Handstand Challenge

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Replies

  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    Good plan re the daily reminder @Orphia. Challenges are a bit like Jan 1 on MFP - everyone is ridiculously excited for a little while and then *pfft* everyone disappears. I am less likely to disappear as I do handstands in a class environment a few times a week which is part of the reason for wanting to do daily practice as I am usually the worst in class so I want to level up so to speak.

    Day 3 is done. Hooray. It was a hectic morning with morning yoga, then ballet class and then I squeezed in my upside down time practice between sets as it was a scheduled strong lifts day. My arms were like jelly towards the end so i had to resort to elbow stands and headstands. My observation for the day is that i arch my back too much during elbow stands - must be a shoulder alignment thing.

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  • ContraryMaryMary
    ContraryMaryMary Posts: 1,780 Member
    edited June 2018
    A couple of snaps as my ‘before’ photos...
    1. Had a six-year-old as my photographer who needs a bit more practice! I can only hold a handstand for about 3 seconds before I touch the wall or come down - and she missed all of them,
    2. I really should wear proper exercise clothing!! Will try to retake photos tomorrow after yoga,
    3. Did a few headstands today to help get the feel of being balanced upside down.
    4. Actually pretty happy with this as a starting point, but would appreciate feedback on my form from those more experienced.

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  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    edited June 2018
    @TiisTitanium - your back is always going to arch a bit in a forearm stand, but overall yours is very straight. If you want to see a curved back in a forearm stand, you should see mine.

    @ContraryMaryMary - you look really straight too! Especially for back to wall. Great job!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    TiisTitanium wrote: »
    Oh this was a good article as well. All my favourite things in one place :wink:

    http://www.sonima.com/yoga/yoga-for-wrists-and-shoulders/

    Thanks for that, it's just what I need!

    My hip tendons have been getting sore from kicking up.

    I did that workout for 5 minutes today instead.

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    I'll probably do that workout for a few days, as I'm planning my first 50 km run on the weekend, and want to be injury-free.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    Yes! Be careful @Orphia! I've pulled my hip flexor from kicking up when not warmed up before.

    I worked on my crane today, since it's part of my planche progression anyway. I'm going to have to check out that wrist video because I realized my wrist flexibility is preventing my from fully straightening my arms.

    https://youtu.be/uLybymgASxk
  • ContraryMaryMary
    ContraryMaryMary Posts: 1,780 Member
    Day four today and my shoulders and arms are rather tired from yesterday's efforts. Did a few warm-ups but when it came time to do a handstand my nerves deserted me - I didn't think I'd have the strength to hold myself. Instead I practised crow for about a minute and then did a couple of headstands just to be upside down!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Nice crow/crane, @mom23mangos !

    What warmups would you suggest to avoid hip flexor injuries prior to doing handstand practice?


    @ContraryMaryMary Good alternate workout!
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member

    Must have been a good day for crows as I did a 30 minute yoga flow for crow position as I was feeling inspired by all the crane and crow talk. It all counts in my book - anything hand balance related is challenging and makes you very aware of body position and alignment.

    Hmm. In a class situation for hip flexors we usually run through a number of stretches for hips and legs as tight hamstrings also impede your ability to handstand well (dunno why, just something I have read). So general stretches we do are:
    • lunges (normal then runners lunge lifting hands above the head for an extra challenge),
    • 90 degree leg were you tilt your pelvisup and stretch your quads,
    • then the hamstring stetches were you kneel on one leg put the other one in front and try and touch your chest to you leg, then into pigeon,
    • then butterfly
    • then try and do the splits.
    • I always like to chuck in a few downward dogs because they feel good.

    (haha - i am so articulate when it comes to descriptions)

    Now I'm off to my contortion/flexibility class :) Usually we spend a little bit of time on handstands but in the event we don't at least I know I have done some handbalancing practice so I can still mark off today as done
  • tropicalchicy
    tropicalchicy Posts: 27 Member
    I'm loving these photos guys :)

    I did a challenging HITT class with a lot of ab work and pushups so my practise was short today. Only 2 mins tops!

    I'm stuggling with keeping my feet on the wall while doing the L pose/headstand on the wall. This video helped a little and I can now do it with one leg on the wall and the other straight up over my head. No idea why I can do the harder progression but not the standard pose :p Any ideas?

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCtVmUCZGM#

  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    tropicalchicy wrote: »
    I'm loving these photos guys :)

    I did a challenging HITT class with a lot of ab work and pushups so my practise was short today. Only 2 mins tops!

    I'm stuggling with keeping my feet on the wall while doing the L pose/headstand on the wall. This video helped a little and I can now do it with one leg on the wall and the other straight up over my head. No idea why I can do the harder progression but not the standard pose :p Any ideas?

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCtVmUCZGM#

    It's a flexibility issue I think. I can't do L pose due to lack of both hamstring and shoulder flexibility. I have to have my legs a little bit higher.
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    @tropicalchicy - I struggle with doing an l-shape on the wall as my hamstrings were super tight. It is actually easier to keep a straighter line and just move your hands forward then gradually walk your hands closer to the wall. As I have gotten stronger I have gotten closer and closer to the wall.

    Lots of handstand drills in my contortion class tonight. Of course I was humbled again about my abilities as will I was working on my handstand drills someone was doing handstand push-up drills on the "cane" apparatus. But it said person is also a circus performer rather than a middle aged lady with some strange hobbies :smile:
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    so i tried a few different ways and feel most comfortable with the kick up

    i may try some crow

    here is where i am now. up. balanced for a few seconds, not aligned

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  • rodmelching
    rodmelching Posts: 67 Member
    Count me in . . I definitely have to try this. Looks really hard but I love a challenge.
  • tropicalchicy
    tropicalchicy Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks @TiisTitanium :) I might focus on wall handstands for now. I have to ask , are you a dancer? You seem to do a lot of interesting (fun) classes.

  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    @tropicalchicy - I am legal professional in the mining industry by day, wannabe aerial artiste by night.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    rodmelching wrote: »
    Count me in . . I definitely have to try this. Looks really hard but I love a challenge.

    @rodmelching Great! Don't forget to come back and tell us how you go. Good luck!
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    Yes @rodmelching - keep us posted.

    Day 5 done. Just a quick 5 minute muck around of kicking up. It was between sets of Stronglifts so I was taking it pretty easy especially I have an hour long hand balancing class tomorrow so need my shoulders to be somewhat alive.
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    Looking good @ContraryMaryMary - you look nice and straight to me. Only tips I can offer is to remember to try and push the floor away and pull your abs in like you have been punched in the stomach.

    Just back from my handbalancing class and everything is sore. It is funny for a hand balancing class we don't actually practice free standing handstands that much. A lot of it is conditioning and drills for the press style handstand which is and absolute killer for the abs. Sadly I can't report on a massive leap forward in my handstand ability but with everything it is a daily incremental improvement. I saw a good comment on insta the other day that sums it up. Daily practice is like a sheet of paper. A single sheet feels like there is no difference, when you have 365 sheets there is a massive difference.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    it takes me and my students a minute or two to get ourselves up on the wall.
    dogs keep knocking me over. might have time tonight at the studio

    everyone is so impressive. keep up the good work
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    edited June 2018
    Great job @tropicalchicy ! And you look super straight @ContraryMaryMary. I'm very jealous of your flexibility.

    Life got in the way of me practicing the past couple of days, but I did get a session in this morning. Did some facing the wall drill, trying to get aligned. Even facing the wall it's very difficult for me. So I decided to do more of a hollowback to try to force my shoulders open. It did actually help, so I think I'm going to spend a lot more time in that position to try to get more flexible.

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  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    TiisTitanium wrote: »


    https://movementco.com.au/the-journey-to-a-handstand/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZWSQSSEjE

    Day 7
    5 minutes of these exercises
    38 second headstand
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    It is so great seeing everyone getting into it.

    @mom23mangos - whatever works for you is my motto as there is no point in doing something that cause pain. I like to play around with all the different handstand types just because it is fun as much as anything.
  • ContraryMaryMary
    ContraryMaryMary Posts: 1,780 Member
    More hand standing today after my run and a little yoga. Loving this challenge - so much fun - even if I’m yet to see any improvement. Shoulders are a bit tired from yesterday’s efforts so I threw in a few headstands to help me with the feel of being in the right body position upside down. Happy to see I can hold a headstand indefinitely - well, until my head gets sore, which is about 30 seconds or so at present. A thicker mat on the floor may help!!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    ContraryMaryMary wrote: »
    More hand standing today after my run and a little yoga. Loving this challenge - so much fun - even if I’m yet to see any improvement. Shoulders are a bit tired from yesterday’s efforts so I threw in a few headstands to help me with the feel of being in the right body position upside down. Happy to see I can hold a headstand indefinitely - well, until my head gets sore, which is about 30 seconds or so at present. A thicker mat on the floor may help!!

    Yep, 30 seconds or thereabouts, same here!! :smiley:

    I do like how headstands let you practice holding weight on your hands, and feel a bit like when you're in a handstand.

    It's funny how your weight can shift from hurting your head to hurting your hands!

    Good idea doing the handstands after running. The run would warm your legs and hips up, ready for kicking up.

    I've been doing my practice before my run or walk, because I'm loving it and can't wait that long! :smiley: LOL Need to be a bit more prudent.
  • TiisTitanium
    TiisTitanium Posts: 235 Member
    I am so happy to see the handstand fun spreading.

    Just small amounts on handstand practice today as it was trapeze/silks class so I needed to keep some fuel in the shoulder tank as otherwise i would suffer at both so I just practiced between trapeze sets. Little bits often soon adds up though.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Yes, TT, I think my headstand was better today!

    Day 8.
    5 minutes wrist exercises, then held a headstand for 1 minute including split legs for part of it.

    https://youtu.be/kh5z0OpqiCk

    Sunday is my big run. After that I will get back to handstands. Just don't want any risks before then. Doing headstands is definitely part of the plan, though!

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