Purpose:
To become comfortable holding yourself upside down. Or if you are already comfortable upside down, the purpose is to condition your body while working on the skills needed to master a Free Standing Hand Stand.
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THE PROGRAM
Wrist prep:
– wrist rocks
– loaded circle / flex/ext/deviate
– Tea cups
CNS prep:
– asymmetrical loaded walking VOR
– ball tracking
– jumps
Work:
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Day 1 –
> Pull over // Plank+hand walk
(x6-8r / x4-6r)
> Good morning // Pike walk
(x4r w/pause / x2 length)
> OH press // Wall walk
(x1-3r / x1r)
===============
Day 2 –
> Clean // kick up
(x1-3r / x3-5r)
> Deadlift // Hand stand hold
(x1-3r / x1r)
> Hand stand Re-balancing
ll OR ll
Crow // OH walk
(x10-60sec / 2KB x2 Length)
=================
Day 3 –
Mix it up / Variation day!
EX:
>Pullover//GM >Hand walk//Pike walk >Pr//Wall walk
ll OR ll
>Lifts Only
ll OR ll
>Hand Stand Stuff Only
===============
Train 3-4 days a week.
Day 1 & 2 are straight forward
Day 3 is a variation day:
– Have some fun!
– Chose from any of the exercises below.
– Have some fun!
– Chose from any of the exercises below.
===============
EXPLANATIONS & VIDEOS
Wrist Prep:
Hand Stands are very rough on the wrists, here are a series of great movements to help prepare your wrists for extreme extension:
CNS Prep:
To get a good hand stand you must be sufficiently warmed up, but not so aroused that your hear is pounding. This is why a smart, neurological warm up is best when preparing for something that requires such fine tuned skill:
Day 1
Pull Over /super set/ Plank+Hand Walk
The pullover will activate your upper body muscles, while the hand walk will prepare you for the next step in your journey of becoming comfortable upside down.
The pullover will activate your upper body muscles, while the hand walk will prepare you for the next step in your journey of becoming comfortable upside down.
Good Morning /super set/ Pike walk
The hip hinge (good morning) will teach you how the Pike feels through the hips / trunk, allowing you to practice ‘how’ to get into the Pike Position – AND – Practicing the Pike will start you on your path to becoming comfortable upside down!
Over Head Press/super set/ Wall Walk
The OH Press should not fatigue you, but should potentiate your strength and coordination in the subsequent Wall Walk. The Wall Walk is a challenging but very safe way to enter your first assisted Hand Stand.
Day2
Clean/super set/ kick Up
The Cleans ‘potentiate’ the kick ups – a ‘kick up’ when done well (that is, better than what is shown in the video), should place your feet directly over top of your hands – once upside down, try to straighten everything out ASAP – dismount and repeat.
Deadlift /super set/ Hand Stand Hold
The deadlifts don’t have to be super heavy – but the intensity does! Use the DL’s to activate your posterior chain and Abs. Then, try to maintain that activation while upside down!
Crow /super set/ Over Head Walk
This super set is for those who do not / can not do the Re-Balancing drill below.
The OH Hold-Walk will prepare your shoulders – and the Crow will prepare your Wrists and Abs/Trunk for Hand Stand Balancing.
Hand Stand Re-Balancing
( I am not very good at this one…)
The next step is practicing Free Standing Hand Stands – but before that – try this drill that Ido Portal showed me and a group of friends back in 2011
That is all folks,
Hope you find this useful.
Hope you find this useful.
Let me know what you think, and if you have ANY questions at let feel free to contact me.
Stay Strong my Friends!
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Martin Colangelo – Blog Author
& Owner / Instructor
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