STARTING

WITH HANDSTAND
THE KEYS TO BECOME A MASTER OF BALANCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. PROPER HANDSTAND 4

3. MOST COMMON EXERCISES FOR SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY AND MOBILITY 10

4. MOST COMMON WRIST STRENGTHENING AND MOBILITY EXERCISES 15

5. HANDSTAND PROGRESSION EXERCISES 16

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1. INTRODUCTION
The handstand is probably one of the most common skills for all sport

disciplines that involve the use of your own bodyweight: gymnastics,

calisthenics, acrobatics, parkour, etc. Once you acquire the skill of

standing on your hands, it will open the door to many new tricks and

combinations that are awesome both to look at and to perform.

Still, you have to remember that no matter how simple this exercise may

seem when you just see someone else performing it, it is not so easy in

reality. The main limitations stem from our body structures, namely our

height, arm and leg length, and, even more importantly, the range of

motion in our shoulders and hips. I will talk about these in detail in the

following sections.

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2. PROPER HANDSTAND
Let’s now focus on the main elements constituting the handstand. Since

the main goal of this exercise is to be able to form a straight line aligning

your upper and lower body parts, the very first and probably most

important things to consider are joint flexibility and mobility, with a

particular emphasis on shoulders. When starting your adventure with

the handstand, the main elements which you should focus your work on

are the flexion and elevation of your shoulders, the strength and

mobility of your wrists and, last but not least, your hip mobility.

a) Shoulder Flexion (flexibility): Together with shoulder elevation it plays a major

role in perfecting the handstand. When talking about shoulder flexion, I’m mainly
referring to the position you get into when taking your arms up and straight in
line with your ears. If when doing so, you notice an angle between your lats and
the heads of your triceps in the mirror, this means your arms are not aligned with
your ears, and you’ll have to work on that. A good range of motion here is achie-
ved when, without activating your lower back to compensate the movement, you
are able to flex your shoulders far enough, so that your arms are at least in line
with your ears or even past them. Many times, I come across people who attempt
to perform a handstand with such a bad line between their shoulders and the
rest of their upper body, that I always wonder how it’s possible that they don’t feel
any stress in their joints. See the classic “banana” stance below that happens
way too often and clearly shows a lack in shoulder flexibility. Since it’s the arms
that support the whole body while holding the stance, they really should be in a
perfectly straight position.

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 PROPER TECHNIQUE

INPROPER TECHNIQUE

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 b) Shoulder Elevation (mobility): Together with flexion, it is considered the
second and equally important element you should focus your work on.
The elevation depends on the mobility as it’s strictly connected with the
condition of your shoulder blades. Working on this aspect might seem easy,
but once you try to test how mobile you can be, you might be surprised to notice
some extra effort in performing movements that are not typical of your daily
habits. Putting in motion just your shoulder blades without activating the rest of
your upper body can be a challenge at the beginning. Keep it in mind to not
underestimate this aspect when approaching the handstand.

SCAPULA DEPRESSION SCAPULA ELEVATION

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c) Wrist Strength: Another aspect that is often ignored but posesa potential
threat of injury. Standing on your hands requires a very good warm-up of your
wrists. Unfortunately, I often see people skipping this part, and every single time
they do so, I hear complaints about the pain that appears after. If you want to
master the skill, you have to take care of even the smallest details – your wrists
also need a proper process to adapt to the stress they hadn’t been used to before
you decided to start working on the handstand or calisthenics in general.
For this reason, you should include some exercises to strengthen your wrists in
your warm-up. I suggest considering all possible wrist movement patterns.

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.d) Wrist Mobility: How strong your wrists are is unfortunately not enough.
To properly execute a handstand, you’ll need another supporting element – the
mobility of your wrists. To check it, kneel down and place your hands parallel to
your shoulders on the floor. Lean forward while making sure your whole palms
are still touching the floor. If when doing so you immediately feel an intense pain
in your wrists, it means they lack mobility. This test will help you define your limits
and what you should focus your work on.

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e) Hip Mobility: If you’ve already attempted a handstand before, but ended up in
the classic banana stance with misaligned back and legs, you should know that it
happened due to a lack of mobility in your hips. They are not allowing you to get
further into the posterior pelvic tilt position (PPT) but stop at the anterior one (APT).

INPROPER HANDSTAND PROPER HANDSTAND

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3. MOST COMMON EXERCISES FOR
SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY AND
MOBILITY
As I mentioned before, shoulder flexibility and mobility are very impor-

tant aspects to consider when approaching the handstand. In this sec-

tion, I will provide some useful tips that might help you not get stuck in

the process, and smoothly go through the steps necessary to master this

beautiful skill. Remember that before achieving the perfect body align-

ment while performing a handstand, it’s crucial to pinpoint the limita-

tions you need to overcome in the process – especially these regarding

your shoulder flexibility and mobility. Below you will find some sample

strategies you can adopt to do just that:

– SHOULDERS FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES: In this case, you want to focus

on increasing your shoulders’ range of motion (ROM). You’ll need a (bro-

om)stick and a box to facilitate the workout. The tipsbelow are aimed at

increasing your shoulders’ flexion throughout some very effective exerci-

ses that should be performed, if not daily, then at least three times a

week. The very first way to test your actual level of shoulder flexibility is

by simply standing with your back against the wall, and elevating your

both arms straight up until the point where your lower back activates to

help them elevate further. If the angle between your arms and the wall is

higher or equal to 45°, it means that you lack sufficient flexibility. If at this

point you were to start any handstand exercises that involve shoulder

activation, you couldn’t perform them correctly. You can adopt the follo-

wing techniques to decrease the angle and improve your performance:

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- STICK/BROOMSTICK OVERHEAD SHOULDER STRETCH

1) While standing on your feet, grab a stick/broomstick with both

hands placed wider than shoulder width.

2) Keep your arms straight and start flexing your shoulders so

that the stick/broomstick reaches at least a position above your head.

3) Elevate your shoulders before going over your head with the

stick to favor the flexion there.

4) When you reach the point of maximum flexion and start

feeling a little tension, hold the position for at least 15–30 seconds.

5) Repeat steps 1–4 at least 3 times.

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- STRAIGHT/BENT ARM SHOULDER STRETCH ON A

BENCH/BOX

1) Kneel on the floor with a box or a bench in f ront of you at

arm’s length.

2) Perform this exercise in two different ways: with your arms stra-

ight in line with the bench/box and with them bent. In the first case,

place just your palms on the edge of the bench/box. In the second, put

your elbows on the bench/box and bend your forearms behind your

neck, with your hands in a prayer position

3)From these two different positions, start lowering yourself so that your

lats and shoulders pass the initial straight line.

4) Perform these two stretches several times and exhale every time you

lower yourself – this is the moment when the tension is supposed to be

higher. Perform at least 10 repetitions in 3 sets, and hold the last rep in

each set for 10–15 seconds.

- RINGS SHOULDERS-LATS STRETCH:

1) Set up the rings at shoulder width and at a height that allows you
to be partially hanging, with your upper body and arms straight.
2) Kneel on the floor and grab the rings with both hands. Progressi-
vely, let your upper body lean and stretch, until the point where your
arms become
completely straight, and a curve between them and your legs appears.
3) Hold this position of stretch for at least 10–15 seconds before
moving to the second step in which you are going to perform side
stretches.

4) Decide on the side you want to start with. While hanging from

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the rings stretch your lateral lats and shoulders to their sides. Hold the

position for at least 10–15 seconds for each side.

5)Repeat the sequence in at least 3 sets, holding each stance for 10–

15 seconds. Every time you switch the sides, you should through the cen-

tral position of stretch (e.g. left-central-right).

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SHOULDERS MOBILITY EXERCISES: In this section, we’ll put the focus

on shoulder blades. What I mean by shoulder elevation is the ability to

put your shoulders up and down while always following a straight line

between them and your upper body. This small, yet very important mo-

vement prevents you f rom putting too much stress on your tendons

and joints while performing the handstand. To achieve this, you basi-

cally need to perform two main exercises on at least a weekly basis, in

addition to the ones described above. These are:

- QUADRUPED STANCE SHOULDERS’ ELEVATION/DEPRESSION:

1) Start from a quadruped stance by kneeling down on the ground

with your hands at an equal distance from your knees. They should form

a straight line with your back.

2) Repeat elevating and depressing your shoulders and shoulder blades.

Focus on isolating the movement from other body parts. Do not involve

your back in this exercise.

3) Repeat 10 times in 3 sets (30 reps in total).

- RINGS/BAR HANG SHOULDERS’ ELEVATION/DEPRESSION:

1) Hang from a bar or rings. In both cases, you should be high

enough so that your feet are not touching the ground.

2) Focus solely on your shoulder blades, switching between their

elevation and depression. Do not bend your arms.

3) Repeat 10 times in 3 sets (30 reps in total).

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4. MOST COMMON WRISTS
STRENGTHENING AND MOBILITY
EXERCISES
It is also worth to talk a bit about the best exercises for you to take your

wrists to the next level in terms of their strength and mobility.

Since the handstand is a skill that concentrates most of its load precisely

on your wrists, and since they play a major role in balancingthe stance,

you really shouldn’t skip this step. If you do, bear in mind that you can

get injured pretty easily.

WRISTS STRENGTHENING EXERCISES:

- BACK HAND WRIST HOLD (WITH FINGERS FACING KNEES)

- BACK HAND WRIST PUSH-UPS (WITH FINGERS FACING KNEES)

- BACK HAND WRIST TWISTS (WITH FINGERS FACING KNEES)

- BACK HAND FIST CLENCH (WITH FINGERS FACING EACH OTHER)

- BACK HAND WRIST TWIST (WITH FINGERS FACING EACH OTHER)

- BACK HAND WRIST PUSH-UPS (WITH FINGERS FACING EACH

OTHER)

WRISTS MOBILITY EXERCISES:

- PALM DOWN WRIST FLEXION LEANS (WITH FINGERS

POINTING FORWARD)

- PALM DOWN WRIST EXTENSION STRETCH (WITH FINGERS POINTING

BACKWARDS)

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- PALM DOWN WRIST SIDE TO SIDE EXTENSION STRETCH (WITH

FINGERS POINTING 90° OUT)

- SINGLE PALM DOWN WRIST CIRCUMDUCTIONS

(CLOCKWISE/COUNTERCLOCKWISE)

5. HANDSTAND PROGRESSION
EXERCISES
We have finally come to the most interesting part of this e-book where

we will take a look at the best exercises to include in your workout routine

to master the handstand without any gaps in your progressions.

1) TRIPOD (HEADSTAND) HOLD: Place your hands on the floor at shoul-

der width (or a little wider) and your head right in front of them, at a

comfortable distance so that, once you bring your knees on top of your

elbows, you can hold that stance. The purpose of this exercise, especially

for beginners, is to start feeling more confident with the sense of diso-

rientation you might feel after going upside down and detaching your

feet from the floor. As you hold this stance, your balance is mainly provi-

ded by your hands, knees and elbows. The progression starts from the

basic stance, with your knees on your elbows. Once you hold that

position for at least 60 seconds, you can start lifting up your knees

towards the advanced tuck stance. After being able to stay in this stance

for at least 50–60 seconds, you can try to progressively extend both legs

at the same time to reach the tripod stance that simulates the full hand-

stand position.

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2) PIKE STAND HOLD: Another very common exercise that is very help-

ful ingetting a proper shoulder elevation we spoke about before. In this

case, it’s very important to properly set yourself up before performing

the hold. Once again, place your hands at shoulder width. Keep your

arms straight and shoulders elevated so that your weight doesn’t put too

much stress on them once you’re upside down. Your goal is to form a

straight line between your arms and torso, with your legs are placed on a

surface or, even better, a stall bar.They should be fully extended and form

a 90° angle with your upper body. Make sure to master at least a 60-

second hold before attempting the next step and starting to elevate

your legs to eventually reach the full upward extension.

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3) V PUSH-UPS: A strengthening exercise that comes in handy when

you want to strengthen your shoulders. At first glance, this exercise may

look simple, but it is actually pretty challenging to perform it correctly.

It also requires a very good mobility in the lower back, hamstrings and

shoulders, since in the starting position you need to place your hands at

shoulder width and your feet at an equal distance from them so to form

an upside-down V letter. From there, you have to lower yourself as if you

were performing a classic push-up. The difference is that you’re primarily

activating your front deltoids and triceps in this exercise. In the eccentric

phase, make sure to lower yourself forward until the point where

your both elbows are bent at a 90° angle. You should keep this angle at

all times. If your backside keeps lowering down while performing this

exercise, you are NOT performing it correctly.

5) WALL HANDSTAND HOLD (BELLY FACING THE WALL): Right after

being able perform the V push-up within the suggested time range, you

can proceed to this next step. In this case, having your belly facing the

wall gives you a better idea of how it really feels to hold a free handstand.

It’s because the assistance needed to provide the balance is different

than in the previous exercise. As with the other workout ideas described in

this section, 4 sets of a 60-second hold would be a solid achievement here.

6) WALL HANDSTAND PPT/APT (POSTERIOR PELVIC TILT/ANTERIOR

PELVIC TILT) REPETITIONS: I’ve already mentioned the importance of a

good posterior pelvic tilt in achieving the perfect straight linewhile per-

forming a handstand. I’ve decided to include this exercise at this point of

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the progression program, since by now you should have already gained

control over your body sufficient enough to allow you to focus on your

hips only. You can decide if you want to perform this exercise with your

belly or your back facing the wall. The key aspect here is repeating

switching the position of your hips from the posterior pelvic tilt to the

anterior one.

By doing so, you’ll become more aware of when your hips are positioned

correctly, and when your stance needs fixing. This is a partly dynamic

exercise, so perform it in at least 3 sets, 10 repetitions each.

7) HANDSTAND KICK–UPS: It’s about time to find the best way for you

to get into the handstand stance. First of all, make sure to understand

which of yourlegs kicks up and which one supports the movement by

being the one tofollow. In order to get them both straight and in the

position, start by repeating several kick-ups until you eventually end up

in the stance and able to hold it for just a few seconds. Keeping your sho-

ulders elevated and your arms straight is more important here than

anywhere before.

8) FREE HANDSTAND HOLD: The ultimate exercise – an actual, free

handstand without any assistance. In this case, I would recommend per-

forming it prior to any workouts aimed at your other skills. Your CNS is

still fresh then, and you can focus on your body alignment and shoulder

position better.

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“Well, dear Calisthenics Athletes, also this time I tried to gather as many

info as possible for you so to provide always the best contents.

As you all know, here at Learn Calisthenics we take it seriously and we

don’t want to be the typical common website where you purchase so-

mething; here we want you to become owner of all the best knowledge

we can gather for you so to let you become the best athlete out there.

Each one of you can and we wanna be the motivators that will help you

achieving this awesome life goal! Let’s do it together in one unique big fam!!”

Mattia Sampaoli
Calisthenics coach and performer

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Overhead mobility
Find the most effective exercises and routine follow
Proper shoulder mobility unlocks your real strength
potential. It will let you achieve perfect form handstand,
overhead press and much more movements.