in straddle your center of gravity is lower.

I believe my handstand is improving but I still can't find the proper way to balance.. I keep getting the balance from the hips, not from the shoulders.. Guess my hollow position isn't that good so I've started doing 2x 30'' holds on my warm-up routine :-)

blackcat said:

I believe my handstand is improving but I still can't find the proper way to balance.. I keep getting the balance from the hips, not from the shoulders.. Guess my hollow position isn't that good so I've started doing 2x 30'' holds on my warm-up routine :-)

Managing proper body tension is the reason why you habe a hard time balancing. Everyone are constantly readjusting their bodyline when BALANCING. No handbalancing is completely static. There will be tiny adjustments all the time. When doing a handstand on floor You are actively balancing your center of mass over base of support (hands). On rings you it's the other way around. You balance your base of support through the shoulders.

This routine is a good way to get a "feel" for how to balance your handstand and improving bodyline:

3x30 sec handstand stomach to wall with a partner. The partner checks that the pelvis is tilted and the ass and abs are contracted.

3x 30 sec on arm handstand with the same rules ^^ important to remember that the shoulder stays on top of the hands

3x 10-20 Toe release from wall. ( Start in handstand with your back faing the wall. Then press with the palm of your hands to make the feet lift off of the wall

3x 10-20 Toe release from wall. ( Start in handstand with stomach to wall and actively press your fingers in the ground until your feet comes of the wall, and then release making your feet come back on the wall) Again NEVER lose tilted pelvis or contracted ass and abs in order to lean so that the feet comes off the wall.

As you improve in these drills you can implement the following:

Kick up to handstand with help of a partner who will hold both hands with 30-40 cm apart forcing the partner to balance himself

mrnielsjoergensen said:

3x 30 sec on arm handstand with the same rules ^^ important to remember that the shoulder stays on top of the hands

sorry, is this one arm handstand?

since I don't train with a partner I keep using my video camera for checking my form, but I can't figure out how to handle checking body tension...

mrnielsjoergensen said:

3x 10-20 Toe release from wall. ( Start in handstand with stomach to wall and actively press your fingers in the ground until your feet comes of the wall, and then release making your feet come back on the wall) Again NEVER lose tilted pelvis or contracted ass and abs in order to lean so that the feet comes off the wall.

Your feet cannot come of the wall by pressing your fingers in the ground in this drill. You should instead planche out with your shoulders and hips untill your feet come of the wall and then qiuckly get into a hollow position again so that your feet will get back to wall and repeat

Thomas Koch said:

mrnielsjoergensen said:

3x 10-20 Toe release from wall. ( Start in handstand with stomach to wall and actively press your fingers in the ground until your feet comes of the wall, and then release making your feet come back on the wall) Again NEVER lose tilted pelvis or contracted ass and abs in order to lean so that the feet comes off the wall.

Your feet cannot come of the wall by pressing your fingers in the ground in this drill. You should instead planche out with your shoulders and hips untill your feet come of the wall and then qiuckly get into a hollow position again so that your feet will get back to wall and repeat

That's true. My mistake.

Ha ha, yeah, you have to be back to the wall to get off it using the fingers!

Otherwise, if you got nobody to check you, practice a lot the position on the ground on your back and stomach (practice a lot on the stomach, and replicate the same thing facing the wall), and make sure you contract your abs, glutes, point your feet and keep your legs together. Close your eyes and visualize. Imagine you're upside down, and that you can focus on your posture. Imagine you're spinning and flipping, and you can just focus on yourself independently from your position in space, and just flatten your back and go straight. Tighten your abs, butt, thighs, calves... With practice, you'll learn to contract them less and to "relax" while keeping a sufficient tension.

Vagabond said:

Ha ha, yeah, you have to be back to the wall to get off it using the fingers!

Otherwise, if you got nobody to check you, practice a lot the position on the ground on your back and stomach (practice a lot on the stomach, and replicate the same thing facing the wall), and make sure you contract your abs, glutes, point your feet and keep your legs together. Close your eyes and visualize. Imagine you're upside down, and that you can focus on your posture. Imagine you're spinning and flipping, and you can just focus on yourself independently from your position in space, and just flatten your back and go straight. Tighten your abs, butt, thighs, calves... With practice, you'll learn to contract them less and to "relax" while keeping a sufficient tension.

Great advices, thx.. I believe visualizing is a key feature in every skill..

Sorry for keep asking but I didn't quite get the second drill, is it 3x 30s with one arm handstand?

blackcat said:

Vagabond said:

Ha ha, yeah, you have to be back to the wall to get off it using the fingers!

Otherwise, if you got nobody to check you, practice a lot the position on the ground on your back and stomach (practice a lot on the stomach, and replicate the same thing facing the wall), and make sure you contract your abs, glutes, point your feet and keep your legs together. Close your eyes and visualize. Imagine you're upside down, and that you can focus on your posture. Imagine you're spinning and flipping, and you can just focus on yourself independently from your position in space, and just flatten your back and go straight. Tighten your abs, butt, thighs, calves... With practice, you'll learn to contract them less and to "relax" while keeping a sufficient tension.

Great advices, thx.. I believe visualizing is a key feature in every skill..

Sorry for keep asking but I didn't quite get the second drill, is it 3x 30s with one arm handstand?

Yes. You hold 30 sec on on arm shift to the next for 30 sec and go down. That equals 1 set

Balancing in straddle is much easier than with legs together because you have a lower centre of mass, which makes both over and under balance easier to deal with. I always teach straddle position along with the legs together one because it drastically reduces the time it takes to understand the balance, as well as opening up for negative press hs quite early on.

Doing wall sets on 1 arm like that might be good for some shoulder strenght but it has little value towards a one arm hs. 99% will place themselves in the wrong position because of the bodys intuitive lean to compensate for the small base of support. Body tension might also end up wrong because of the position. It might still be a great tool to build extra shoulder power, but i just want to point out that it has little to do with 1 arm hs. Im also not sure what value it will have towards balance, as at least 9 out of 10 will get into a position that complicates things. You would also need a rock solid 2 arm along with a lot of training to find balancing sensation on 1.

I really don't think I can hold 30s with one arm :-)

I've been doing the stomach to wall drill, and also some hollow holds and rocks.. but most of my handstand work is still kick up to the wall (back to the wall)

Handbalancer said:

Balancing in straddle is much easier than with legs together because you have a lower centre of mass, which makes both over and under balance easier to deal with. I always teach straddle position along with the legs together one because it drastically reduces the time it takes to understand the balance, as well as opening up for negative press hs quite early on.

Doing wall sets on 1 arm like that might be good for some shoulder strenght but it has little value towards a one arm hs. 99% will place themselves in the wrong position because of the bodys intuitive lean to compensate for the small base of support. Body tension might also end up wrong because of the position. It might still be a great tool to build extra shoulder power, but i just want to point out that it has little to do with 1 arm hs. Im also not sure what value it will have towards balance, as at least 9 out of 10 will get into a position that complicates things. You would also need a rock solid 2 arm along with a lot of training to find balancing sensation on 1.

Ok, I was thinking about the following workout specific for hs:

- accumulate 3m with stomach to wall hs

- 10m handstand block (with kicks and back to the wall)

- 10m handstand press drills

- accumulate 3m wall runs

Do you think this could be the way?

it may be. Play around with it and implement what you think works for you. You need to know where your problem lies. Is it a matter of lack in shoulder strength/ body tension/ open shoulders etc. and address that

This is really strange.. Just from nowhere I can now hold, not all the time but "very" often, a 20s freestanding.. I also can hold a bit longer if I'm in a straddle position...

I've trying to accumulate 3m hold stomach to wall everyday, when I'm beaten up I pass the wall runs, but I get almost everyday 10/20m blocks of handstand...

This is what I'm training the most, but now with the digital edition of "The Book" I will add up FSP and FBE training using SSC...

I was training with hand positions about 45º angle fingers to the outside, but yesterday I've just tried with then to the front and bang, I'm holding a bit longer...