We all know that squats are a foundational human movement (check-out the TSTM April 2020 squat challenge), but did you know that handstands are one of the foundational movements in bodyweight training?
If we're unable to perform an unweighted air squat with perfect form, we will be unable to execute loaded variations like back squats, front squats, overhead squats and Olympic lifts with optimal form. Failing to prioritise foundational movement patterns leads to poor execution, injuries, and suboptimal performance. Building a solid handstand is an essential part of bodyweight training and a stepping stone to further advanced gymnastics and callisthenics movements such as tuck handstands, straddle handstands, handstand push-ups, and the one arm handstand.
The handstand requires high levels of body awareness, good mobility, muscle endurance, and a shit tone of patience. Unfortunately, most people fail to achieve a quality freestanding handstand because they're not willing to dedicate both the time and energy into training it.
The handstand is one skill that should be trainer almost every day if you desire to become proficient. Constant handstand practice and refinement of handstand technique will yield consistent rewards over time, it's all about the accumulation.
So where do you start?
From the ground up is usually a good idea. In the case of the handstand, the hands and wrists are one of the key starting points for beginners.
How wide do you place your hards?
Are the hands flat on the floor?
Do you turn the fingers inwards or outwards?
There are many different hand placement options in the handstand and once you’ve built a solid foundation you can start to explore different hand positions for more advanced variations.
What is the optimal hand position for those who are learning to handstand, or for those who have not yet accomplished a 60second freestanding handstand?
Three tips on optimal hand placement for beginners:
1. Hand width - the wider you place your hands on the floor, the harder the handstand is to hold as more force is placed into the muscles of the shoulders. However, the closer the hands are placed together the more shoulder mobility is required. Beginners often place their hands wider because they lack the required shoulder flexion and external rotation to bring the hands closer together. The optimal hand-width when learning the handstand is shoulder-width apart.
The distance from the tip of your elbow to the tip of your middle finger is called a cubit. A cubit is roughly equal to your shoulder-width. If you place your left forearm flat on the floor, you can mark out the hand placement width by placing the middle finger of the right hand on the floor in line with the middle finger fingernail of the left hand. Next place the middle finger of the left hand in line with the tip of the left elbow.
If this cubit-width hand placement causes wrist pain, makes it impossible to straighten the arms (lock the elbows), or limits shoulder flexion to less than 180* in the handstand, you will need to spend more time working on your wrist, shoulder and thoracic mobility.
2. Hand rotation - have you noticed if you turn your hands inwards or outwards while performing handstands? The optimal starting position for hand rotation is to have the index fingers pointing forward. Often beginners turn their fingers out to the sides due to a lack of wrist and shoulder mobility. By turning the hands out the wrist extension and shoulder external rotation demands become less, but this comes at a cost to stability.
Wrist extension is often lacking, especially in people who spend a lot of time with the wrists in flexion while using their computer and phone. Wrist extension mobility is critical to handstands, and I recommend you always, always, always warm up your wrists before training the handstands. When balancing on the hands, the fingers, wrists, and forearms control the entire body weight, just like the toes, ankles, calves and shine do when we are standing.
Shoulder external rotation is also a key factor in building a strong upper body. Limited shoulder external rotation strength and mobility impacts both pushing and pulling strength. Improving shoulder external rotation will not only increase your handstand potential but also increase the strength and endurance of movements like pull-ups, push-ups, overhead press, and bench press.
If you struggle to perform a handstand with the index fingers pointing forward, you must focus on improving wrist extension and shoulder external rotation.
3. Grip the floor - the stability of your handstand is directly affected by your grip strength. You might find it hard to believe, but the base of the handstand is supported by your ability to grip the floor. If you have poor hand strength, you will struggle to hold a quality handstand.
Often beginners place their hands flat on the floor to obtain the largest area of contact with the floor. On paper, this seems to make sense, but in the world of handstands, a flat hand give you very little stability. The optimal position for handstand is to have cambered hands. This hand position allows you to generate more tension in your hands, enabling stronger, more precise corrections that are useful for controlling handstand re-balancing.
You begin by placing the hands flat on the floor. You then drag the index finger and the middle finger back towards the palm of the hand. The palm of the hand, the first knuckle of all fingers, and the fingertips all stay connected to the floor. The second knuckle of the index finger and the middle finger are bent. If you're falling foreword in the handstand, you can dig your fingertips into the floor to push the bodyweight back. If you are falling backwards, try to push the palms of the hands into the floor and lift the fingers off the floor to shift the bodyweight forward. You will not physically be able to lift the fingers off the floor, but the intention forces the wrist into extension and help to shift the bodyweight back into alignment over the centre of the hands.
What about handstand on parallettes?
When performing a handstand on parallettes, the hand width remains the same, but the hand rotation and grip are different.
The hands are naturally turned out 90* on the parallettes which decreases the wrist extension and shoulder external rotation demands. Handstands on parallettes are easier than handstand with the hands on the floor, especially for those who have limited wrist and overhead shoulder mobility. However, consistently performing handstands on parallettes will not improve the limitations in the wrists and shoulders. You will have the chance to train handstand alignment and balance, but your floor handstand will require you to work on your weakness.
The grip on the parallettes in very different to the grip on the floor. Your forearms and hands will get stronger in radial and ulnar flexion, but this won’t carry over to the strength required for floor handstand.
I still like to use the parallettes to train handstand as you can still learn a lot from a handstand on the parallettes.
Hand Placement Summary
Hand-width, hand rotation and grip strength are the three most important aspects for setting up the hands for the optimal beginners handstand. Having an awareness of these three key points give you, and your coach, the ability to uncover any upper body limitations that are impacting your handstand training. These limitations can then be isolated and over time, corrected by accessory exercises. Failing to correct the limitations will impact your handstand journey to the point that you may never reach a quality handstand. It can be hard to drop the ego and take the steps required to build strong foundations, but those who take a step back often come flying past those who try to continue marching forward.
I hope you’ve found this blog post and accompanying video useful. If you have any further questions, or you would like to start working on your handstand limitation, please visit our YouTube channel or contact us about online training.