Handstand Training 

When talking about handstands, having more range of motion is one of the most important aspects as you will be able to hold it easily.
Becoming more flexible for handstands will lead to:

• a better angle in your shoulders and elbows during the handstand. This way you will have a better alignment that results in less energy being spent holding the handstand;
• more range of motion in your wrists and hips for presses to handstand;
• more options in terms of leg variations (straddle, pike) and also spine positions (hollow back).

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Here are the categories of flexibility that will help you achieve a better handstand (from the ground up):

• Finger and wrist flexibility;
• Shoulder flexibility;
• Spine flexibility (for mexican and scorpion handstand);
• Hip flexibility;
• Leg flexibility (for straddle and pike handstand).

We can do many of the exercises just on the floor, but it would be good if we include exercises done on the wall, using a table/chair, yoga block(s), resistance band(s), parallettes, dumbbells, barbells etc.

First, developing your shoulder flexibility should be the priority as this contributes the most to your handstand hold. This way you can load your weight properly on top of your support.
Also, more range of motion in the hip joint will allow you to do different leg variations (shapes) during handstand.

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Here is a list of exercises that will help develop flexibility in both chest muscles and back muscles:

• Foam rolling – to lose the tension in the muscles;
• Shoulder pass (using a band, rope or a stick);
• Transverse rotations (from standing, seated, half kneeling or lying);
• Shoulder flexion and extension (free or loaded).

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Here is a list of exercises that will help develop flexibility in both hip joint and leg muscles:

• Foam rolling – to lose the tension in the muscles;
• Leg pulls (using a band, rope or a stick);
• Side and front swings (from standing, holding into something or not);
• Side and front splits (free or loaded).

Each one of these exercises and many more can be found in the “Training for Acro” app.
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The best exercise for improving your flexibility is the one you’re doing. I would recommend focusing on what you need the most and don’t stop until you’re happy with your progress.

After improving the range of motion using a particular exercise, that exercise will become less important after serving its purpose.
If you evaluated your shoulder flexibility in Lesson 1, you should have an idea about your range of motion.

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When working on improving your flexibility in a particular area, start by rolling the muscles using the foam roller before you do any stretching.

Next, perform some in and out (of the stretch) movements in order to prepare the muscles fibres and also the nerves from that area.

After a couple of minutes doing that, spend more time (I would recommend a minimum half a minute per set) holding the stretching position so your brain will get used with the new length of the muscle.

Last but not least, to maximise the efficiency, make sure the intensity is not close to your maximum in order to avoid the muscles contract during stretching.

If you are having a Client membership, you can find many stretching routines in the “Training for Acro” app.

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