The famous HANDSTAND

As addressed in my previous post, I’m writing about the famous handstand today. Why? Because there is a lot to gain from being inverted over a longer period of time. Let’s discuss…

First of all, what is a handstand?

Before we refine we want to define. So let’s take a look at a definition. According to Wikipedia, a handstand is “the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands.” I think this gives us a nice direction, but I would say that a handstand is;

Stability is something that you will need for increasing the amount of time to stand on your hands but is not mandatory for a handstand. Here are some examples of different handstands:

As you can see there are many variations of the handstand. What is very important to note is that there is no right handstand. There is only intention. An intent of how your handstand should be.

What should I aim for? 

That really depends on what you want. If you are looking for just being inverted with the hips above the shoulder and where you can hold that position for say 10+ seconds(photo bottom left), you can get there rather quickly. You can start by using a wall to build up the strength in terms of shoulders and wrists and then work towards kicking up and holding that position.

But if you are looking to create a straight-line handstand(photo bottom right) because you think it looks awesome or you want a challenge, or you are just curious about what it could bring you, then you are in the right place. The fun thing about it is that everybody can achieve it. Everybody. Everything that looks unachievable is made achievable by a carefully crafted process where you put in the work.

Why should I do it?

This is a very relevant matter of course. From my experience, the benefits of working towards a handstand have a multitude of benefits.

#1 Tangible

First of all, it is very clear what you are working towards ecstatically. You want to stack the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet right above each other so that a straight line emerges. To achieve that you have to work on shoulder flexion, building endurance in the shoulders, activation of the core & glutes, making corrections in the ‘line’, creating bulletproof wrists, and breathing management to name a few. And to refer to the ecstatic part, it is also very clear in how it looks so you know what you are working towards.

#2 (Re)Balance

Another element is balance. Or better rebalance. We often neglect the fact that we learned how to walk, which is an incredible achievement. But what I want you to try right now is to stand and when you are standing, slowly shift the weight on one leg and lift the other one. Let’s see what happens with your standing leg. Does it shiver, do you get out of balance or do you use your arms the correct yourself? Ask yourself the question: What is happening and why can’t I just stay in one place on one leg? This ongoing attempt to rebalance yourself also occurs in the handstand. But then not only in your hands but also in other elements of the body. Being inverted and trying to rebalance yourself contributes to a heightened form of learning. And because this is not something you get in one day, the fruits of it will last for a long time.

#3 Better mind-body connection

After working on the handstand for almost two years at least 4 times a week, I noticed something I could not have imagined. It is this awareness of the growth between various connections that are built between the mind and the body. When you start there are a lot of big corrections happening(big circle), over time you move to smaller corrections(smaller circle), and eventually it almost feels like you’re standing still(a dot). This process is called long-term potentiation, where you strengthen the connections between neurons based on the process of recent activity. Basically, you create new connections in the body that weren’t there before. This capacity to feel very small corrections whilst being inverted also relays to daily life. You start to notice sensations through the body where you normally wouldn’t feel them.

#4 Learn to deal with frustration 

A straight-line handstand is a goal full of ups and downs. The one moment you think you got it and the next you won’t even hit your baseline target. You can imagine that there is a lot of frustration involved. But frustration is KEY in learning a handstand. And the cool part is that is not only key in learning a handstand, but also in learning in general. In an interesting podcast from Andrew Huberman, he explained that in order to improve, you have to reach the point of frustration and go a little bit beyond that point. Every time. This forces your brain to make changes to the input you are giving it, also known as neuroplasticity. So by forcing yourself into a continuous situation where frustration is involved and you stick to it, you will adapt. Forever.

#5 Improved focus

To be able to be inverted in a straight line requires a lot of focus. In this case a combination of external and internal focus. More on this in another newsletter. But if you do not focus on staying inverted you will fall. So there is an instant consequence if you drop your focus, which increases the urgency of the situation. This urgency directly forces you to turn up the volume knob of your focus. You have no other choice. And when I say focus I mean your ability to refocus, because being able to focus is not how long you can maintain your focus, but how quickly you can regain your focus after you lost it.

#6 Physicality

As mentioned in point #1 there are a number of aspects that the straight-line handstand forces of you: shoulder flexion, shoulders endurance, activation of the core & glutes, proprioception, creating bulletproof wrists, and breathing management. This is not something you gain overnight. This requires effort and consistency. But once these strong neural connections are established in these areas, not only do you have better physical connections in various parts of the body, you’ve also updated your system. What I mean by that is that you gained a certain knowledge about your body that you didn’t know before. For example, you might notice over time that if you’re inverted you start relaxing more and only contract and adjust where you need to. And maybe when you sitting behind your laptop you might feel some tension in your shoulders and instead of only noticing it, you will move your body because your body tells you so. For me, that’s where the magic happens. That is the movement layer. Where sensations, observations, and applications of the body go from one container, in this case the handstand, to another container for example locomotion or balancing on a rail. This is the content-container principle, which I something for another time.

But, how do I start?

Now that you’re convinced to start your handstand journey, how do you start? Here are a few drills with additional goals to get you going.

1. First knuckle raises > 10 reps

2. Reverse wrist push-up > 10 reps

3. Front-line drill > target 60 seconds

4. Back-line drill > target 60 seconds

5. Chest-to-wall > target 60 seconds

If you don’t know these drills, you can either hit me up or search online. There is a lot more drills you can do to work towards a straight-line handstand, but these are a start that build a layer of conditioning for the shoulders, wrist, and body-line connection that are required to get that solid straight-line handstand.

Whats next?

GET GOING. Start slow with doing 2 exercises that I mentioned above one time a week. Try to hit 3 sets of an exercise with 60-90 seconds of rest in between sets. So for example:

Handstand Program

A. First knuckle raises → 6 reps per set / 3 sets / 60-90 seconds in between sets

B. Front-line drill → 30 seconds per set / 3 sets / 60-90 seconds in between sets

Over time you can increase the volume in terms amount of times you perform the program per week or increase the number of exercises per program that you execute.

If you want to start your journey, but you want a little bit more in-depth advice feel free to contact me!

Here is a little visual breadcrumb of my journey so far with the handstand:

Thanks for reading and see you next time!