HS Training Guide

I'm looking forwards to see it, Yuri. I also wrote a handstand guide in French, and I work on translating it in English, but it takes a long time, and I'll need a good native English person to proof-read it and correct my thousands of mistakes. I'll probably buy yours, and I might recommend it in my own book when it's out, is it fine? Cause I want people to have access to as many good resources as possible.

Fantastic! I am looming forward to the release. And I am quite willing to pay for the effort. Not everything has to be for free.

Excellent. Really looking forward to this and BtGB 2.0.

Shakyamuni said:

Can't wait, Yuri!

When I first encountered the world of handbalancing as a young teenager, I began training with the typical arched back, closed shoulders handstand. As Cole Dano has stated a few time on this forum, it's very hard to make progress now that the old handstand form is engrained in the brain. I'm very excited for your book to help me fix my mistakes! Looking forward to it's release announcement

Also, do you have a price range in mind at this time? Just curious, so I can start budgeting my bank account, what with btgb ed.2 , christmas presents, college books, etc.

No worries, I also initially learned from the old-school arched back position.  Everything can be fixed, but it does take time. 

No price range yet, but it will be reasonable. 

Vagabond said:

I'm looking forwards to see it, Yuri. I also wrote a handstand guide in French, and I work on translating it in English, but it takes a long time, and I'll need a good native English person to proof-read it and correct my thousands of mistakes. I'll probably buy yours, and I might recommend it in my own book when it's out, is it fine? Cause I want people to have access to as many good resources as possible.

Sounds good!  I would love to exchange some ideas as well

Awesome! I guess we could have a chat after we read the other guy's book!

I have question about this guide. Will you cover the shoulder opening process in detail because that is the part of the HS training I just cannot figure out.
Also I do not want to bug you with it but will you guys release it in January cause I would be the first one to buy if you give me a solid two armed HS like yours in the picture on hstrainingguide.com (not waiting for a magic pill of course just  proper guidance)

I am going to burst into flames if the book doesn't come out soon

Neil Marco said:

I have question about this guide. Will you cover the shoulder opening process in detail because that is the part of the HS training I just cannot figure out.

Also I do not want to bug you with it but will you guys release it in January cause I would be the first one to buy if you give me a solid two armed HS like yours in the picture on hstrainingguide.com (not waiting for a magic pill of course just  proper guidance)

Yes, the shoulder opening process is covered.  Just do not expect any instant fixes.  A lot of people have the necessary mobility, but never give themselves enough time to acclimate to the new position.  There are a lot of factors at work

Murija said:

I am going to burst into flames if the book doesn't come out soon

Don't do that.  I'm still waiting on photos but everything is coming along, do not worry. 

Hahaha, that's awesome. You're a cool cat, Yuri.

I'm looking forward to buying what you release!

I wonder if this is going to be a different product than coach's handstand series.

Yuri, are you going to publish a training seminar schedule for the summer?  Have to start firming up plans...

I wonder when this will be coming out (or will it at all). It was supposed to be within month or two last august?

I  bet this will be coming out at the exact same time as coach's Handstand series. B)

Petri said:

I wonder when this will be coming out (or will it at all). It was supposed to be within month or two last august?

Sorry about that, I was busy and things got held back.  Still waiting to get photos taken at the moment. 

blackbird said:

I wonder if this is going to be a different product than coach's handstand series.

Coach and I teach handstands a bit differently so you can expect a different approach here.  Handbalancing and GST handstand have different goals so the approach to learning is different.  Of course there are many similarities as well

jl5555 said:

Yuri, are you going to publish a training seminar schedule for the summer?  Have to start firming up plans...

I don't have any summer plans as of yet, but I will keep you updated.

Yuri, can you please describe differences between handbalancing and gymnastic HS, just in general. I know that handbalancers spend more time in HS, while gymnasts use it more as a transitional element, but I am interested in technical differences (alignment etc.). Thanx.

In general, handbalancers seek to transition between many different poses, all balanced on the hands. Gymnasts tend to use the handstand as a resting pose in between strength/acrobatic elements, and utilize only a handful of different transitions into/out of the handstand. The alignment for an ideal gymnastics handstand is the same as for a straight handbalancing handstand. However, handbalancers will train many variations of the handstand: straight-body handstand, mexican handstand, straddled handstand, one-arm and all its variants, etc. Whereas gymnasts focus almost exclusively on the straight-body handstand. 

Ive been thinking a Lot too about this

From my experience, differences in positioning are:

- hands are positioned parallel in HB HS, while gymnasts usually rotate their hands approx. 10-20 degrees outwards

- arms are positioned more narrow (shoulder-width appart or more narrow), while gymnasts do handstands with a bit wider distance

- head tucked in in HB HS, while gymnasts keep their head up, looking between hands

Of course, I don't mean to generalize, this is just something I came across during my communication with handbalancers and gymnasts.

I know Yuri has touched on this quite a bit before, but the main difference that he primarily discusses is efficiency. A gymnastics handstand is primarily a transition from one thing to the next, like Hari_Seldon discussed, because of this there is a ton of emphasis on a super tight body and pushing extremely hard elevating the traps. With a hand balancing style, the focus is on conserving energy because you are on your hands for much longer. Because of this, they have a slightly more relaxed handstand. When I say relaxed I don't mean poor alignment or crappy form but simply not "flexing", if you will, quite has hard. I watched Yuri train in Vegas a while back (I was hurt and couldn't train with him), but it was incredible to see how comfortably relaxed he was, completely fluid. The difference was like standing on your tippy toes (gymnastics style) compared to standing flat footed (handbalancing style).

So I don't really think you can compare hand or head positioning from one style to the next and call that the difference. That stuff differs from person to person most of the time (within the limits of proper form). Yuri please by correct me if I am wrong on any of this!!!

Eddie said:

... A gymnastics handstand is primarily a transition from one thing to the next ... a ton of emphasis on a super tight body and pushing extremely hard elevating the traps. With a hand balancing style, the focus is on conserving energy because you are on your hands for much longer. Because of this, they have a slightly more relaxed handstand ...

Right and wrong.

When transitioning from swinging skill to swinging skill at speeds of up to 70 mph and g-forces of up to 14 times bodyweight, the gymnastics HS is of necessity very tight; but when simply performing a HS by itself, the gymnastics HS is quite relaxed.  In fact a proficient gymnastics HS is relatively effortless.  

However it is important to understand that that perceived level of 'relaxation' only comes with a great deal of experience coupled with solid HS proficiency.  At the beginning level you will not be able to differentiate between what muscles should be tight and which may be relaxed, so everything will need to be tight.  

First we crawl, then walk, then run.  Most of you are discussing how to run, when you have not yet learned to crawl.  

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

... So, any updates on this?

Update? OK, I'm learning to crawl.