Jan/100
Flexibility Survey
A number of people at the site have expressed an interest in building flexibility.
Hand balancing, acrobatics and flexibility all go hand in hand. Yet this is one area that I haven’t covered too much… that is until now.
But before I go and tell you all about it I want to know what you’d like to know.
Click here for the flexibility survey.
I have plans for a free report that’ll share with you the common misconceptions about stretching and much more. But that only scratches the surface of what I know.
Tell me what else you’d like to know.
It’s a short survey filled with multiple choice questions. Shouldn’t take more than a minute or two to fill out.
In the words of Jerry Maguire ‘Help me, help you.’
Click here for the flexibility survey.
Good Luck and Good Stretching.
Logan Christopher
Jan/101
Wrist Flexibility Report
A simple wrist stretch
I’ve shared a couple videos with you in the past week and today’s a little different. Instead of a video I’m giving you a report that covers what is many would-be hand balancer’s biggest obstacle. And that is wrist pain and flexibility.
Wrist Flexibility Report
(right click and choose save-as)
This is something I personally battle with. So instead of giving you a little tip you can have all of what I do to help out my wrists. The simple truth is without doing this stuff regularly I can’t do a handstand, but with it I can.
Perhaps you’ve already realized it, or you surely will after reading the report and seeing the references. Soon I’ll be releasing a new product. What you’ve seen is just small bits and pieces of the whole thing. And let me tell you it’s BIG.
This is the biggest and best compilation of hand balancing material ever released in the world.
It’s been called the Hand Balancing Bible.
You could call it the Holy Grail of Hand Balancing.
But I’ve done away the religious references and simply called it the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.
Tomorrow I’ll fill you in on more details on why this course is a must-have for anyone who wants success beyond the handstand.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If this report helps you out please comment below.
Jan/102
Gymnastic Handstand
The gymnastic handstand or straight handstand is a more difficult move then the natural or curved handstand. For that reason I believe a beginner should work on the curved handstand first and once they become proficient at that then they can move onto the straight handstand.
Working on the straight handstand will take a good bit of dedication as you must learn to maintain a straight body while upside-down, something that certainly doesn’t come natural. As with any move its best to learn it in the easiest possible way first. For that reason we go to the wall.
When working on the gymnastic handstand it is better to face the wall with your body rather then have your back to it. This makes it easier to get into the straight body position. You can cartwheel into position or walk your feet up the wall.
Once you are in the handstand get your hands as close to the wall as possible. Stick your head through your arms. This alone will help your back to stop curving. While keeping the arms locked push through with your chest to open up the shoulders. If this is difficult you may need to work on shoulder flexibility.
Another key part is the lower body. You want to maintain what is known in gymnastics as a hollow body position. That is you tuck your pelvis in. Think as if you were trying to reach your tail bone to your navel and shorten that distance. You may need to practice this position while not in a handstand if it is unfamiliar to you.
Once you have a good position hold for time against the wall. Work up to 2 minutes for multiple sets. If you can do this you have good endurance not just to hold the handstand but to keep your position while you do it. At that point the gymnastic handstand should feel natural to you.
The next step is to transition to freestanding. Instead of just kicking up out in the open start in the straight handstand against the wall and come off a little bit to find your balance. But that will have to be an article for another time…
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Jul/093
Planche and Hand Position
A few comments were raised about the hand position in Rafael Guerrero’s planche in a previous post.
Why was he up on the fingertips? Is this necessary to do a planche in good form?
Unless you have hyper-flexible wrists you won’t be able to do a planche with the fingers pointing forwards and flat on the ground. Most people turn their wrists out to the sides to alleviate this sort of strain or come up on the fingers.
But there are other ways to do a planche with the hands not taking as much stress as these other pictures by Rafael show. You can do it on some sort of parallel bars.
Or completely on the fingertips.
Even in a hand-to-hand balance.
But if you do have the wrist flexibility you can do it on flat ground with the palms flat on the ground and facing forward. In the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing the chapter on planches showcases W.H. Mering doing just that.
And if you’re seeking to build incredible strength like these planches show I have an important announcement later this week. Stay tuned!
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Why was he up on the fingertips? Is this necessary to do a planche in good form?
Unless you have hyper-flexible wrists you won’t be able to do a planche with the fingers pointing forwards and flat on the ground. Most people turn their wrists out to the sides to alleviate this sort of strain or come up on the fingers.
But there are other ways to do a planche with the hands not taking as much stress as these other pictures by Rafael show. You can do it on some sort of parallel bars.
Or completely on the fingertips.
Even in a hand-to-hand balance.
But if you do have the wrist flexibility you can do it on flat ground with the palms flat on the ground and facing forward. In the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing the chapter on planches showcases W.H. Mering doing just that. Check out the book for more.
If you’re seeking to build incredible strength like these planches show I have an important announcement later this week. Stay tuned!
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Jun/090
Overbalancing in the Forearm Stand
This question comes from Fady.
“Hi Logan, hope you’re doing fine, actually I’m facing some overbalancing problems when trying to make elbow stand I find myself falling to a bridge no matter how hard I pressed with my fingers or trying stretching my legs and back.
“Actually I’m good at HS against wall, also balance good on frog stand and can save underbalanced HS pretty well (when I’m against wall), also I think I have a flexible back (I can make wrestler bridge and make my chin touch the floor)
“But I think I’m facing overbalancing problems, do you think that this could be due to my back strength lagging my flexibility? plz advice?”
My guess is that because of your great flexibility your legs and feet hang too far over in the forearm stand. This is what causes you to overbalance and land in a bridge.
Here’s two things you can do to correct this issue. First off, attempt to straighten your back. Don’t allow your legs to extend to far past. Instead try to reach up and stay tall.
The other thing to try is to do the forearm stand in front of a wall just like you would a handstand. By using the wall just as much as possible you can work your balancing and, of course, it’ll stop you from overbalancing.
Working these two methods you should be able find the balance.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. For more tips on the forearm stand be sure to check out the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start DVD.
Jun/090
Most Flexible Ross Sisters
This is footage from the movie “Broadway Rhythm” (1944). The Ross sisters, Aggie, Maggie and Elmira, sing and move in ways that’ll make your average contortionist blush.
Just watch past the minute mark to see the moves begin. And my favorite is at the 2:50 mark. That has to be the most impressive back bend ever.
Good Luck and Good Acrobatics,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Thanks to Mike for pointing me to this video!
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