Nailing Those Handstands

You can find coach talking about the importance of a handstand on the CrossFit Journal.

"Why train handstands and when will we ever be doing Handstands in real life?"

"Well, you will be coming to my gym, and that is real life. And you will be doing them there."

I agree with Coach. The necessity for increasing your GPP (General Physical Preparedness) is huge. I believe this is something EVERYONE should be able to do. If someone is obviously strong enough to get into a hold but is still not capable of getting into a handstand, that tells me that there is a lack of flexibility with that person, and a lot of work needs to be done on those shoulders.

A lot of first timers on handstand holds get really red blood shot eyes. This is something your body will adapt to and overcome. You will start to notice you will feel more comfortable in a handstand and have a better sense of direction.

As K-Star mentioned at my Mobility and Movement Certification, your upper body is built the same way as your lower body, there is not difference! Your shoulders are your hips, the arms are your legs. Your elbows are you knees and your feet are your hands.

Handstand walks anyone?

Handstand Push Ups? Or should I say Handstand Squats? How about on the Rings?






Have you ever heard of

"Geometrical Construction of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci"?


Coach Sommer talks about how to get stronger quicker with Handstand Push Ups:


The fastest way to build strength in handstand pushups also happens to be the easiest; simply spend more time in a handstand. Anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes should be appropriate for most athletes. This is total time including both work and rest, although try not to go overboard with rest times. Free balancing on the rings is the absolute king and will lead to strength increases over an incredible range of exercises. Next is free balancing on either the floor or parallets. Finally for those who are as yet unable to free balance, wall handstands will also give a nice return for the effort involved. Another tip that will help to increase your HSPU strength is to simply hold some of your handstands in a bent arm position. This is actually quite a bit of fun and helps to break up the monotony. Yours in Fitness, Coach Sommer.
So be prepared to get those Handstands dialed in at Canyon CrossFit.

Just like how we make everyone do double unders :)