5 Tips For Doing Handstands

5 tips for doing handstands

Doing handstands can be a bit tricky unless you have been a gymnast for a long time. It is an exercise that requires good physical fitness, especially strong forearms and core muscles, to stand upside down. This means you need to work on these two areas to do solid handstands.

If you want to start doing handstands, you need more than just physical fitness. You need training equipment and other things that will help you do solid and safe handstands. Here are 5 main tips for doing handstands:

1. Start With Weight and Core Training

man training core muscles medicine ball

If you are overweight and have weak core muscles, it will be difficult to do safe handstands. Your hands and core muscles might be too weak to handle your body weight when in an upside-down position. That’s why it is recommended that you start with weight and core training. Lose some weight to reduce pressure on the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Training core muscles before doing handstands also helps to prevent spine injuries.

2. Use The Right Equipment

When ready for handstands, start with buying training equipment, especially if you are practicing at home. The importance of proper equipment is in order to increase your safety as well as to enhance the training. Get yourself a good exercise mat that is thicker to prevent injuries when landing. You will also need quality handstand blocks for hip, hand and back support, as well as to bring bolsters into the studio. These three are some of the essential training equipment for handstands.

3. Body Position

doing handstand with handstand blocks

The most important thing when practicing handstands is body position. Everything from the palms, elbows to the hips must be aligned for safe handstands. The arms should be straight and always locked by your ears in order for arms to hold the body weight. Keep the hips stacked to the shoulders to reduce pressure on the spine and to maintain a streamlined position from the legs all the way down to the palms.

4. Keep Breathing

The handstand position activates a lot of muscles. It also includes multiple movements, especially when getting ready to spring. This confusion makes it easy to forget to breathe. You need a lot of oxygen to the muscles as well as to remove carbon dioxide. That’s why breathing is crucial when doing handstands. Proper breathing also helps you to relax and stay in this position for longer. Holding your breath, which is common with beginners, increases fatigue hence resulting in shorter handstands.

5. Clean Exit

woman handstand exit on beach

How you exit the handstand position is very crucial for your health. The wrong exit can cause injuries to your hands and the spine. The best way to exit is to start with bending one leg to let the weight lightly float down to reduce the landing impact. Wait until you feel your normal breathing has returned before you lower the other leg. The landing on the mat should be slow and soft to prevent injuries.

Handstands are intense exercises that require good physical fitness, proper diet and proper equipment to avoid injuries. Observe these tips if you want to do safe handstands. We highly recommend working with a professional trainer.