Handstand Challenge

mom23mangos

Glad you found it @huango!

TiisTitanium

[/quote]

You're lucky to have a handstand class near you. I think the nearest ones to me are a few times a year, 300 km away.

I'm lucky to have your thread, and YouTube. [/quote]

@Orphia - There are at least 5 places within a 10km radius of me which teach handstands so I am a little spoilt for choice. Circus version of the class is my favourite of all the places that I have been to so far but I am always interested in seeing what other people teach. You-tube is a great class in any event. I have a date with "Yoga with Adrienne" every morning and it works for me.

Welcome to @huango. Hope you learn to love handstands. Wallstands are a fantastic way to build up strength.

I saw a great comment on Insta today which totally sums up why I love handstands. The comment was "Handstands make me happy. Mainly because I am not naturally strong and everytime I feel myself upside down in balance it feels like I did the impossible"

I also love handstands as they make me feel like a little kids again.

mbaker566

lol i couldn't even do them as a kid @TiisTitanium or a cartwheel.

Orphia

TiisTitanium wrote: »

I saw a great comment on Insta today which totally sums up why I love handstands. The comment was "Handstands make me happy. Mainly because I am not naturally strong and everytime I feel myself upside down in balance it feels like I did the impossible"

I also love handstands as they make me feel like a little kids again.

Wow, so much for all of that!! Yes!!

TiisTitanium

I was back at my acrobatics class today for the first time in months. My instructor was very impressed with how much I have improved as apparently now I have perfect handstand body positioning. I didn't have the heart to tell her that a lot of it down to my Wednesday class because the instructor on that day is obsessed with correct form while acro class is more about fun. All the daily practice has helped a lot.

All the little wins mount up for me (especially because i then had a lyra class and I really sucked at that so it was good to know I am good at something physically).

Orphia

I made myself a yoga studio!!

Our only child is 25, and living 300 km away, so I decided to make a studio out of his room. He said he wouldn't mind.

My OH helped me put the desk in the garage. We put the bed base against the wall so our son can use it when he visits, and the mattress against another wall for me to do wall drills against.

I'm so happy with it!

Orphia

Plenty of room for bailing out of handstands, yay!

https://youtu.be/Lp8-ZuX9KTs

TiisTitanium

Very nice @Orphia. So zen and uncluttered and plenty of room for inversion fun!

Lots of handstand practice tonight which was lots of fun. I am not being consistent with the daily practice at the moment so I am always glad when I find some time to work on the hand balancing.

A different kind of hand balancing pic tonight.

mom23mangos

That is SO awesome @Orphia! I am totally jealous. I wish we had a spare room. In fact, my oldest is sleeping on the couch in the game room because his little brother took over his room when he moved out. We joked that we always had a couch for him if he ever needed to move back in. Well, guess what....

huango

Now I just need to remove the wall: Ha!


I did straighten my toes, and I felt myself not touching the wall:
oooh, a little scary.

mbaker566

looks great

ContraryMaryMary

Yoga today was a handstand class - loads of hand warm ups, even more core work - abs and back - and finally handstands for about 10 minutes. Being fully warmed up with the core switched on definitely helps!

mom23mangos

New Calisthenics guy at the gym today was doing handstand walks across the room. He suggested I try walking as a change of pace as he said he finds it easier than static holds. Nope, not me. 😂 I did get a couple nice static holds in though.

Orphia

As a teenage gymnast I did loads of backflips and walkovers.

However, my brain still thinks that when I get upside down, I should arch my back and let my legs keep moving.

Or, it thinks I should arch my back and hopes my legs magically stay upright.

I do have a strong core when upright and planking, but the back arch and floppy legs take over when I'm upside down.

My back was damaged from all those years of arching, and I can only practice handstands safely for a few minutes. I can't do hollow back handstands safely, either.

Thinking this through, I should do more practice of that exercise where you lie on the ground and stretch your arms and legs out with your lower back flat on the floor. Forget what that's called.

TiisTitanium

We call that hollowbody in my handstand class @Orphia. If my teacher is feeling mean we have to do it in a rocking motion. Sorry to hear about your dodgy back though all the core work would help a lot I'm sure.

I think handstand walking is easier than being still as you focus less on balance and more on momentum.

ContraryMaryMary

After my full on hour-long handstand yoga class my shoulders are still sore two days later!! More work required.

mom23mangos

Some days I'm on the struggle bus, other days it comes easy. Yesterday I couldn't hold a handstand for the life of me. Today, I held one for about 30s on the first kick up. Crazy.

mom23mangos

One cue that's really helped me is when I put a lot of weight on my hands before attempting to kick up. If I just lightly place them there, it's more difficult. But if I really put as much of my weight on my hands as I can and just lightly kick up, it's much easier.

mbaker566

that's interesting @mom23mangos maybe i'll try that tonight and see what the difference feels like

hesn92

How interesting. I have no experience with yoga or gymnastics or anything like that. I will go through some of the links sometime when I'm not at work lol.