Handstand

I have been doing gymnastics for 18 years, Dance for 10 years, Crossfit for 2 years, and now I have been the Head Coach at my gymnastics gym for 4 years.  Even as a kid I loved being upside down.  I guess I liked seeing the world from a different view, or maybe I liked the blood rushing to my head.  But out of all the things you learn in gymnastics I love the handstand the most.       

Handstands have been around for many years.  They are used in gymnastics, yoga, sometimes dance, and most recently Crossfit.  Handstands can even have different personalities, such as the way you manipulate your legs or arms.  Handstand can be done on your elbows, one elbow on the floor and the other on your hand, and even one arm once you are really good at two arms. Handstands are one of the most important strength element in gymnastics. In the USA Gymnastics committee they actually have strength testing that holding handstands for a minute without the wall is a requirement.  Some people use Handstand walking as a strength element, such as Crossfitters and yogis, which poses as a stretch as well as a stress reliever.      

Joe Martino from Collective Evolution mentions, “Doing a handstand everyday can reduce stress, because blood is brought to the adrenal glands and helps to slow the production of a stress hormone, called cortisol.  It also improves strength, body awareness, and balance”. Krista Stryker from MindBodyGreen once said, “Just because you didn't do gymnastics when you were younger and aren't yet an advanced yoga practitioner doesn't mean you can't start doing handstands starting today.”  Now today I’m going to explain how to do a handstand, so you can practice it at home.  

First you are going to need a few things before you start.

1. A carpeted floor, grass or pillow, so that if your arms give out, get tired, or even to just make you feel safer, until your strength builds up or you feel comfortable.
2. A wall, so you can learn how to get into a handstand, and so you can build up your strength to do it without.

Now that you know what you will need, you are going to learn how to exit a handstand safely.

The most important thing to know how to do is to be able to come back to the ground.

1. The first way to come down is through a forward roll. ( This can be done by tucking your chin into your chest, bending your arm, and rolling forward so that your shoulders touch the down first
   
   
2. The second way to come down is by stepping down. (This is done by splitting your legs apart and putting one foot down first, then the other.)
   
   
3. The third way to come down is to tuck down. ( This is done my pulling you knees into your chest and then putting both feet on the ground at the same time.

Now that you know the Safety Basics, let’s build our handstand.

• Stomach facing the wall. You then put your feet up on the wall and walk your hands back to try to touch your noes to the wall.  Nose and toes are the only body parts allowed to touch. 
• The best way to come out of this is to do a forward roll, but you can always walk your hands back out and do any of the other two techniques to come down.  
• Sometimes you will have to stay at this first step to build up your strength and courage.
• A lot of the time people go back to the wall even if they have it on the floor, so that they can build up their strength to learn how to hold it longer.

• When you start doing it without the wall, start by putting your hands on the ground, and kicking one foot up so that they meet together at the top, and you can coming down with any of the techniques that you prefer.
• Once you are comfortable with learning how to do it on the floor you can always go back to the wall to learn how to hold it longer and you can start with 10seconds and building yourself up to a minute.

• You can walk on your hands, by just starting to take a few steps forward and a few steps back.
• You can balance on your elbows
• You can also hold your handstands with your legs in different positions, such as tuck or a straddle.
• If you are really good and you can hold it without the wall at least for a minute or longer, then you can try one arm handstand.

So my goal today was to teach you how to do a handstand, so it can be practiced at home.  We went over what you will need, how to come down safely, and how to properly do a handstand.  So I hope you guys have a better understanding on how to do a handstand, and you guys can now see the world from upside down.