This is week 6 from 'The Ultimate 7 week handstand course' from Natalie Reckert
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/handbalancing
The purple numbers are minutes : seconds in the video on vimeo
What is this episode about
About different ways of going up, falling out, building more strength and confidence
Integrating the alignment
Has to be intuitive and automatic, available, natural, ready there when you need it
No time when going into handstand to contiously switch on every body part
Therefore it has to be drummed into your body by doing lots of repetitions in all the different exercises
Ribs locked down and pushed back
Stomach pulled in towards your spine
Hips tucked
Butt squeezed
Squeeze your legs together
Open your shoulders
Push them up
Hands shoulderwidth apart
Spread your fingers
Grab the ground
Palms flat on the floor
Head not too far back, just enough that you can focus on a point in between your hands
Breathe in your handstand (top part of your torso, shallow)
Dynamic movement warm up (2:00)
1
Lay on your site, legs on top of each other, feet off the ground, hands pushing up from floor, so hips bend
Create flat line with the side of the body, try to be straight
Swing both legs together in front and to the other side, only sitting on the butt and at the side of the hip by helping with the hands pushing up from the ground and also switching to the other side
Swing from side to side
Passing through a hollow body shape when going threw
10 x
2
Make also a full circle by going to the back by swinging the legs around, now the stomach touches the ground
Back to the side and again full circle
End of the full turn is at the side
The push of the hands on the floor gives the swing for this and keeping core nice and engaged
Side – Side – Full turn – Full turn
Side – Side – Full turn – Full turn
3 x
Flexibility and mobility (5:10)
1
Straddle position sitting on the ground
Spine straight
Flex and point the feet
5 x
Bend the legs a little, flex feet
Straighten the legs and point the feet
5 x
Wiggle the hips from side to side and deepen the straddle
Walk forwards with the hands, try to get your stomach to the ground, so no curve in the back
Stay down and point/flex the feet
5 x
2
Go further down
Hold for a bit
3 (7:25)
Bend one leg, layed down, knee as much as possible to the ground, working as counter weight
Bend to the other side, side flexion, arm stretches to the other side pointing to the wall
Shoulder up, so: elevated
The other arm uses the elbow on the knee to support the weight
Both sides stretch for 10 sec
Holding a bridge (8:40)
Push up in to the bridge
Hold 20 sec, 2 sets
Mobility for the shoulders and the upper back (10:30)
1
Hang on a bar
1 min
2 Chest opener back to wall-handstand
Kick up, hands shoulder - width apart – a little further away from the wall than 1 hand (find your distance to manage)
Loop up to the chest
From a diagonal lean with both legs straight against the wall
Let your hips sink in to the wall
Don’t make a diagonal with the upper body, but move your shoulders above the wrists
Push the chest up and front
Elevate the shoulders, push the ground away
Feel the stretch in the rib cage, in the upper back and around the shoulders
Pain in the joint of the shoulder is not good
Stay a bit
Eventually you can also bend the legs to push away from the wall with the feet and feel the weight on top of the shoulders to open the chest even more
Come out by bending one leg and pushing away from the wall with the foot
Push ups for handstand heroes – serie (13:12)
Plank position or on knees
Normal push ups,
15 x
Push ups with hands diagonal to the front for elbow-push ups (just touching the ground, not leaning completely on the elbows)
15 x
Wide arm to the sides push ups, going from side to side
15 x
Pike push ups, going down with the head in front of the hands
15 x
Yoga-push ups (from downward facing dog sliding down to upward facing dog and going back in a diagonal)
5 x
2 sets (childs pose with arms to fron resting in between sets)
Going in and out of a handstand (19:30)
Easiest threw kick-up
Harder threw tuck or straddle (also pike is possible)
1 Straddle (20:25)
Legs a little wider than the hands
Jump up into a straddle and close the feet in the handstand
Practice on the wall
Have the hands touching the wall
Feet about half a meter further back
Start close to the wall, the shoulders already as much as possible above the wrists, hips high
Activate the core, curve the spine (rounding like a cat, think about touching the wall with the middle of the back)
Don’t stick the head out and straighten the back, ears close to the shoulders
Head doesn’t touch the wall
Hips go up first, that’s the centre of mass that has to go up first
Jump up threw a straddle, lower down slowly threw straddle or tuck
Easier: kick up and only practice the going down threw straddle or tuck to get used to the movement
Get into a rithm, to not think about it too much, it has to be intuitive
5 x, 2 sets
2 Tuck (24:45)
Jump in a tuck and straighten the legs in the handstand
Same points
5 x, 2 sets
Bailing out (25:15)
1
Twist the hands as if turning a steering wheel
Turn the body
Fold the hips down quickly
2
Or take a step with the hand, to front or side
Practice with handstand back to wall
Twist body by twisting the hands
Fold the hips down
Both sides, 10 x
How to kick up and stay in control (28:45)
From standing crouch down a little and place the hands on the floor
In one fluent movement
Kick up with one foot straight up or just a little to the back
The other leg halfway up
Find your balance point
Then close your legs
Or
Kick up straight away
When putting the hands on the floor already take control of the move to find the balance point
When the legs close, have all the pointers for alignment spot on in place
Exercise Kick-up going up in handstand (30:45)
Kick up as described above
Both sides 10 x, 2 sets
Step by step to freestanding handstand (35:50)
Use a chair to put one foot (only toes) on a chair (chair against the wall)
L-shape but one foot straight up in the air
Lean as much forward till you feel the balance and activate all the alignment pointers
Feel the balance, hips above the hands
Stay, try to make the toes on the chair as light as possible
Both sides 20 sec, 2 sets
Endurance set (40:39)
Back to wall-handstand, pushing out of the shoulders
20 x, 2 sets
Back to wall-handstand, feet in V-shape, walk the hands
20 x, 3 sets
Back to wall-handstand
40 sec, 3 sets
Chest to wall-handstand
40 sec, 3 sets
In between rest and do all the stretching-exercises of the last episodes you want
Stretch and cool down (58:35)
Thumb stretch
Push your hand out to the front
Straighten the ellbows
Grab the thumb with the other hand at the lowest joint and pull it towards you
Nerver stretch (59:40)
1
Round your arms in front of you as if you’re holding to a very big ball
Straight core
Shoulders down and back
Make a fist
Turn the fist around aiming to turn the index finger up to the ceiling
Hold for a while
2
Hold the arms diagonally behind yourself
Again push down the shoulders
Begin with a fist, palm and fingers directed to the back
Then turn the hand around, spreading the fingers, palm points laterally
Push the chest out
Hold for a while