Kick Up to Handstand – How to Get into It

A handstand is a great exercise that can improve balance and strengthen your upper body. This form of gymnastic movement can be hard to pull off if you can’t support the full weight of your body using just your hands. And this could be a problem, especially for beginners.

Kick Up to Handstand – How to Get into It

As a result, doing a handstand against the wall is a beginner’s journey into properly learning how to handstand. You will need to start by leaning against walls constantly so that you can take the weight off properly from your necks or hands.

Handstands against the wall have many obvious benefits. It can strengthen your free stand holds and push-ups during a handstand movement. Since it is challenging for beginners, in this article, we will highlight the basics of warming up properly for it, how to kick up into a handstand against the wall, and building handstand strength.

The Basics of Warming Up

Just like every other gymnastic exercise, it is important to warm up your body properly and ensure you are ready to use your hands to support your weight. To achieve this, you can do the following drills for start-ups:

1. Four Way Wrist Stretches 

Handstands can put pressure on the wrists as your hands struggle to carry your weight. Therefore, this warm-up will strengthen your wrist muscles. In position one, you get your knees and hands to face forward with your elbows in a straight position and your weight slightly stretching your wrists.

In position two, you can position both hands outwards. Then slowly adjust your weight with your elbow straight. In position three, you will move your hands backward, then gently lean forward and backward.

The last position is also known as a gorilla wrist stretch. Here you can put both hands on the floor with your fingers facing you. Then you can stretch your wrist gently. You must repeat each step six times to gain momentum.

2. Child's Pose Off the Wall

In this warm-up drill, you pose like a child as you lean against the wall. With your hands stretched on it, you’ll sit on your heels. Ensure to have a continuous stretch by extending your hands as you move further on the wall.

How to Build Strength

It is vital to work on strength for this movement as a beginner. It will help to build your confidence so you can properly hold yourself against a wall or without walls. Here are two key building strength drills to kick start with:

1. Wall Walks

This drill is simply walking on walls with your feet. If you still find it hard to turn yourself upside down, you can do a partial walk on walls. Constantly doing this drill will build confidence and strength.

You can start this by lying on your stomach, then place your feet on the wall. Gently push yourself to a push-up position, then slowly move your feet on the wall as your hands move close to the wall. You can put down your feet in the same manner and repeat the procedure till you gain momentum and strength.

2. Seated Kettlebell (KB) Presses 

The KB press is a strength-building shoulder drill. You can read this article to know how to do a seated kettlebell press. As an alternative, you could try a single arm KB press, this time only one hand is focused on control and motion.

How to Kick Up to Handstand Against Walls

Having done warm-ups and strength-building drills, you will want to kick up your handstand against walls. There are three tips to keep in mind as you begin.

1. Get Momentum

To start a handstand against walls, getting momentum is vital. In a sprint, athletes gain momentum during their take-off drill. In the same way, you can start by taking steps away from the wall, then take big steps forward before kicking up your hand against the wall. This will give you a form of float and confidence as you kick up.

2. Arm Lock Out

Before kicking up a handstand against walls, you need to ensure that your arms are locked out. If your arms are not locked out, you will crash or collapse on the floor even before you begin. So, make this easier for yourself by locking out both arms when you are about to start the handstand movement.

The moment your hands are on the floor, your body will flip up. This will only be possible though if your elbows and shoulders are already locked out.

3. Look Through

After your body has successfully flipped against the wall, the next step is to look through your hands. Remember not to look at the floor so you don’t lose focus and balance. Rather, look forward and keep your neck and your head in a straight, neutral position.

Also, to maintain your stability and balance in this upside-down position, you could try pinching your heels on the wall so that your body can remain rigid. You could also stiffen your feet so that your body can become streamlined.

Handstand against the wall encompasses all the components of fitness. The fitness skills are vital if you want to succeed in kicking up a handstand movement. According to Athletpedia, the components must work together so your body can properly handle physical exercise and movements.

Handstand promotes agility, control, balance, and strength which are core fitness skills for healthy living. You can click on https://athletics.fandom.com/wiki/Components_of_Fitness to read more about this. The more balance and control you have as you kick up to a handstand against walls, the more ready you become to kick up a handstand without walls.

Holding a handstand against the wall is one of the most impressive bodyweight movements. It could be challenging at first but with the proper warm-up and strength building drills, you will build confidence to kick up to handstand. Ensure you use the tips in this article as they will help you maintain focus and balance.