There are two new articles on the site, complete with videos, on the subject of rolling. These are important skills everybody should have. Real basic, but amazingly few people can do all these.
Forwards and Backwards Rolling
Check them out.
Good Luck and Good Tumbling,
Logan Christopher
Here’s another picture of Rafael Guerrero doing a one arm half planche or lever at Club Aponte.
There’s a few things I’d like to point out about this picture.
First off, on the move itself. I’ll be having more on the one arm half planche soon, even a full article as its a move I’ve been working on recently. You’ll notice his arm is moving, most likely this was an action shot, as he moved his arm to the fully extended position.
As you can see from the crowd this was a performance. Something to take into consideration if you ever perform. You need to be in a position that everyone can see you. If you don’t have a stage with theater seating you can simply raise yourself up on a table.
You’ll also notice the hand balancing stands Rafael is using. I guess these were common among professionals as they look very similar to the hand balancing stands I first received and have now made available. I just received a new shipment in from my manufacturer so they’re ready to ship out immediately. The hand balancing stands add a new dimension to what’s possible.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Hand Balancing Feats, Pictures by on Apr 14th, 2010. 2 Comments. 
When talking to Jim Bathurst the other night we we’re discussing the one arm handstand. Several points came up but I want to focus on one of them right now. And this actually applies to any hand balancing you do.
That point is shrugging up your shoulders.
When you go into a handstand you want to reach your shoulders towards your ears. Do not let gravity depress your shoulders. Why? This makes it so that your body is fully locked out. This improves your position as well as your endurance.
Shrugged vs. Not Shrugged
This is even more essential in the one arm handstand. But here’s the thing. Some people may not even have the strength in the shoulder girdle and scapula to do it properly.
As is many times the case in hand balancing it’s a good idea to go back to the wall for this one. Doing the one arm handstand against the wall, where you don’t need to worry so much about balance, you can focus on getting the shoulder shrugged.
In The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups there’s an exercise called the Handstand Shrug. This is just to repeat this shrugging motion over an over for reps. While I didn’t think about it at the time, you could do this exact same exercise on just one arm. (I just tried it against and found it to be quite fun.)
This will strengthen the area, giving you the strength to really begin to progress toward the one arm handstand.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Hand Balancing Tips, Handstands, One Hand Handstand, Pictures, Strength by on Apr 9th, 2010. Comment.
I got an email the other day from a student who had purchased the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.
I’ve started dreaming about holding handstands, which for me is good sign that I’ll eventually get it, LOL!
I teach a Crossfit-style strength and conditioning class at a Krav Maga school in Dallas, and I’ve added 1 minute of crow stands to our warm-up every time. It is working nicely. A few students have remarked how their striking has improved with the enhanced wrist/forearm strength. People are kicking up into handstands against the wall, and showing progress in their handstand pushups. I have a yoga instructor as a student who has some amazing handbalancing skill, so everyone sees what is possible. Granted it will be even more impressive when I get it at 225lbs! My class is kick butt and your handbalancing course is one of my secret weapons.
Best regards,
Jon Burroughs
Crowstand AKA Frogstand or Knees-on-Elbows Stand
Not everyone may want to be able to do a one handed handstand or a planche, but I think everyone should be capable of holding a handstand at least against a wall. And with a bit more practice the free standing handstand is not too difficult.
The benefits of working on these basic skills make them worth it for virtually anyone.
This is something I discussed in the teleseminar with Jim Bathurst last night.
You need to choose how far you want to go. You can reach the basic skills in a relatively short time, especially if you train smart. It also won’t take much time. But if you want to go for the advanced skills, realize that you’re going to have to prove your dedication. (The proper roadmap and coaching on these is now next to essential.)
For the basics or advanced skills I try to offer the best resources available. There may even be some more personal help available soon…
Stay tuned for that and I’ll also be providing a few more takeaways from that call soon.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Hand Balancing Tips, Handstands, Pictures by on Mar 24th, 2010. Comment.
The One Arm Handstand
Today I’ll be giving you a tip towards working on a one arm handstand. I’ve been doing this hand balancing skill a lot lately.
Professor Orlick lists it as one of the lead-up stunts to the one arm handstand. And this one utilizes both arms. What is it? It’s the handstand done on the fists.
Now how does this help with the one arm handstand? As explained in How to do the One Hand Handstand:
Handstand on Fists
“Now, lean forward and very carefully kick your feet up into the handstand position. Do this easily and gently because your base will be even smaller than before and you won’t have the use of your fingertips to help hold you up. If you kick too hard you are liable to topple right over. At first, the weight of your body resting on your knuckles will probably hurt but just grin and bear it for soon you will get used to it. Once again be sure to stretch up as high as you can and lock-out at the elbows and shoulders and point your toes up toward the ceiling. The position is shown quite clearly to the right in No. 22. Like the others, this too is a fine lead-up stunt so keep it up until you master it.”
The reason this can help move you toward the one arm handstand is that you’ll get use to balancing on a smaller base of support. You just can’t apply the hand pressure you can in a normal handstand when you’re on your fists. A small amount of wrist pressure can be used but you must learn to keep your body stable and balance from the shoulders.
Mixed with other lead-up stunts and the proper progression this will help you eventually reach the one arm handstand. For much more check out the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Hand Balancing Tips, One Hand Handstand, Pictures by on Feb 12th, 2010. 1 Comment.
I figured I’d dive into the email file and answer a few questions today.
“I’ve been working on the one armed handstand pushup and have gotten one armed handstand planks. Do you have any tips for faster progression with the one armed handstand pushup. I’m at partial ROM at the moment.”
Jesse
First off congratulations Jesse, you are much further along then most everyone, including myself.
I can’t give you my personal experience as I haven’t got to that point yet. But I can offer what others have said will work.
The basics of progressing from two hands to one would be to use your off hand less and less. You can do this by raising it on an object or just using less pressure (like going on to the fingertips. This way your ‘working’ arm must do more work.
For more on the one hand handstand pushup I recommend you check out the book Convict Conditioning by a man who was able to work up to this awesome move. You can read my full Convict Conditioning review here.
“I only started hand balancing because I thought it will make me taller??? I’m 16 and 5′9 will I be 6 ft if I do hand balancing???”
Naqib
This is the first time I got this question. And its interesting. Does hand balancing make you taller? Probably not. Hand balancing and inversion can offer many benefits and keep the spine straight and aligned. This probably won’t make you taller but it certainly won’t make you shorter. Considering that you’re young its likely that you’ll still keep growing.
“I have been practicing handstands for 3 years. I probably practiced it the wrong way because I can barely hold it for 5 seconds. What can I do to extend the life of my handstands?”
Brian
Don’t mean to be harsh but yes you must be doing something wrong. It took me about a year to work up to thirty seconds and I think that was too long!
You must be neglecting something basic like keeping the body tight. Without seeing you do a handstand I can’t advise you better than that. No matter what it is though, I encourage you to revisit the lead-up stunts as described in the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start Guide.
Sir I am practicing yoga since 1 & 1/2 years. I can do difficult postures excluding this handstand. In yoga all boys generally perform curved Handstand instead of straight Handstand. Sir I have one question, What is the role of our back while performing handstand? Is it responsible for balancing Or Handstand is only depends on power in our hands? Also I am 20 year old. I listened that age is one of the barrier in practicing the handstand. Is it true? If possible Please tell me sir, at what age you have started the Handstand?
Aniruddha
Whether you have a straight or curved handstand the back is not involved in the balance. IT is used to keep you stable, but you do not arch more or less in order to stay balanced. Balancing comes from the hands and also the shoulders. (For beginners I recommend keeping the shoulders immobile and focusing on the hands.)
As for age there’s a few things going on. Kids are better off at gaining skills. They have more myelin which allows them to gain skills quickly. And by starting early you have more time to build your skill. (Full details on this can be found on the Skill and How to Build It CD found in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.)
They also weigh less and are closer to the ground. So yes, younger people are much better off at hand balancing. But age is no barrier. You can become good, even great, if you’re dedicated.
That’s enough questions for today. Pay attention to the next post for something special. Until then…
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Handstand Pushups, Handstands, One Hand Handstand, Strength by on Jan 25th, 2010. 2 Comments.
The planche is one of hand balancing’s most advanced moves. In this video you’ll discover one tip on planche progression.
This is just one of four methods that is included in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course. Be sure to check that out for many more details on not just planche progression but so much more.
Even beginners can get started working on the tuck planche. Once that’s stable its just a matter of opening up the hips more and more each time.
But don’t think you’ll master this skill overnight. It takes tremendous strength all across the body.
For more details on this be sure to check out this other post on planche progression.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Exercises, Hand Balancing Tips, Planche, Videos by on Jan 20th, 2010. Comment.
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.
Filed under Exercises, Flexibility, Hand Balancing Tips by on Jan 11th, 2010. 1 Comment.
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
Filed under Exercises, Flexibility, Hand Balancing Tips, Handstands, Strength, Videos by on Jan 8th, 2010. 2 Comments.
Merry Christmas!
Regardless of whether you celebrate this holiday or any other this time of year, I’m in the spirit of giving.
I mentioned this before and now its ready. Grab my new interview with Mark Toorock of American Parkour
In just over an hour we covered tons of information from the beginnings of parkour on to how to learn parkour. Here’s a few of the things you’ll discover when you listen:
- The difference between doing Parkour and training Parkour.
- What your fitness level should be before you get started in Parkour. The answer may surprise you…
- Tips on keeping the knees, ankles and other joints healthy so you can train a long time while avoiding crippling injuries.
- What a typical Parkour training session should look like.
- How to find other Parkour practitioners (aka Traceurs) that you can train with.
- Tips on finding places to train (including the legal aspects of doing so).
- The fundamentals you MUST focus on and why neglecting to do so will mean slower progress.
- And much more…
We do talk about the Parkour Tutorial DVD, available here, but besides that its all great content on how to get started learning and training in parkour.
Good Luck and Good Free Running,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Acrobatic Feats, Exercises, Parkour, Tumbling by on Dec 23rd, 2009. Comment.
