Warning: These exercises are to be tried at your own risk. Some of these exercises, if performed incorrectly or before they are properly progressed or prepared, can do more harm than good. Proceed with caution (and patience).
Webster’s Dictionary defines a supplement as “something that completes or makes an addition” to something else. The following tips, exercises, and progressions are just that: supplements to part 1 of the Handstand guide. They are NOT absolutely necessary; however, they can help speed up progress greatly. With that said, let’s dive right in.
Supplement #1: The Frogstand Progressions
One of the biggest factors keeping people from achieving that elusive handstand is the concept of balance. The fingertip “handbalancing” is something that can be felt, but never quite adequately described. Frogstands help to get a better feel for the front-to-back balancing aspect of the handstand.
The progression is simple: once you can do step 1 for 60 seconds relatively easy (it should NOT be a struggle!), move to step 2.
Step 1: Bent-Arm Frogstand
Step 2: Straight-Arm Frogstand
Supplement #2: Wrist Push-Ups
A lot of times, especially after a few weeks, people will complain about wrist soreness or pain. The following progression can definitely help cure weaksauce wrists:
1.Knee Wrist Push-Ups.
2. “Long” Knee Wrist Push-Ups.
3. One-Leg Extended Knee Wrist Push-Ups.
4. Full Wrist Push-Ups.
Once you can do 10 reps of the first step comfortably and easily, move to the next step in the progression. BE CAREFUL with these and take your time. If you rush it you WILL regret it.
Supplement #3: Wrist Care and Fixing Mobility Issues
Take care of your wrists! I can’t say it enough. If you’re not properly warming up your wrists, it WILL come back to haunt you. If you thought shin splints were bad…you’ve never experienced forearm splints. You don’t want to either. So again, TAKE CARE of your wrists! Rather than reinvent the wheel, here are two great ways to incorporate some wrist care:
2. Hammer Wrist and Finger Extension - Joe Hashey has a great set-up here:
Other options include rubber band finger extensions and rice bucket exercises.
3. Smash Trigger Points:
While what is wrong with YOU specifically is something you're going to have to find out yourself, in general, these muscles can all play a role in limiting how 'open' your handstand is: infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, teres major/minor, lats, pectorals, and the long head of the triceps, to name a few.
Pick 1-2 muscles per session, and spend a quality 1-2 minutes per side. Here's a guide to help you out:
The following routine is something you could follow for a while and make great progress. This is just one example of many, and is meant to teach you how to apply the information presented thus far.
Warm-Up:
1A) Novel Wrist Movements
2A) Wrist Push-Up Progression 1 - 1 x 10 (EASY)
3A) Trigger Point Work: Lats and Infraspinatus - 1 x 1 minute per side for each muscle
Handstand Work: 5 minutes
Finish with:
1A) Bent-Arm Frogstand - 1 x max hold for time (once you hit 60 seconds, progress it up)
2A) Wrist Roller - 2 x 5 w/ 10lbs
3A) Ironmind "Expand-Your-Hand" Band Extensions - 1 x as many reps as possible (AMRAP)
Lastly, cool down with some light wrist stretching: contract/relax, static stretching, whatever makes ya feel good.
That’s it! With time and patience, your handstand will look and feel better and better.
How do YOU normally warm up for handstands? Are there any other tips you think are worth mentioning? Let us know through the comments or email (affectinggravity@gmail.com).
Aris DeMarco
The 'simple progression' articles will be a series of blog entries giving examples of some of the most straightforward and effective ways to progress with basic training. This first method is primarily intended for beginners or intermediates using high repetition exercises--primarily bodyweight, but also kettlebells, or sandbags. Perhaps high repetition barbell lifting as well, though not many people do that (I'll have a post giving one useful example of that soon). Of course, more advanced athletes and lifters can use this first method as well, when in a deload or base building phase when more endurance is desired.
For a rank beginner, movement is most important. Or, to be more precise, making movement a daily habit. I don't train hard every day, but I believe it's important to be active on some level, every day or close to it, in order to be generally healthy. It's a cliched saying in training but I believe it holds for beginners nonetheless--if you are only active for 30 minutes each day, do you think your body will respond to those 30 minutes, or the 23 hours and 30 minutes you spend sitting in a chair behind a desk, on a couch, or lying in bed? The most important thing to do is not only begin activity, but maintain it, and force your body to adapt and 'realize' that it has physical demands to meet.
Thus, beginners should train every day. It won't be possible to make progress or even give a best effort every day, of course; (though beginners can certainly progress more quickly than more advanced trainees as their bodies rush to adapt to the new strains). So, a very basic rep cycling program can be easily implemented to make those first forced progressions a bit more efficient. Some days, you'll work harder and go for a new 'personal record', or PR. Others, you'll take it easy. These lighter sessions will help get some blood into your muscles and aid in recovery (some people call this 'feeder' work), and also keep you moving and doing something even on the days you can't go all-out.
Here's an example. Say you can do 30 pushups to begin with. You'll do one set each day.
Monday: 30 reps (all out effort)
Tuesday: 15 reps (very sore from the day before, but this wasn't too hard)
Wednesday: 20 reps (last one was only slightly challenging)
Thursday: 33 reps (struggled, but got a new PR!)
Friday: 25 reps (not as sore as after Monday's effort, so did a decent number)
Saturday: 15 reps (took it easy, did these with scarcely any effort)
Sunday: 35 reps (another PR)
etc.
If you want a percentage plan, 100-50-75-100+ is one simple way to program this, i.e. max out, do half the reps the next day, three-quarters of your best the day after that, and if you feel good on the next day, try to beat your original number.
Because you're doing only one set, recovery is fairly easy, and your body will adapt quickly, so gains will be rapid. Also, you should probably do several exercises one after the other if you want some conditioning/cardio benefits, because a single set won't do much for elevating your heart rate. A set of pushups, then squats, then pullups or rows, then glute bridges or hyperextensions, then situps or leg raises (see Alex's blog here)--each following the above pattern of high reps on some days and low reps on others, can form a complete mini-routine that can be done daily. Before too long you'll be hitting some pretty good numbers.
After a few weeks of this (yes, you really will adapt that quickly!) you'll likely have doubled your initial reps, maybe more. I used this format several times when I was just starting out, for bodyweight squats and kettlebell swings. I went from 100 to 200 consecutive squats pretty quickly, and went from under 100 straight swings with a 16kg kettlebell to over 300 straight within less than a month.
The Daily max:
Doing this sort of daily work is extremely effective but after a month or so it can become monotonous for some--that's why I'll have plenty more basic progression examples in blog posts to come. However, if you like the habit of doing 'one set for everything, every day' here's the next step. You'll keep doing one set daily, but stop alternating between 'easy' and harder sessions on purpose. Each day, you'll go for a 'daily max'; this is a maximum effort but not a truly all-out one, something that requires hard work but won't cripple you because you'll be doing another 'daily max' the very next day.
An example with unweighted (bodyweight) squats: your best is 150 reps.
Day 1: 130
Day 2: 120
Day 3: 150
Day 4: 125
Day 5: 140
Day 6: 155
Or maybe something like that. One good way to go about a daily max is simply to do as many consecutive reps as you can without pausing in between. When you're really going all out, stopping and breathing a few times between the last rep (or dozen reps, depending on how many you're doing) is natural. But with daily max work you don't want to prolong the effort. Instead, you'll do close to your best (80-90%, perhaps) without really pushing yourself, every day, and every now and again if you feel good push just a little harder and break through to a new PR. And if you don't succeed in a new PR, don't worry about it--there's always the next day, and the day after that....
This is one of the more effective methods that you can use as a beginner, or for general conditioning, improving your max reps in one set, or building the work capacity to train every day. Try it--good luck!
I have a confession to make: I'm one stubborn son of a gun. Luckily, being stubborn has its uses, especially when it comes to doing your first handstand. When I first started teaching myself the handstand, I hit my back over...and over... and over again. For 30 days. By the end of those 30 days, my stubborn tenacity paid off, and I was able to hold the world's ugliest handstand for 15 seconds or so.
A year later, when I realized
just how horrible my handstands looked, stubbornness paid off again, and over
the course of a few months I was able to reproduce a much more aesthetically
pleasing handstand. Luckily for you, I made all the mistakes so YOU don’t have
too. Without further ado, here’s my guide
to Handstand domination.
Prerequisites:
Before taking the first step on
your handstand journey, there are 2 things in particular that will greatly aid
your progress if you can do them before you start.
1) 5-10
QUALITY Push-Ups: This should be obvious, but the handstand is a very shoulder
dominant movement. If your shoulders aren’t conditioned upon starting, you will
find that, by the time you walk your feet all the way up the wall, your
shoulders will be screaming at you to come down. A little strength here goes a
LONG way. While not always a hard and fast rule (for example, it may take women
a while to work up to 5 high quality push-ups), in general, it’s a good rule to
stick by.
2)Hollow
Body Hold x 30 - 60 seconds: The hollow body position is one of 2 fundamental
gymnastics positions. In other words, it’s kind of a big deal. Unless you want
your handstands to look like garbage, a 30 second minimum hollow body hold is a
MUST. Read that again. A MUST.
The Wall
The wall is your best friend, initially. Ideally, you will
be practicing handstands with your belly facing the wall (BTW – belly-to-wall).
This prevents an overextended, extra ugly-lookin’ handstand. Climbing up the
wall is relatively self-explanatory – but what do you focus on when you get up
there? In other words, what should your positioning look like, and what cues
are at your disposal to help you hit that position?
In general, there are 3-4 cues that I find most beneficial:
1) Crack a Walnut with your Butt Cheeks
2) Break Your Ribs in Half with your Abs
3) Push the Ground Away
4) Point your Toes to the Sky
Your handstand should end up looking something like this:
“But wait…there’s a problem. How in the heck do I get
down?!?!”
I'm glad you asked!
Preferred Technique: The Bail
Chris Salvato does a fantastic job of outlining and demonstrating this technique:
Alternatively, the Handstand-Forward Roll can be utilized:
Practice Makes Permanent
You’d
think that people know how to effectively practice, but that’s definitely not
the case. While effective practice is worthy of an article in and of itself, it’s
outside of the scope of this article. However, if you get nothing else, remember
this: Stay FRESH when practicing this or any other skill. Once your form breaks
down, bail out. No exceptions. Practicing ugly handstands will only make your
handstands more ugly. This is NOT something you want to push to failure anytime
soon, especially when first learning the skill. With that out of the way…
First things first: get REALLY
familiar with one of the aforementioned bail-out techniques. A good rule of
thumb involves assessing your level of fear while up on the wall – if you’re
still scared to death of being in that position, you haven’t practiced enough.
You should know the bail like the back of your hand.
Once you have achieved a moderate
level of proficiency with a bail-out technique, the real fun begins: handstands
for time.
1) Set a time for 5 minutes.
2) Get into your wall handstand.
3) When you start getting a little tired and feel like your form may break down soon, bail out. BEFORE your form breaks down.
4) Rest.
5) Repeat steps 2-4 until 5 minutes have passed.
Goal: a 60-second Handstand hold against the wall.
Alright. You can hold a handstand pretty easily against the wall for 60 seconds. What's next?
Moving Forward
Foot wall taps are definitely beneficial here:
Once you feel confident with the wall taps, the next step is
to take a leap of faith and step away from the wall. There are two ways to do
this: with, and without, a spotter. If you have someone who can spot your feet on
the way up, great. Otherwise, the bail comes in handy big time here when
practicing in a more open space.
If using a spotter, AS SOON as you can, get rid of him/her.
Over time, the safety of having a spotter becomes a crutch – don’t let that
happen. Use the spotter until you are feeling more comfortable and then get rid
of them.
In summary:
1) Take care of those prerequisites.
2) Get confident with bailing.
3) Hold a solid Wall Handstand for 60 seconds.
4) Move away from the wall ASAP.
While far from exhaustive, taking this approach, and
practicing just 5 minutes a day, 4-6 days/week, a 15-30 second handstand can be
achieved within a month.
For those who teach handstands, what methods do you use?
What are you struggling with? Let me know in the comments, or email me at affectinggravity@gmail.com and I
will get back to y’all as soon as possible.
A big shout-out to all of the people who have had a huge influence on my teaching process: Chris Salvato, Ido Portal, Gold Medal Bodies, and Jim Bathurst.
Aris DeMarco This is part of a series that'll include both 'iron game history' and 'lifter profiles', the first is here: Marvin Eder
The 'old(e)time strongmen' are always something of a hot topic in the strength enthusiast's world. I mean, what's not to love about the oversized stage weight-toting, heavy overhead lifting, beer-swilling, mustachioed, leotard-wearing weightlifters who started popping up everywhere near the end of the 19th century?
"Clothing? Oh no, thank you, I couldn't possibly ask you to go to the trouble..."
The fact that wearing both a fig leaf and gladiator sandals, with nothing else but a mustache, as Eugene Sandow (pictured) was wont to do, is a bit of an overkill, I'll chalk it up to the fact that the Victorian era was a bit of a strange time, especially in terms of their various homages to the classical era, and leave it at that.
Anyway, wardrobe choices aside, as a group the 'turn of the century strongmen' were a seriously powerful group of guys. For lifters today who have a bit of nostalgia for the drug-free era of overhead lifting-obsessed European fellows, there are, of course, two relevant questions that everyone asks:
1. What did they lift, really? After all, numbers were often exaggerated, and fake weights were very popular in stage and circus shows.
2. How did they train?
This latter question is especially relevant when we consider the fact that some of these fellows could lift prodigious weights in a manner that no one today can duplicate. The most commonly used example: Arthur Saxon and his 370-pound bent press.
Saxon definitely deserves a 'lifter profile' written about him....
At the time, weightlifting competitions were not really regulated as of yet, but in Germany, Sweden and Eastern Europe, a 7-lift competition was the most popular (In his book The Super Athletes, which I'll reference heavily, Willoughby says that 8 lifts were involved, but only lists seven):
One arm snatch, right and left arm
One arm continental and jerk, right and left arm
Two hands snatch
Two hands continental press
Two hands continental jerk
The lifter with the highest total of those seven lifts was, of course, the victor.
Now for a bit of explanation regarding the lifts themselves....
The one arm snatch was done squat-style, which enabled the use of some pretty fair poundages. Many lifters could one-arm snatch their own bodyweight or more.
The one arm jerk was done 'continental' style--in this case, taken to the shoulder with two hands; with the lifter's elbow resting on his hip, or the bar on his shoulder, and jerked overhead with one. This, too, was done in a 'squat' style. In most cases, it seems that a skilled lifter could one arm jerk roughly the same weight he could military press.
The snatch, of course, should require no introduction--it's the same two handed barbell snatch used in weightlifting today. Of course, given the size of the bigger lifters in Europe at the time, and their general lack of flexibility, it's unlikely that they would have been able to do full squat snatches. Press-outs likely would have been allowed as well, though to what degree I'm not sure. Either way, these were most likely shallow power snatches.
The 'continental', of course, referred to the method of bringing the weight to the shoulders. The barbell was either lifted 'clean' to the shoulders (like a power or squat clean), which at the time meant not contacting the body on the way up; or it was 'continentalled', i.e. touching the body on the way up. Most lifters rested the bar on their stomachs and from their boosted it to their shoulders. It's still commonly used to shoulder heavy thick barbells, too heavy to power clean, in strongman competitions today.
Zydrunas Savickas using the 'continental' to shoulder and press/jerk a 437lb axle at the 2010 ASC
Thus, as you can see the term 'continental' clean is a misnomer--as Willoughby notes, "certain writers, presumably unfamiliar with weightlifting... have used the term 'continental clean'. This is meaningless, since a lift to the shoulders has to be either 'clean' or 'continental'. It cannot simultaneously be both!"
The 'continental press', unlike the 'military press'--in which the heels had to be together, and no back lean was permitted--allowed an unlimited degree of back bend, and the feet could be spread wide or 'split' for balance. Anything really, as long as leg drive was not used.
Arthur Saxon military pressing
Karl Swoboda 'continental' pressing.
Finally, the 'continental jerk' was brought to the shoulders in the same manner as the press, and then jerked overhead with leg drive and a catch at lockout. It's worth noting that many of the strongest European lifters were so large and relatively inflexible that they did not split or squat under their jerks, instead using a 'heave press', i.e. a push press followed by laying back under the weight and pressing it out. Moreover, they did not yet have the 'double layback' technique in the press that eventually got it banned from the olympics.
Looking for numbers to beat? Here are a few of the more notable 'continental' lifters of this period:
Josef Steinbach (5'10'', 250lb)
Mustache: check. Leotard: check. Beer gut (not pictured) check.
Dan John wrote that "if all you did was clean and press, you could be awesome." Steinbach was a living example of this--as well as being the archetypal big, brutish, not-very-technical European lifter in the 1900s. He did all the competition lifts, but as you can see by his official records, he really liked pressing.
Right hand snatch 188.5lb (these are official measures, obtained by weighing the uncalibrated barbells Steinbach competed with)
Left hand snatch 176
Right hand clean and jerk 234
Two hands continental press 329
Two hands continental jerk 392 (also 347x7)
Two hands continental press with dumbbells 309
Two hands continental jerk with dumbbells 335
Two hands seated press (sitting in a chair, not on a lifting bench with back support) 264
As you can tell, given the "relatively slight superiority of Steinbach's jerks over his presses" (Willoughby) his jerk technique was most likely the aforementioned 'heave press', similar to what Zydrunas Savickas does (see video above).
Josef Grafl (6'3'', 285lb)
Mustache, leotard (bonus points for animal skin), beer gut....
Goerner was more than a little awesome. He mainly lifted in the 1920s and '30s, after the 'first generation' lifters I mention above, but he did many of the same lifts so I'll reference him as well. I'll also definitely be writing an article about him in the future, anyone who can 'dance' with an elephant (pictured) as part of his performing strongman routine deserves to have his training studied, don't you think?
Right hand snatch 100kg/220lb
Left hand snatch 90kg/198lb
Right hand C&J 120kg/264lb
Left hand C&J 100kg/220lb
Two hands snatch 297 1/2lb
Two hands military (not continental) press 276
Two hands clean (not continental) and jerk 390
...So there you have it. A bit on how (and how much) they lifted, some numbers to chase, and some history, as well! Part II is now up here.
I hope you enjoyed the article--comment or email (affectinggravity@gmail.com) with questions, or stuff you want me to write about (subject list here), and subscribe to our youtube channel.
Aris' article--originally written March 2012
Now that I can do full OACs with either arm, I think I'm allowed to write on this topic....
I wanted to do OACs basically since I started training, so I guess I trained directly or indirectly for about 3 years, give or take. When I started I could do about 5 full chins, it took me a little over a year to get to 20-straight strict pullups.
A while after that I began doing weighted chins, after some time working with sets of 5 I was able to do a single with +80lb. After that, working with triples (mostly 3x3 with a weight, when I could do all 3 triples with a minute 30 in between I'd increase the weight). This led to PRs of +70x4 and +105x1 (underhand chinups) at a bodyweight of 145.
After quite a long time off from focusing on chinning (~8 months) I started up again with high frequency, low volume sets of 8-12. I worked on this for about 4 months, working up to +45x10 chins and +35x10 pullups with a very wide grip, at a bodyweight of 140. Finally, I spent about 4 months doing 1 or 2 sets of 1 to 4 reps, 2 or 3 days per week.
At this point I was comfortable using +80 or so with very good control and an overhand grip and began thinking of going for a full one arm chinup. I'd spent some time training for the OAC with the 'towel' method over a year earlier, holding onto a towel with my 'non working' arm and gradually moving down the towel to provide less assistance, but that ended badly--only able to do 15 consecutive chins at the time, I simply was not ready. That was the first and only time I got bad elbow tendonitis.
The final 3 months leading up to the OAC were when I began doing specific exercises.
At first, I felt weakest at the top of the movement, so I started pausing my weighted chins at the top to take away all momentum and get comfortable at holding myself there. I also ended my sessions with a two-armed bodyweight-only hang either at the halfway point, or with my chin over the bar for 1 or 2 sets of 30 to 45 seconds. Both of these additions helped a great deal and soon I was able to 'lock off' with one arm, chin over the bar, for 5 seconds or so without trouble. However, the bottom of the movement had now become my main weakness.
To solve this new problem, I began doing my weighted chins with an extra hang at the bottom between rests, pausing for a full second or two and relaxing my shoulders. I had to work into this one slowly to avoid shoulder pain/injury but it did pay off with increased lat/rear delt power off the bottom and increased chest (serratus/pec) recruitment. The other technique I used in the final month or so before the OAC was a one-arm isometric, pulling up from the bottom of an OAC as hard as I could with my lat/bicep and bending my arm as much as possible. I also did a lot of dead-start partials, either 1/2 or 2/3 range of motion on the OAC, for about 6 weeks before the OAC to maintain my specific strength in the upper range of the movement.
In the middle of February I learned that there would be a bodyweight training event on the 25th of March to commemorate Jasper Benincasa's passing. I decided to try and get the OAC with each arm by then; at the time I was able to do 2/3 reps with each arm and had chinned +90x2 (normal style, no extra pauses). This final month, as aforementioned I did a lot of weighted chins paused at the top and bottom (working up to +90x3 this way), partial OACs (standing on stacked barbell plates beneath the chin bar), isometrics, and finger-assisted full range OACs.
I got my first OAC with my right arm on the 12th, and continued normal training until the 3rd week of March, at this point I took a few days off and then did the following sets:
Which at the time was probably the best personal record I'd attained in all my training.
Summary:
-be able to do at least 20 consecutive strict pullups from a dead hang (many different methods of achieving this will be outlined in future blog posts)
-add weighted chins, cycle between 3s and sets of 8-10, alternating between a top set and 2-3 sets when progress stalls
-When you can chin about +2/3 bodyweight with full range and good control, begin working on specific stuff
-Partial OACs, slowly adding ROM were my biggest specific helper.
-Pausing weighted chins at the top, and bodyweight chinup holds at the top helped strengthen my 'finishing' portion of the chin.
-Isometrics and 'relaxed' hangs between reps of weighted chins strengthened my 'starting' portion.
-Lots of reverse curls reinforced my brachialis. I did not get tendonitis though my elbows still do hurt for a day or so after a hard OAC session.
That's about it. Hope this helps all you guys who also want to do OACs.
Alex's article--from May 2013
Everyone already knows all there is to know about the OAC.
Except maybe how to beat it when you're just... so...very.. close.
There are many great resources about training one handed chins, one that is by Aris here and it's awesome. Look at that first to get a feeling for what actual strength goal you should have and how to lay out the training program. I was not strong enough when starting to train with a focus on one hand, so you should learn from my mistake and build a base first.
I've posted about training weakpoints before and this comes up now again. My weakpoint was not endurance, it was not strength, it was neither biceps nor triceps. It was tension.
Perhaps you are great already at building the right tension through your entire body and can generate good force through one arm with it. In that case, I have nothing to contribute. Keep training! If you're stuck with good strength but still can't just understand how to get the right groove, read on.
I used loads of uneven chins, pullups, negatives and weighted chins but nothing got me better at building tension than static holds. I call it lockoffs, like climbers do. This means no movement at all, just very high tension holds. Instead of working only more uneven chins and other two hand movements, try this:
- learn the top lockoff, chin over bar and arm tucked in tight. Curl your legs up if it feels easier, like and L-sit.
- Work this as your primary chinning movement and work up to 15 second holds
- work in 90 degree holds when you can master the top lock. Work up to 15 s holds as well
- add 120 deg holds if you feel up to it.
- you can add weight to the top lockoff, I got to +10 kg for 6-8 second holds before completing a OAC.
1,2 or 3 times a week depending on your other goals. 3-5 holds at top, and 2 holds at 90 and 120 deg is what I did.
I'm now working singles of OAC and using lockoffs for one arm pullups on a sharp edge, I enjoy the thought of being able to bust out a OAP anywhere so I train for it.
My final goal is the one finger OAC and you can bet that I'll train for it using different locks!
