Handstands and handstand walks don’t just happen, they take discipline, techniques and focus like anything else. Use these steps to help you aim for a handstand walk.
There are several things that you see people do in and out of the gym that are fairly impressive. For me muscle ups, double unders, and handstand walks are the ones that catch my eye in the gym. As for out of the gym I would say a good looking cake gets my attention and are always hard to resist. Anyhow, back to the gym.. Don’t get me wrong seeing someone with a big deadlift or squat is impressive, however I just think that these three moves are really cool.
I have had numerous people ask about how to do a handstand walk. So I am going to cover steps that will help you achieve this goal.[spacer height=”20px”]
1. Patience
As with any training goal it is not going to happen over night. Stay committed to what your focus is on. It is pointless starting something and expecting it to happen within a few gym sessions. As the famous quote goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. [spacer height=”20px”]
2. Military press
This move alongside pull ups in my opinion is the best move for building upper body strength. The more you can military press with strict form the stronger your shoulders will be. To complete the move properly then the bar moves from your chest until your arms are locked out above your head. I would focus on the 3-5 rep range for gaining strength for improving your handstands. Best of both worlds then mix the rep range up. [spacer height=”20px”]
3. Build core strength
Building your core strength up will help any exercise but in particular with handstand walks as your core will be engaged throughout the whole move. My advice would be to do big moves such as deadlifts, squats, and cleans. I know what you are thinking these are not specific core exercises and yes you are right. However, studies have been shown that the deadlift in particular uses more core muscles than any other specific core exercises. Also don’t slack on the specifics, there is still a place for your planks, l-sits, and leg raises.
Handstand variations – You need to get comfortable being upside down in a handstand position. This is so you can get used to it physically and mentally. When you get comfortable holding it against the wall which means you can hold it for 30 seconds. Then start to remove you feet from the wall and practice trying to hold that. The benefit of this is that you know you have got the wall for support if you can’t hold it freestanding.
Go for it – Once you have done all steps before this then just go for it. There’s no other way of finding out if you can do something unless you try it. Be prepared to fail a few times then once you do your first one you will be a addicted. Have fun and enjoy the process.
By Ant
