Welcome to my upside down world
INTRODUCTION
Some Important Information To Help You On Your Journey
In this section, I have added short thoughts on some of the important aspects of Handstand training. I wanted to keep it concise so that people don’t become too bogged down by the details. Due to its physical nature, most of your learning will come through experience. I hope this section helps you better understand the course and my philosophies and ideas on training.
welcome
you don't have to be special
For the longest time now I have spent most of my days viewing the world from upside down. Learning how to perfectly balance my body and pushing the limits of what I'm capable of. Now I want to help show you what you are capable of.
There are a lot of misconceptions that you have to start training Handstand at age 5 to be exceptional. I didn't start until much later and I have trained hundreds of people over the years who started later in life and went on to reach high levels of proficiency. The only real way to find out what is possible for you, is to beyond the possible and into the impossible.
PROGRAMMING
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
- NOVICE
- BEGINNER
- INTERMEDIATE
- ADVANCED
- ELITE
Each level builds on the last giving a solid foundation to move to more advanced Handstand skills.
exercises
EXERCISE CATEGORIES
- WARM-UP
- MOBILITY + FLEXIBILITY
- CORE
- BODY ALIGNMENT
- WALL DRILLS
- ENTRY DRILLS
- FREESTANDING HANDSTAND
steps for success
how to use the course
1. GET TO KNOW THE COURSE MATERIAL
2. CHOOSE A STARTING LEVEL
3. COMPLETE THE WEEKLY WORKOUTS
4. FILM AND CRITIC PERFORMANCE
5. SELF ASSESS EVERY 8 WEEKS
6. GAUGE IF YOU ARE READY TO PROGRESS
7. MOVE UP OR REPEAT
8. REPEAT THE PROCESS
SELF ASSESMENT
THOUGHTS ON SELF ASSESSMENT
Handstand training, for the most part, is a solo practice unless you are going to hire a full-time coach you will need to master the art of self-assessment. Video assessment is extremely important and a great way to utilize your time recovering between sets.
1. VIDEO EXERCISES
2. REVIEW THEIR PERFORMANCE
3. CORRECT MISTAKES
4. PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
DUNNING - KRUGER
THE DUNNING KRUGER EFFECT
The Dunning Kruger effect is a cognitive bias. This means that sometimes we can overestimate our skills in certain areas. It is prominent in beginners as they have not reached a sufficient level of skill to be able to recognize their weaknesses. It is for this reason all my programs focus on the three vital aspects needed for Handstand.
1. TECHNIQUE
2. STRENGTH
3. FLEXIBILITY + MOBILITY
ENVIRONMENT
THE TRAINING ENVIRONMENT
While this course has been purposely designed to have minimal equipment requirements. The flooring that you do handstand on is extremely important. Hard floors not only make it easier to balance they are also much kinder on the body. A soft floor can be extremely taxing on the wrists. I recommend using a handstand board or plank for all of your hand balancing.
preparation
importance of physical preparation
People are often surprised by how long my warm-up is. Handstand has been my means of survival for much of my adult life. Keeping my body healthy has been essential so that I can perform on a daily basis with up to two shows a day. Much of my resilience can be attributed to thorough warm-up and physical preparation that I go through on a daily basis.
I consider it my secret weapon I urge you to give it the importance that it requires. Nothing will slow progress like an injury.
balance
FINDING YOUR BALANCE
◾️ Focus your eyes between your hands
◾️ Try not to concentrate on focus too much
◾️ Eventually, try to balance with the eyes closed
◾️ You want to learn to use feelings
◾️ Balance has to be smooth
◾️ Without sharp movements
◾️ Try to anticipate overbalancing and fix it
◾️ Keep your hips over the shoulders
◾️ Remember to breath
practice
don't over think it
The best advice that I can give you here is that balance is not found by reading a manual. Balance and the ability to control it will be refined through 100’s of hours of practice. You are far better off spending your time doing handstands than searching for that small tip that you believe will make your handstand better. Nothing can replace time on your hands.
Go Out And Practice!
hand position
CORRECT HAND PLACEMENT
◾️ Arms shoulder width
◾️ Index fingers point to 12 o’clock
◾️ Spread your fingers for support
◾️ 1st knuckle connected to the floor
◾️ Use the wrists for the balance
◾️ Always pressure on the fingertips
◾️ Don’t stay only on your palms
BODYLINE
body cues for handstand
◾️ Lock your elbows
◾️ Extend your shoulders
◾️ Open your shoulders
◾️ Pull your chest in
◾️ Engage your core
◾️ Squeeze your glutes
◾️ Tighten your legs
◾️ Point your toes
REST TIMES
HOW LONG BETWEEN SETS?
Again this is a very individual question. I have outlined the rest periods that I would take in each workout. This should also be your aim. In the beginning, you will need longer rest periods and there is a lot of debate as to how long is ideal especially for skill training.
While you don’t want your rest to be so short that it affects your skill level I am also a great believer that improving overall conditioning will aid in the development of skills. The fitter and stronger you are the more work you can tolerate the greater your progress will be.
PROGRESS
WHEN SHOULD I PROGRESS?
Skill training is unique in that even for beginners there is generally no linear rate of progression. It is impossible to outline how long an individual will spend at each level. It could take anywhere between 6 weeks to 6 months to be proficient enough to move on. The time frames will also increase as you become more advanced.
You should stay with each level until you can comfortably complete all the workouts as outlined apart from the Stretch workouts as flexibility is something you will always be working on.
FINAL WORDS
MAKE SURE TO HAVE FUN
One of the most important things to do is to enjoy your training. There will definitely be days where you are frustrated but make sure that you continue to have fun. This will lead to consistency in your training. And with consistency, you will be surprised by what your body can achieve.
SEE YOU IN THE UPSIDE DOWN!