This is last notice but I wanted to give you a chance to join the fun.
If you’re on Twitter I’m the guest on a special twitterchat tonight. The topic…hand balancing of course.
You’ll have your chance to ask any questions you want.
All the details can be found at Straight to the Bar.
And make sure you’re following me- StrongmanLogan.
It costs nothing to signup and come ask your questions. If you’re available then be sure to stop by.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Just a quick update today.
Thank you everyone for sending in your parkour questions. We got 16 comments on the last post with some great questions.
And the good news is they’ll be answered. Just got to setup a date and time to do the interview. Look for that coming soon
On another note I threw a new page up on the site. This one was long overdo, containing ideas and need to know info on gift-giving.
If anyone you know has a birthday coming up or during the holidays could benefit from anything available here check it out.
Good Luck and Good Handbalancing,
Logan Christopher
Was just trading emails with Mark Toorock from over at www.americanparkour.com
They’re the ones responsible for the Parkour Tutorial DVD we have available.
I’m not an experienced traceur, though I recognize the similarities in the different arts of hand balancing, tumbling and parkour. And many people learning one want to do them all!
In my opinion, this is the best teaching you’ll get on Parkour fundamentals. Sure there are tons of youtube videos you can find but nothing will cover the details this DVD does.
Anyway, I asked him if he’d be interested in doing a interview and he said yes.
I’m slaving away at some big projects currently which is taking the majority of my time (though it’s a lot of fun too). So before we plan anything more, I wanted to get a feel for how interested you are in the topic.
Is this something you’re into? And if so, what questions do you want to ask?
Leave your comments below. Thanks for taking your time to do so.
Good Luck and Good Free Running,
Logan Christopher
Here you’ll find tips on planche progression.
“I’m 21 years ( physically strong ) I do need to get into Planche. Can you advice me on something to start with ???”
Kenji
I have not built myself up to doing the planche. Haven’t really worked on it much.
But I can give you a variety of drills and methods to build it up, proven by a number of other people who have had success. The basic planche progression is to increase the leverage of the movement little bit by little bit.
That is going from a tucked position to a straddle and finally a complete planche. When you get good at one position, building the strength and skill to do it, you move onto the next.
I first learned about this method from Coach Sommer. In his article below you’ll get many more details on this planche progression. Plus it also covers the front lever.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
A One Hand Balance in the Old Style
Here’s a question from Matthew on the difficulties and progression of advanced hand balancing skills.
“What would say is the difficulty of a planche vs a handstand, one handed handstand, 2 man planche, how should I be progressing if I am fairly competent in all of these skills?”
Each skill is very different from the next. The skill and strength it takes to do a planche is very different from that it takes to do a one handed handstand. Some people will find certain skills harder then others and to give them arbitrary difficulties wouldn’t really help.
But as a basic idea so you can know what you’re getting yourself into I would say the one hand handstand (and the planche too) are about 100 times as difficult as the two hand handstand.
How should you be progressing? The same as everyone else. Whether you are working on a basic handstand or and advanced skill like the one arm handstand you can progress by adding a second at a time.
If you are competent at the skills you listed, first off, congratulations. You are doing great. If you want to know where to go from that point there is a wide variety of options.
You can work on a one handed planche. You can learn to hop on one hand. How about a tiger bend? And if that’s easy try it on one arm!
(By the way, all these skills are found in The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing.)
The sky is the limit. Just keep progressing. It’s the name of the game.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher.
This question from Paul concerns planche pushups training.
“From a beginners perspective, what exercises would you recommend to working into a full planche pushup?”
That depends entirely on how much of a beginner you are. If you are really just starting out there is going to be a ton of work before you get to the planche and finally a planche pushup.
Suffice to say, you’ll need a strong planche before you can approach doing planche pushups.
There are two drills that come to mind to help on the pushup portion. Even if you can’t do the planche yet you will be able to do this planche pushup training and get started.
One involves having a friend hold onto your feet. Now, you don’t merely want to do pushups in this position. That would make this nothing more then an elevated pushup. Instead, lean far forward in advanced of your hands, that is to assume a planche position.
With your partner holding your feet you won’t have to support all your weight, but the goal is to do as much as you can on your own.
From this position you do your assisted planche pushups. The key is to do low reps and really maximize the effort that goes into each one.
The second drill is similar though it doesn’t require a partner. This is to do what are known as pseudo-planche pushups. You get on the ground and get into a normal pushup position.
Like before, you will lean forward so your shoulders are forward of your hands. Your feet are on the ground but you will be working in a similar planche position.
There are other methods but these will help you out big time. Along with them you’ll really need to be training your planche and making it strong.
Much more on the planche can be found in The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Rafael Guerrero's Block Building Handstand
One very impressive handstand stunt is to raise yourself off the ground by block building.
Start in a handstand with a stack of bricks or similar objects nearby. Shift over to one hand and grab a block with the other. Set that block down, shift your weight onto that arm then repeat on the other side. You build yourself up one block at a time.
This is an advanced skill as you’ll have to be in a one arm handstand much of the time even in just momentarily.
But its sure to impress anyone watching. And once you reach the top you can go down the same way or maybe jump off your blocks.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. The Halloween Sale is going strong. Check out how you can save on all hand balancing and acrobatic programs here.
Today’s question addresses how to build a longer handstand.
“Is it possible to add 2 seconds to my hand balancing every week? If it is how long would I have to practise for weekly?”
Lucy
I think this is a great way to approach holding a handstand longer. Set a goal to add two seconds each week. It is certainly a reasonable goal and should easily be accomplished.
If you practiced each day you could start off just working on the handstand. When you did reach your goal for the remaining days in the week you could work on other skills. Once the new week comes you again try to add two seconds.
Overall, I don’t think it would require much time but this does depend on where you are at. If you are stuck at six seconds that is different then being stuck at two minutes.
This same approach would work well for any timed hold you are seeking to increase.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Don’t forget The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups has just been released and is selling strong. Get your copy and be on the way to much more strength.
Here is a great question on the value of walking on hands versus standing on them.
“Hey Logan I just now started to do the frogstand and I can do it for a long time. I’ve been learning the handstand and couldn’t find my balance and I can walk all the way down my hall on my hands but I cant hold a handstand and Its frustrating so I stuck to walking on my hands. I’m gonna start practicing my frogstands right now. Is there any other things I could do to work on my balance for a handstand?”
Marcus
I recommend that anyone getting started with the handstand attempts to not walk around but instead finds the balance and holds the position on the hands.
You see, how you balance while walking on your hands can be entirely different then how you balance while standing on your hands. The first when you come out of balance you step to get back in balance. So your balance is maintained by moving around your body.
When standing on your hands you maintain your balance by keeping the body in a certain range that can be balanced by the hands and arms. If you start to fall out of balance you shift the pressure to keep your body up.
Doing this is tough. That’s why I recommend using lead-up stunts to teach you how to balance. The frogstand is great for teaching you hand balancing while in an easier position with your body low to the ground.
Other moves that help you build balance, different from the frog stand, include the headstand and forearm stand. If you can’t do these easier stunts well then you definitely should not be attempting the handstand yet.
Full details on these and other helpful stunts can be found in the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start DVD.
Learning how to balance your body will in the end make walking around that much easier.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups is now available.
I know a number of you have been waiting for it, and for the launch you can get it now for $10 off the regular price.
Those who ordered during the pre-publication offer should already have their copies, or at least they are on the way.
For those of you that missed out, now’s your chance.
You can see the full details on handstand pushups here.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. The main focus of this guide is one building strength, but Chapter 10 that covers the freestanding handstand pushup as well. Get your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups.
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