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So you achieved a good freestanding handstand? Let’s have a look what’s next!
The handstand is an excellent exercise that provides so much benefits that you can’t pass up; both mind and body. It improves your body strength, control, and awareness. Handstand is also an excellent form of meditation. Focus and proper breathing is required when performing the movement.
Once you’ve mastered your freestanding handstand, it unlocks so many doors for more difficult and fun variations. The freestanding handstand is just the start. You can move up the ladder of handstands in two ways: vertically and horizontally.
Vertical development is when you’re learning new skills from the base of the handstand which are more difficult and require a higher level of skill. Horizontal development is acquiring variations with similar difficulty.
🎯Vertical Development
Vertical Development In the case of hand balancing, vertical development can include:
- Dynamic Handstands
- Press Handstands
- Mexican Handstand
- Handstand Pushups
- Handstand and Planche Transitions
- Plyometric Handstands
- One Arm Handstand Progressions
Advanced handstand skills 🤸♀️🤸♀️🤸♀️
a. 👉Press Handstand
Video courtesy of KinoYoga
Press to handstand is a type of handstand entrance. It makes use of hamstring and lower back mobility to get to handstand.
From a standing pike position, you’ll lean forward to stack your hips over your shoulder. Lean more to inevitably lift your legs off the ground. With the said mobility and core engagement, lift your legs completely straight into a handstand.
It’s definitely a cool move to learn. After learning this, you won’t want jumping to a handstand, ever.
b. 👉Handstand Walk
When you can already stand on your hands, of course, you’ll also try to aim to walk with them too.
Handstand walk are amazing at further solidifying your handstand. You’ll learn how to control your handstand while in motion.
You can do them first against the wall and moving side to side instead of forward.
c. 👉Handstand Pushup
Already an excellent display of strength, much level of skill is also required to do the move. Working on handstand pushups will open more doors for other advanced hand balancing skills.
Be sure to do the proper progression and on a softer surface. The last thing you’d want is plummeting face first on concrete.
d. 👉One Arm Handstand
Image shot by Julia Balla
Say good-bye to your 0.05 second one arm handstand photos then immediately post it on Facebook or Instagram.
Train for the real deal and hold it as long as you can and want. Of course, you’ll need to master a basic handstand first, but you’ll be already very near once you get there. Just train hard and smart with the right progressions.
e. 👉Mexican Handstand
Mexican handstand, also known as a hollow back, is literally an intentional curved body handstand.
You’ll curve to the point where your feet is way past your head and your head’s already looking to the sky.
It’s such as difficult skill with higher strength, mobility and skill level requirement compared to the regular handstand.
Don’t worry. It’s difficult but completely attainable with the right set of progressions and instructions.
f. 👉Forearm Handstand
Image shot by Louisa Larson from POPSUGAR photography
In your forearm handstand, you’re base is your forearm. Mechanics is very much similar to handstand but you’ll feel your shoulder bearing much of the load. You’ll also control your balance using your hands but it’s going to be easier since having a larger base.
🎯Horizontal Development
Horizontal development can include:
- Variations in body position
- Variations in how to enter and exit the handstand
- Balancing on different surfaces
- Balancing on different apparatus
- Handstand Locomotion
- Basic Tumbling
- Ultra-Refinement of Basics
Handstand Variations & Transitions 🤸♀️🤸♀️🤸♀️
There’s plenty of handstand variations and transitions to learn once you’ve developed your basic straight arm handstand.
Choose one path at a time and train hard.
🔓🔑Train handstands with
The Movement Athlete
The Movement Athlete will help you get your basic handstand and also the harder variations you want to achieve. So if you want to master the complete handstand skills set, I suggest starting training with The Movement Athlete!
READY TO GET STARTED? 💪
If you want to learn in an efficient, fast, methodical and safe way, I highly recommend training with The Movement Athlete handstand app.
✔️ The Movement Athlete Adjusts to you
Training with The Movement Athlete, you’ll first take an assessment to understand where you are in your fitness journey.
From the assessment, the app provides a well-structured program that builds you the necessary strength, muscle, endurance and skills for a handstand.
You don’t have to worry about your training getting too difficult and too easy. The app adjusts to your capabilities, progress and energy levels.
All you have to do is just DO and trust the program.
So what are you waiting for? 👊👊👊
Train your handstand and see the world from a different perspective.
Train your handstand with The Movement Athlete.
