Volume

[Hal]

Hi everybody!

I´m relatively new to handbalancing but really fell in love with it. I started training handstands in april and after a longer break during summer i´m back into training mode. I´m able to hold a freestanding handstand for longer than 40 sec but my form isn´t that good. So now i mostly work on my bodyline and i train everyday for about 20-30 min. I usually practise freestanding handstands first and than some wall holds or other drills to fix the line. My question is now if this work regime is to much and if it would be better to train one day and then take one day off. I also don´t do any extra work-only handstands. Is it necessary to include like exercises for bodytension...?

[Ian Legrow]

Hey Hal,

i can tell you from experience because i am in the same boat. I want to be an equilibrist. Here are the things you MUST keep in mind:

1)Listen to your body. I was able to do GTG (greasing the groove) handstands all day every day. All together probably totaling 2-3 hours a day. It was working really well and i was able to hold a perfectly straight handstand for 36s. But sometimes I would want to show my wife and would not be able to do it right away and would spend 15-20 minutes STRAIGHT doing kick-up after kick-up until I did a half-assed version of what I wanted to show her. Unfortunately, when I did that i was putting a lot of stress on my wrists and shoulders because i had not stretched before hand. So i have had to take a break for the past four days while my wrists recuperate. And it sucks. But I know now i have to listen to my body better.

2)Do not let frustration interfere. I cannot stress this enough. I have had many times where frustration has really played a huge part in me doing my handstand incorrectly.

3)Go at a your own pace: Given we all want to be as good as Yuri, handbalancer, Artur, and the rest of the amazing equilibrists out there, but it will take time and the only way you will get there is by going at a pace that you can handle.

4) Stomach to wall handstands help a great deal. They will help you with staying up, so you can build the muscles you need to stay up. They will also drastically help you with alignment as well as body tension (but only if you keep your shoulders open and body tense the whole time).

One thing I was told,that honestly helped me go from not being able to do it to being able to do it for 36s, was that a handstand is not controlled by you waist, all the control and adjustments must be made by your hands. This is NOT and easy feat, but its true. Once you make ll the minor corrections with your hands, you will find your alignment is much better. my recommendation is Greasing the groove. It gives you time to recover, and you will still be practicing two-three hours a day. Kicking up 5-6 times, waiting an hour or so, then doing it again.

Although I have gotten better I have only been practicing hard for about a month and a half, so my progress to 36s straight free-standing handstand was incredible for me, although not much of an accomplishment to other people. The more time you spend in a handstand, practicing (but not past a point where you body can't take it) is the only way you are going to get good.

My biggest frustration is there are no coaches, equilibrist or gymnastic, that are willing to train me. One thing that drasically helped me though was reading every single thread, on every single page, of the Handstand Work section.

Hope this helps!

-Ian