Question of the Stomach-to-Wall Handstand

Very quick question about form.

When I do them, I keep the hollow position as best as I can. However, let me give you an scenario:

My hands are, say, 6 in from the wall. My whole body is straight (my feet touching the wall). Should I KEEP this position, or should I try to constantly push my chest closer to the wall (while my hands stay where they are)? To push my chest closer to the wall, the shoulder angle must get bigger. Should I try to do that, or if I want to make the angle bigger, I should just try to walk closer to the wall??

Not sure if you guys can understand what I mean. Put in another way, think of your whole body (chest, stomach, quads, feet) in full contact with the wall while your hands are actually farther away from the wall. To do this, the shoulder angle would definitely have to increase (and thus, this would make the handstand a good mobility exercise for opening the shoulders). So, with the hands positioned about 6 in from the wall, should I purposely tense my shoulders to get my chest to touch the wall (while keeping a straight back), or should I ALWAYS keep the chest in-line with the hands+arms??

vertical alignment.

stack the body on its frame. wrist, elbow, shoulder, hips, toes

Oh, all right. Perfect then!

Thanks!

Oh, I also have another question. Not sure if I'm supposed to open another thread for it, so I'll just post it here.

Is it a good idea to have some days where I train free-standing Handstands without caring too much if a back-arch is formed ( I would use a back-to-the-wall handstand for this), and other days, where I would practice stomach-to-wall to "groove" the correct straight alignment?

That way, as I get better at holding handstands from the former, I will also learn how to hold them straighter with the latter.

Or should I only have sessions of stomach-to-wall where I practice the alignment, and then, after a few weeks/months, I start training with straighter free-standing ones?

It seems like learning how to balance with the fingers is a good idea to start practicing even if my handstands aren't that great, while I still keep some days where I practice them stomach-to-wall for a straight one

I use both in the same training session.. I've noticed that if you first do stomach to wall hs (I use accumulate 3m) after, training free-standing, my form is way better...

blackcat said:

I use both in the same training session.. I've noticed that if you first do stomach to wall hs (I use accumulate 3m) after, training free-standing, my form is way better...

I like that even more!!!

Do 1-3 sets of stomach-to-wall, followed by various holds of back-to-wall concentrating in doing it free-standing (without being overly concerned with form. More about balance), and then wrap it up with 1-2 more holds of stomach-to-wall to end with the correct groove.

I'm definitely trying something like that today

Thanks!

305pelusa said:

Do 1-3 sets of stomach-to-wall, followed by various holds of back-to-wall concentrating in doing it free-standing (without being overly concerned with form. More about balance)

You should ALWAYS be concerned about correct form.. It will build something like "memory muscle" and it will become easier to achieve correct form...

Incorperating both Back to wall and stomach to wall in your routine both have positive effects. Stomach to wal your perfectly straight but you won't learn how to kick up if you only focus on them as handstand work, back to wall you will be arched because its very hard to get goo form with back to wall. What i usually do, is set my timer for twenty minutes and get in a stomach to wall handstand. I will do those (rests included!) for about 10 minutes, then practice my kick up with my back to the wall. With back to wall, once my feet hit the wall I hold one leg over my body to get good alignment, and once i have it i push the other foot off the wall(glutes, legs, core very tight and close shulders around ears) and hold it as long as i can. I keep repeating this (rests included) until the timer goes off.

I can only do 2 minutes now and build up to 20 minutes, because i had tendonitis and i have to strengthen my shoudler again. But doing both of those helped me get better much faster then just doing one

I started to do more back to wall when I started working on my press handstand. Also, it helps improve my straight body freestanding alignment. It seems that proper freestanding HS requires you to comfortably get your shoulders over your hands, for me it is something of a wrist flexibility issue so I work on this against the wall. I had too much "banana" shape because I was balancing too much on the back of my palm.

IJL said:

Incorperating both Back to wall and stomach to wall in your routine both have positive effects. Stomach to wal your perfectly straight but you won't learn how to kick up if you only focus on them as handstand work, back to wall you will be arched because its very hard to get goo form with back to wall. What i usually do, is set my timer for twenty minutes and get in a stomach to wall handstand. I will do those (rests included!) for about 10 minutes, then practice my kick up with my back to the wall. With back to wall, once my feet hit the wall I hold one leg over my body to get good alignment, and once i have it i push the other foot off the wall(glutes, legs, core very tight and close shulders around ears) and hold it as long as i can. I keep repeating this (rests included) until the timer goes off.

I can only do 2 minutes now and build up to 20 minutes, because i had tendonitis and i have to strengthen my shoudler again. But doing both of those helped me get better much faster then just doing one

Yes, yes! This is what I'll be using.

I will, however, spend more time with back-to-wall, banana-like handstands for balance, and just a few stomach-to-wall to keep good form.

I will start doing 12 min this week (I did 10 min this week), and I guess I'll increase from there!

Thank you very much everyone! This is very solid advice, and what is left Handstand-wise is just the work and consistency!

Correct form should always be the aim.

Banana shaped handstands are good for...well, banana shaped handstands which we don't want for gymnastics handstands.

Good form, hollow body position with open shpoulders makes the balance easier.

In the style of yoga i learned, no one cared about shape in HS and i did tons of deep backbends, often out of handstand. Consequently my HS had a major banana. Its very hard to un-learn, i've spent the last year and a half working on correcting it, and slowly am making progress.

The more you can put into building a good foundation from the beginning the better dividends you receive in the long run.

Mr Brady said:

In the style of yoga i learned, no one cared about shape in HS and i did tons of deep backbends, often out of handstand. Consequently my HS had a major banana. Its very hard to un-learn, i've spent the last year and a half working on correcting it, and slowly am making progress.

The more you can put into building a good foundation from the beginning the better dividends you receive in the long run.

I see.

Well, when I go for the back-to-wall ones, I will still try to maximize the angle of my shoulders and stay as straight as possible.

What I meant is that my aim with them is more about learning the balance while the back-to-wall would better my form.

One improves upon the other one. I'll try it out for 7-11 weeks (duration of my SSC), and see results. I might change my approach after a few sessions depending on how I'm feeling as well.

Thanks for the great help!