TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3
• ABOUT THE HANDSTAND 3
• BENEFITS OF HANDSTAND 4
2. GET READY 5
• CONQUER THE FEAR 7
• Excercises to help you fight fear
• MOBILITY TEST 11
• Wrist mobility test
• Shoulder mobilty routine
• STRENGTH TEST 29
• STRENGTH PROGRESS ROUTINE 30
• CORE STRENGTH 32
• FULL BODY WARM UP 37
3. HANDSTAND PHASES 41
• PHASE 1 44
• Wall walk
• PHASE 2 45
• Wall behind
• PHASE 3 46
• Wall balance
• PHASE 4 47
• Full handstand
4. TIPS ON HOW TO EXIT A HANDSTAND 51
5. ABOUT THE AUTHOR 56
2
INTRODUCTION
About the handstand
Doing a handstand is really a challenging thing to
do. It does look pretty easy, but have you ever tried
it? Not so simple, right? It’s impressive precisely be-
cause everybody knows how hard it is to keep a
steady balance on your hands.

The handstand is a full-body advanced exercise

which activates almost every muscle in your body -
leg muscles to rebound, core muscles to get to the
proper pose and many other muscles to hold the
position.

If you want to master the handstand and gain

full control over your body, you need to learn a
few tricks and improve your coordination. This
takes practice, so be patient and don’t give up!

IMPORTANT (Safety first!)

Make sure you’re strong enough before you start learn-
ing how to do a handstand. Your shoulder flexibility
plays an important role in this movement (we will talk
more about this in chapters (’Mobility Test’’ and ‘’Mobili-
ty Routine’’).

This is very important as it helps you avoid possible

injuries. Keep in mind that you should abstain from
doing handstands if you feel shoulder pain or you’re
suffering from any other injury.

3
 Benefits of handstand
The handstand is a movement that
forces you to stabilize yourself while
activating all muscles in your body.

Practicing regularly will help you

strengthen your: core, legs, glutes,
arms and back, increase your wrist and
shoulder mobility, open your shoulders,
increase your balance, etc. The
discipline required for mastering the
handstand will make you boost your
skills.

Even the famous bodybuilder Arnold

Schwarzenegger used to challenge

his friends, after regular gym sessions,

with handstands and other bodyweight
strength exercises.
It’s a really cool movement, but it’s often
ignored because most people have a
fear of losing their balance. This is com-
pletely justified - handstand isn’t the
easiest thing to master.

In this guide, we will go into details on

what it actually takes to master the
handstand - the preparation, the mind-
set, the execution and the tips that will
help you progress and prevent
injury.

4
 Before starting with the handstand,
first make sure that you are mentally
and physically prepared. This is crucial
for preventing injuries.

The first segment of this chapter is about the fear of doing a

handstand, what causes it and how to overcome it.
After that, you are going to do a mobility test which will help
you find out if your shoulder and wrist mobility is good enough
to do a handstand.

Then, you will do a strength test as strength is crucial for hold-

ing the position properly.
If you find out that your mobility is poor, or you feel like you are
not entirely ready, don’t worry - we got your back. We wrote a
full shoulder and wrist mobility routine so you can properly
prepare for a perfect handstand.

Another important lesson is about the hollow body position. It

is an awesome exercise that will get you the abs of steel and
help you hold a handstand for a longer period of time. The hol-
low body position prepares your body for the handstand posi-
tion, and increases your ability to hold it for an extended period
of time.

6
CONQUERING THE FEAR
A lot of people neglect the handstand because they think they
can’t do it, or fear it for some reasons. Some people fear that
their arms won’t be strong enough and that they’ll fall on their
face, some fear they’ll fall on their back, and some people are
just simply afraid of being upside down.

It is okay to be afraid.
But it is not okay to let your fears hold you back, so let’s start!

Excercises to help you overcome fear

Downward-facing dog with elevated feet
Starting off, you need to get used
to the feeling of your hands bear-
ing your weight. Try to do the
downward-facing dog with elevat-
ed feet. You can do this exercise at
home, just use your couch or your
bed as a resting point for your feet.
Remember to breathe and start
getting accustomed to the feeling
of seeing the world upside down.
This exercise will also help you
strengthen your arms and wrists,
which will prove really helpful later
on when you move on to the hand-
stand.

7
L-Stand by the
wall
You can also practice the
L- Stand by the wall. You can
find how to walk up the wall
in the first phase of the chapter
‘’Phases of Handstand”. L-stand is
a great exercise that helps strength-
en your arms and wrists, increase upper
body mobility and show your mind that
being upside down is not such a scary thing
after all.Keep in mind that this exercise is not all
that easy and it might take time until you are able
to do it properly. But as with everything else, take
your time and work your way up to it.

8
The frong stand
Another wise thing to do is to practice your arm balance.
The Frog stand is a good start as it will help you get used to
balancing your weight on your hands. You can practice it any-
time, wherever you want.

Start in a deep squat position with your hands on the floor in

front of you. Keep your arms on the inner part of your legs with
elbows pressed to your inner thighs.

Beginners’ hand stance should be pretty wide.

As you lean forward, begin bending your elbows until they reach
a 90° angle.

Lift one foot at a time if that’s easier.

Focus on keeping your chest up and squeeze your thighs into
your elbows to stay balanced. Keep your eyes in front of your
hands.

9
Advanced frog stand

When you get used to the basic frog stand, the progression
that follows is the advanced frog stand.

Place your hands in a narrower position to start minimizing the

contact between your inner thighs and elbows.

In this variation, your knees will lean on the backs of your arms.

Point your toes and squeeze your thighs together. Remember to

keep looking in front of your hands because it will help you stay
balanced.

Suggestion - do it every day!

10
The best way to overcome the fear is through desensitization.
It is a fancy word, but it just means doing something that you’re
afraid of, every single day. With every passing day you will get
more used to it, and that will help you conquer your fears.
Before starting a workout, try to do an L-stand, a Frog Stand or
a Wall handstand. Every position from this chapter can and will
help you a lot; it is up to you to do it as often as you can.
The more you do it, the more you’ll get used to it and your
fears will slowly fade away.

MOBILITY TEST
Wrist and shoulder mobility is of great importance when
executing the handstand. You will be holding your entire weight
on your hands, which will exert significant pressure on your
wrists and shoulders.
That’s the reason why we prepared these mobility tests - so
that you can check your flexibility. And then, if you need to im-
prove, you can find some pretty cool exercises for improving
the mobility and strength in your arms and hands in the chap-
ter ‘’Mobility routine’’.

This is really important for you to follow. Don’t skip this part
because you find it less interesting. Your wrists and shoulders
will need to handle a lot of pressure during a handstand, so fol-
low the instructions provided below for your own safety...

11
Wrist mobilty test

Your wrists will extend to a 90° angle or wider, so you

have to prepare them to handle such pressure!

The best indicator of any dysfunction is pain. Let’s say you’re

working out and you start feeling discomfort in your wrists
while doing push ups. That’s a sign that something is not right.
Another test you can do involves checking if your wrists can
extend to a degree that is required.

Place your hands on the wall, fingers pointing upwards. Move

your hands down the wall while keeping the whole hand flat on
the wall. You should be able to extend your wrist to at least 90°.

What if I can’t do it?

In the next chapter, ‘’Mobility routine’’, you will find exercises you
can do in order to enhance your wrist strength and mobility.

12
Shoulder mobilty test
For a proper handstand, you need to
have ‘open shoulders’, which
basically means you need to be able
to extend your arms to a 180° angle
over your head without arching your
back. Usually, people have a 150°
moblity of overhead shoulder flexion,
but this isn’t enough for a handstand.

We have prepared 3 tests you can use to test your shoulder

mobility.

Before trying them out, we recommend to stretch your chest,

shoulders and forearms, so that you can test their actual
potential when your body is warmed up and stretched.

Doing these with cold and unprepared muscles will limit

your movements and might give you unreliable results.

13
TEST 1: Shoulder flexion
When performing a handstand, you need to keep your entire
body aligned. Check if your shoulders have the required range
of motion by following the instructions below:

• Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about
10 cm (4 inches) from the wall.
• Press your entire back against the wall, tuck your pelvis in
and push your ribs in towards your spine.
• Raise both hands up as much as you can without taking
your back off the wall.

You should be able to reach the wall behind you with your
back flat against the wall.

What if I can’t do it?

Do the shoulder mobility (Chapter ‘Mobility Routine’ - page 25)
routine at least 3 times a week until your mobility improves.

14
TEST 2: External rotator cuffs
The ‘’rotator cuff’’ is a term that describes 4 muscles that help
stabilize the shoulder. It has a large range of motion, but should
be approached with some caution - regularly repeat mobility
routines to avoid injuries and develop great mobility.
To test the range of motion of your rotator cuff please follow
the instructions below:

• Stand up straight.
• Extend one arm over your head.
• Bend the arm at the elbow, then try to reach the back of
your neck while keeping your back straight.

You should be able to touch the back of your neck without your
chest collapsing, all the while keeping your back straight.

What if I can’t do it?

Do the shoulder mobility (Chapter ‘Mobility Routine’ - page 25)
routine at least 3 times a week until your mobility improves.

15
TEST 3: Internal rotator cuffs
This test is really good for checking the mobility of your internal
rotator cuffs.
• Stand up straight with
arms at the side and shoul-
ders in neutral position

• Bend one hand in the

elbow, then reach behind
your back with the thumb
facing up and back of your
hand against your back. Try
to touch opposite scapula
(shoulder blade), but keep
your chest up and don’t let
your shoulder lean forward.

• If your shoulder is rotating

forward or your back is not
neutral that means that your
internal rotator cuffs are too
tight

You should be able to touch the back of your head without your
chest collapsing, all the while keeping your back straight.

What if I can’t do it?

Do the shoulder mobility (Chapter ‘Mobility Routine’ - page 25)
routine at least 3 times a week until your mobility improves.

16
MOBILITY ROUTINES
As we already mentioned, the mobility of your arms is crucial
for a good handstand.

We will show you routines, designed to develop wrist and

shoulder mobility, that you can do as a part of the warm-up
routine before the handstand (You can also do this during the
week).
These routines will help you strengthen your fingers, hands,
wrists and improve your overall mobility.

Wrist mobility routine

In this part you will find five exercises that are focused on im-
proving the strength and mobility of your wrists and fingers.
After this routine, your wrists will be warmed up, stretched and
ready for the handstand.

Do 10-30 reps of each exercise. Don’t rush, take your time and
do them at a moderate tempo.

17
Excercise 1 - Finger pulses
Focus on: knuckle strength and mobility

• Get down on all fours. Knees on the ground.

• Place your hands on the ground in front of you.
• While keeping your fingertips on the floor, elevate your
wrists and put your weight on your fingertips.
• Return to the starting position.

STEP 1 STEP 2

Advanced progression:
You can increase the
difficulty level by leaning
more forward and plac-
ing more weight on your
fingers, simultaneously
lifting your knees off the
ground. This exercise re-
quires precaution and it is
not suited for beginners.

18
Excercise 2 - Side to side wrist stretch
Focus on: wrist strength and mobility

• Stay in the same position as in the Finger Pulses exercise.

• Rotate your hands outward and spread your fingers
(left-hand fingers pointing to the left, right-hand fingers
to the right)
• Move side to side by pushing away from the ground while
keeping both hands in place.

STEP 1 STEP 2

Remember to keep the heels of your hands on the ground

the whole time and perform the movement slowly to really
feel that stretch.

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Excercise 3 - Rear facing wrist stretch with
palms down
Focus on: wrist strength and mobility; stretch the forearm

• Still in the same position as in the previous exercise, just

move your fingers towards your knees, elbows facing
backward.
• If you can’t keep your arms straight, or heels of your
hands on the ground, you might have placed your arms
too far from your knees. Your fingers should almost touch
your knees.
• Exhale and sit back - keep hands flat on the floor - focus
on the stretch

20
Excercise 4 - first knuckle push up
Focus on: Knuckle strenght

• Palms flat on the surface (wall or floor), fingers open.

• Lift your palms and the thumb off the surface while
keeping the rest of the fingers on the floor.
• Return to the starting position slowly bringing your palms
down.

Beginners - stand next to a wall

STEP 1 STEP 2

21
Intermediate - on the floor, knees down

STEP 1 STEP 2

Advanced - on the floor, push your legs further away from

yourself. The most advanced progression is a push-up stance.

22
Excercise 5 - wrist push up
Focus on: Wrist strength and mobility, arm strength

• Clench your fists and put your knuckles against the wall.
• Roll your hands out: you will switch from the starting
po sition to a position where the back of your hands are
in contact with the wall
• Do a push up.
• Get back to the starting position

This movement is very stressful for your knuckles if

you rush the progress. Start next to a wall and then
progress to the floor.

Beginners - stand next to a wall

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

23
After you get familiar with the movement of the Wrist Push Up
and you feel confident enough, you can progress to the “get on
all fours” position.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

As you grow stronger increase the difficulty of the movement

by placing your legs even further back. The push up stance is
the most advanced starting position.

STEP 1 STEP 2

24
Shoulder mobility routine
Exercises like the handstand, push ups, planks, and pull-ups
put a lot of pressure on our shoulders. Make sure you develop
good mobility and open shoulders because it helps you
maintain a good posture and avoid injuries.
You can do these exercises right after the wrist mobility
routine.
If you get the feeling of tightness, while doing these exercises,
don’t push too hard and don’t cause yourself pain because you
are risking an injury by doing so.
Do the exercises in the stated order, slowly, keeping control, for
15-20 reps.

Excercise 1 - Back and front raise

This is a great exercise that will help you increase shoulder
mobility and your posture. You will need a pilates stick, PVC
pipe or a broomstick.

• Starting position: While standing hold the stick with a

wide grip.
• Focus on keeping elbows straight and chest down.
• Lift the stick up and over your head, pushing it as high as
you can.
• Ideally, you should be able to go all the way back until the
stick touches your lower back.
• Extend your arms back to the starting position.

25
 STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

When the exercise gets too easy, narrow your grip for
increased difficulty.

Excercise 2 - Flex and stretch behind the back

For this exercise, you will also need a pilates stick, PVC pipe
or a broomstick.

• Starting position: Hold the stick in front of you with both

hands and a wide grip.
• Focus on keeping elbows straight and chest down.
• Raise the stick overhead and back - don’t push all the way
down, keep it parallel to the floor.

26
 • Bend your elbows while keeping the shoulders in the
same place and bring the stick close to the back of
your neck.
• Extend your arms back to the starting position.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

This exercise is great for improving your posture.

Excercise 3 - Hanging stretch

For this exercise you will need a pull-up bar, monkey bars or
rings you can hang from.

• Starting position: Use both hands to hang from the bar.

• Relax while hanging, you don’t have to keep your feet on

27
 the ground, but make sure to use as much body weight as
you can.
• Start swinging your legs slowly in small circles while
feeling the stretch. Complete a set in one direction, then
switch and move in the opposite direction.
• Then, start swinging front to back and left to right.

You can repeat these exercises multiple times until you

feel your shoulders are relaxed and stretched. Doing
this routine a few times a week will boost your mobility
and improve your execution of all upper body exercis-
es. Remember, good mobility means a good workout
and more safety!

28
STRENGTH TEST
A proper handstand requires strength. You will need to
contract a lot of muscles at the same time, and hold it for a
desired number of seconds.

Once you are able to do 3 series of each exercise with 1-

minute breaks between them, you should be able to do a
handstand and hold it for at least 10-15 sec.

Keep in mind that the handstand is a static gymnastic element

and requires more than just raw power to be properly
performed. It requires good balance, great mobility, and a lot of
practice and patience.

Do the reps of the first exercise, take a 20-30 seconds

break, then move on to the next exercise until all 3
exercises are completed. Take a 1-minute break and
then move on to the next set.

Exercise Series Reps/Sec

Decline push up 3 25 reps

Paralel bar leg raises 3 15 reps

Superman hold 3 20 sec

29
If you are not able to finish this test, don’t worry. In the next
chapter, ‘’Strength progress routine’, you will find a routine you
can do in order to improve your strength.

Strength progress routine

This exercise routine is designed for strength progress that is
crucial for a perfect handstand. It is recommended that you do
this routine 2 times a week and combine it with two Full Body
workouts from the Madbarz app. You can also integrate it with
your current workout program.

In case you don’t have parallel bars nearby, do the leg raises exercise on the
floor (Lying leg raises).

Training frequency 2 times per week

Break between the same exercises 20 - 30 sec

Break between different exercises 120 sec

While perfoming the strength progress routine, keep in mind

that you have to finish all series of the first exercise before
proceeding to the next one.

30
Strength progress routine

Exercise Series Reps

Decline push up 5 Max out

Lying leg raises 5 Max out

Decline pike push up 5 Max out

Parallel bar leg raises 5 Max out

Superman hold 5 40 sec

Extra exercises (advanced)

Exercise Series Reps

Handstand wall push up 5 Max out

Single bar dips 5 Max out

31
CORE STRENGTH
Core strength is not only important while doing a handstand,
but also for our posture and overall training. One of the ways
that will help you build core strength and bring your abs to an-
other level is the Hollow Body exercise and its progressions.

This exercise will help you develop body awareness

that is crucial for achieving and maintaining proper
alignment in a handstand. Depending on your
physical ability, you will choose a level of
progression you can handle.

Do these exercises whenever you want. The more

you practice, the stronger your core muscles
become. You can do it after a training session or
implement it into your ab routine.

Goal
The goal is to hold the position for one minute
without breaking the form. You can warm up by
doing the basic variation. After that, try to do 4-5 sets of a
1-minute hold of one of the progressions. Take a few minutes
and rest between the sets.
Select the level that you can handle, i.e. where you can hold the
longest without losing your form. After mastering the hold with
your arms and legs extended, adjust your position slowly to get
to a flatter and straighter position.

Improves: Core Strength, Hip Internal Rotation in

Extension, Hip Internal Rotation in Flexion, T-Spine
Mobility

32
Basic
Lie flat on your back and place your hands in the space
between your lower back and the ground. Hollow body position
aims to fill this void.

Bring your knees to your chest - the void will disappear

and your lower back will touch the ground because your
pelvis is in the posterior pelvic tilt.
A Posterior pelvic tilt is when the pelvis is rotated back
wards from the ideal neutral position. This causes a
rounding of the natural curve in the lower back.

33
 Remember this position and the feel of the lower
back being on the floor.

It is crucial that you keep your lower back on the floor the
whole time. You can ask a friend to assist you: take a folded
towel, put it under your lower back and then ask your friend to
pull it gently. If you are doing the position correctly, your back
should hold the towel in place. If the towel slips, it means you
are arching your back too much.

While keeping your arms by your side, lift your shoulders and
your head off the ground, so that only your mid and lower back
is on the ground.

34
Progressions
Legs up - While keeping the arms by your side, extend your
legs and hold them a few inches above the ground.

Arms up - When you master the first progression, raise your

arms over your head - elbows locked.

35
Hollow body rockers - After perfecting the hollow body
progressions, you can move on to the rockers.

Hold your arms and legs in the air, straight, and rock back and
forth. Remember that you need to keep your lower back
rounded and touching the floor - your movement must be fluid!

36
Full body warm up
Before jumping into a handstand, you need to warm up your
entire body. You can do this warm-up before or after the
mobility routine, it’s up to you.

Warming up your body is of great importance because

you need to wake your muscles up and prepare them for
the handstand. If you try to do it while your muscles are
still cold, you increase the risk of injury, which could cost
you time and a lot of progress. So, train smart!

Warmup duration 8 minutes

Active rest between exercises 20 - 30 sec max

Duration of each exercise 1-2 minutes

Keep in mind that the resting periods in the warm-up routine

should be spent actively, i.e. doing the exercises: arm rotations,
tractions, swings.

37
WARM UP ROUTINE

T plank rotation

High knees

Bicycle crunches

Jumping Jacks

38
Active rest exercises
Arm Rotations

Tractions

39
Swings

40
41
THE FUN PART!
We’ve split the handstand into four phases. If you feel
confident enough in the first phase, you can move on to the
second one immediately. That applies to all phases.

In the first phase (Wall Walk) you will practice walking up the
wall, a movement similar to the L-stand.

The second phase (Wall Behind) focuses on learning how to

kick up into a handstand.

The third phase (Wall Balance) is all about practicing to

balance by the wall.

In the fourth phase (Full Handstand) we will cover all the steps
that lead to a perfect handstand.

Before attempting the handstand on your own, make sure

you’ve read the ‘’Tips’’, which will help you achieve a better
form.

Tips
You should keep the following tips in mind while practicing the
handstand

42
»» While still in the beginning stage, kick your legs up
slowly. If you put too much force into it, you risk flipping
over.
»» Warm up before workout and Stretch AFTER! Warming up
your body is an absolute necessity before exercising be
cause you want to reduce the risk of injury, but one of the
most common mistakes people do is stretching before
exercising.
»» Static stretches should only be done after the workout,
with warmed up muscles.
One study, a meta-analysis of over 100 studies, revealed
that pre-exercise static stretching generally hurts rather
than helps your athletic performance.
»» Keep your head in a neutral position and look at your
fingers. Remember: where your head goes, the body
follows.
»» When you reach the level at which you can stay balanced
for at least 10 seconds and you need a new challenge, try
lifting one of your hands from the ground for a moment
and see what happens or try to move your legs in different
positions to further master your hand balance. You can try
spreading your legs or doing the figure 4 while up in a hand
stand. Just be careful and think about the exit strategy.
»» Handstand is a static element that requires you to keep your
whole body as stretched out as possible, so don’t let your
elbows flare out.
»» Good balance requires you to evenly distribute your
weight over both arms.
43
Phase 1 - Wall walk
This is the easiest phase of the handstand, suitable for
beginners afraid of falling back when they kick their legs up.
You will learn how to walk up the wall and hold the hollow
body position in the handstand, as well as get used to the
inverted body position.

• Place your hands on the ground (shoulder width), turned

away from the wall.
• Slowly place your legs on the wall.
• Start walking with your hands towards the wall while
moving your feet higher until your upper body is a few
inches from the wall.
• Lock your knees out and focus on maintaining the hollow
body position.
• Exit the position by walking back to the starting position
and walk off the wall.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4

GOAL: 8 sets of 30 - 40 seconds

44
Phase 2 - Wall behind
This progression is also done against the wall. You will learn
how to kick up into the handstand, as well as how much force
you need to use in order to get your legs up into the handstand.
This phase is great for learning how to control the force of your
kick.
• Facing a wall, put your hands on the floor and make sure
they are a few inches away from the wall. Your hands
should always be shoulder width apart.
• Squat down with one leg in front of the other (the jumping
leg should be in the front).
• Kick your front leg up while holding your other leg straight
and raising it higher.
• Raise both legs and lean them against the wall.
• While in the wall-assisted handstand, focus on the hollow
body position.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

GOAL: 8 sets of 30 - 40 seconds

45
When you feel like you’ve mastered the kick up, you can move
on to Phase 3.

Phase 3 - Wall balance

This phase is similar to the ‘Wall Behind’ phase, with a few
things to remember:

• While kicking up, imagine there is no wall, and you need to

kick and find your balance right away.
• Don’t lean on the wall, balance as long as you can without
touching it.
• Push the floor strongly with your palms and extend
through the shoulders.

GOAL: 4-5 sets of 30 - 40 seconds

Once you’ve managed to do a kick up and hold your balance
without leaning against the wall, you are ready for Phase 4 or
The Full Handstand.
46
Phase 4 - Full Handstand
Now, as you’ve learned how to properly kick up without losing
balance, it is time for The Handstand. Follow the steps below
and conquer this movement.

It’s recommended that you begin by practicing with a friend

who can catch your legs if needed.

Starting position:
• Put your hands up towards the sky with your biceps next
to your ears.
• Step forward with your non-dominant leg (See the test
listed below the photos) and lean your body slightly
forward flexing at the hips.

STEP 1 STEP 2

Dominant leg test: ask your friend to stand behind you and
gently push you forward. The push should be strong enough to
make you step forward, but not too strong because you don’t
want to fall flat on your face. Watch your legs as you take that
step forward. The first leg to move is the dominant one.
47
The dash:
• Move your body forward.
• Shift your weight onto your front leg. At the same time,
bend your upper body at the hips and proceed to put your
hands on the ground.

STEP 1 STEP 2

The shift:
After you place your hands on the ground with your fingers
widespread, your rear and your front leg will bring you up.
You’re going to do this by swiftly swinging your rear leg up and
at the same time use your front leg to kick yourself up
completely. Try it with a friend first, so that you can gain
confidence by performing the movement.

• Your arms need to be shoulder width apart.

• Rear leg moves up slowly, but not before your hands
touch the floor.
• It is important to remember that you need to keep your
shoulders up and push away from the floor, not letting
them sink.

48
 • At the beginning, lift your body slowly.
Start doing it faster after you get familiar with the
movement.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

The lock:
This part is a bit tricky because you have to position your body
parts correctly while standing upside down and try to keep
your balance. You need to:

• Extend your shoulders. Don’t keep your shoulder blades

retracted (pulled back) so your body weight presses on
them. You are the one who should be pressing the floor, or
more precisely, pushing away from it.
• HOLLOW BODY - Contract your abs, shift your pelvis in
ward and tighten your glutes. All of these movements are
interconnected, so one should naturally follow the other.

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 • Squeeze your legs together and try to keep them as
straight as possible.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

You are now in a locked position and your handstand looks

absolutely magnificent. The hardest part in this position is ade-
quately distributing your weight over the surface of your palms
and the tips of your fingers in order to maintain your balance. If
you have the tendency to kick too hard in your handstands, try
shifting a bit more weight onto your fingertips on the way up.

On the other hand, if you don’t have enough momentum and

can’t kick hard enough, shift more weight onto the heels of your
hands.

You can also use your body positioning to keep yourself bal-
anced, but that means you are no longer in a locked position.
With time, you will learn how your body functions in this posi-
tion so it will get easier. Even if you use body positioning for
balancing and leave the locked position, you will learn how to
get back to the locked position.
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The handstand can be pretty scary if you don’t know how to get
back on your feet.

There is more than one way out of a handstand, start with the
basic one and then, as you get comfortable, switch it up.

Basic walk out - beginners

If you’re doing the handstand with the wall behind you (Wall-
assisted handstand), the simplest way to get out is to bring
your legs down before you get tired. As you gain more
strength, you can start walking your hands away from the wall
and then bringing your feet down.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

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Pirouette bail - beginners
This exit can be done with any type of a handstand (wall-as-
sisted or not). What you need to do is basically perform the
second part of the cartwheel.

• While up in a handstand, you spread your legs a little bit

and put all of your weight on one hand (usually the domi
nant one - the hand you use to write), while moving your
other hand a bit more forward (don’t go too far).
• While doing this, your dominant leg will move and touch
the floor first
• To complete the movement, push yourself off the floor
with your hands.

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