Logan Christopher
I recently got a chance to meet Josh Hanagarne at a seminar. At one point he was being taught the handstand (and not by me). If you’re not familiar with Josh he is a big guy. Tall people for whatever reason tend not to have the best coordination. But with a little practice Josh was doing it.
What’s your excuse?
And myself at 6’2” and currently 180lbs, I am quite large compared to your average gymnast.
Most people want to be taller. I want to be shorter. Well sort of. At least, I know it would make doing a handstand, a planche and many other moves much easier.
But that doesn’t stop me from going after it. In fact, the bigger you are the more impressive it becomes.
The average person may never seek to do a tiger bend (that is pressing up from a forearm stand into a handstand) or a one arm handstand. But there are tons of benefits to just working on the basics, even against a wall.
Strength and endurance
The handstand builds strength and endurance. You should be able to easily hold your bodyweight above your head.
Coordination
Then there is the coordination. You ask many people, even those who can lift heavy weights to hold themselves upside down, and they’ll end up on their head. Their body simply lacks the coordination to hold all the pieces together for a unified goal. This is not good.
Take the handstand away from the wall and you’ll increase that coordination and balance even more.
Plus, getting inverted is very good for your health.
Then there are acrobatic movements. I’m not talking about flares and backflips (although if you can do them, kudos to you).
But are you capable of doing a somersault? Can you roll forwards, backwards, and to the sides? Sadly there are people who can’t.
What if you end up in a fall? Will you fall flat on the ground or will you be able to redirect and transmit the force to where you avoid any injury?
What if you need it? That is an idea that should direct at least some of your training.
I realize not everyone wants to be a professional equilibrist and acrobat. Just like not everyone wants to bend steel or rip phonebooks in half. Or lift heavy weights.
But everyone SHOULD be able to do the basics of movement, strength and tumbling.
You may find once you have the basics you’d like to go even further. I know I did.
About The Author:
Logan Christopher runs Lost Art of Hand Balancing which teaches everyday people how to get started in hand balancing and acrobatics. And at Legendary Strength, he teaches strength training and fitness, from beginning to advanced feats of strength.
{ 5 comments }
Very good points in the above article- What happens to you if you fall and you dont practice falling?
Thanks Logan
logan
great article i love the handstand and you were the one who introduced it to me with your website by the end of this year my goal is a 30 sec free standing handstand. i have made much progress from when i first started, the man thing how to counter balance my body so i do not fall flat on my back thanks logan
After taking a month’s break, I actually picked back up doing the hand stand yesterday and reached a new personal record. Great to see this post today!
What have I learned is the biggest factor in my progress? Falling.
Chase, please expand on your last statement
Right on brother…everybody regardles of size should be able to do certain things and a handstand (and basic tumbling) is one of them. Don’t let size hold you back on anything whether your large or small. I was doing them at 350lbs and stil doing them at 270!no excuses get it done!