How to learn to stand and walk on your hands

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It seems to many that only trained athletes can stand on their hands. But this is easier than it sounds. Lifehacker shares secrets that will help you quickly learn to walk and stand on your hands.

What it takes to stand on your hands

You don't have to plow six hours a week in the gym to stand on your hands, but physical fitness is still important. There are several criteria by which you can evaluate yourself.

Strong shoulders

If you can pull up on a horizontal bar at least five times or do ten push-ups, you have strong enough shoulders and arms to stand on your hands and even walk a few steps. Here are some exercises for building your shoulders in the gym.

Flexible wrists

Try the following test: Stretch your arms out in front of you, bend your wrists, and point your palms towards each other with your fingers. If the angle at the wrist is 90 degrees or so, you have ample joint mobility. For people with limited wrist mobility, it is best to first stretch and strengthen them.

Core and balance

Core strength is directly related to balance. Try the following asana. Stand up straight with your feet together. Tilt your torso parallel to the floor, lift your leg and extend your arms forward so that the leg and arms are parallel to the floor. Stand in this position for 30 seconds. If you succeed, then you have strong enough core muscles. If not, exercises to develop them will help you.

If everything is in order for you, you can move on to training. The first thing to do is warm up.

Warm up is a must

If you don't stretch your shoulders and wrists, they will hurt. One of the types of warm-up is to raise the fists from the wrists. Also, before handstand, you need to pay attention to the hands. Here's a little warm-up for the wrists and shoulders:

If your wrists are unaccustomed, wrap elastic bandages around your hands or use special wristbands. Over time, the discomfort will disappear.

Learning to stand in the middle of the hall, not against the wall

Surely you will be scared, but it is better not to start at the wall. When you stand on your hands against the wall, you immediately push off the floor so that you lean against the wall, that is, much stronger than you need to find balance.

I tried to stand against the wall when I had already learned to stand without support. Feelings are completely different. Even if you already know how to keep your balance, next to the wall you always lean on it with your feet, at least with your toes. Therefore, it is better to try right away in the middle of the hall. This will help you catch a sense of balance faster.

Just check right away that you do not touch any objects during the exercise. If you're really scared, try the forearmstand first.

The forearm stand will help you to believe in yourself

If, for fear of falling back on the floor, you can't push off hard enough to get upright, try a forearm stand. It will help you strengthen your shoulders and believe in yourself.

This is a simpler and less scary version of the handstand: put your forearms on the floor, push off with your feet and catch balance. In such a stance, the shoulders are much more tired, but it is easier to catch the balance in it. Try to perform it several times against the wall, then move to the middle of the hall. As soon as you can stand for 10–20 seconds, move on to a straight arm stand.

The main secret is shoulders over arms

When your arms are just below your shoulders, it is much easier to find balance and keep your body upright.

Before entering a stance, bring your shoulders forward so that they are clearly above your hands or even a little further. From this position, push off and get up.

If the problem is that you don't have a strong enough push, practice getting out of the rack.

Learning to get out of the rack when it falls back

When you feel yourself starting to fall back:

1. Turn the body to the side and jump to the side, as in the video below. It's not scary and safe at all.

2. Bend your legs and take a few steps with your arms forward, arching your body in an arc. In this case, you will shift the center of gravity and fall not on your back, but on your feet.

The latter option is a great way to do your first hands-on steps.

How to learn to walk on your arms

Walking on your hands requires a little more strength in the shoulder girdle. If you have already learned how to maintain balance, it will be much easier for you. Stand in a handstand, bend your legs, or just push them slightly forward

The center of gravity will shift, you will be guided forward. Fingering with your hands, then you will take a few steps. Over time, you will learn to walk more and not fall.

The main thing is to believe in yourself

I learned to stand on my hands in a week, doing it for 5-10 minutes a day. At the same time, about six months ago, I also tried to study, but the attempts were in vain. Looking back, I see two big errors:

• I learned to stand against the wall, leaning on it with my feet. In this position, you will not understand how much you need to push off the floor in order to find balance. Therefore, all the time I leaned on my feet, dangled back and forth and could not find a stable point.
• I thought it was very difficult and it would take a long time to train. But recently I learned how to snowboard and balance on a special board. After that, I realized that my balance was okay. After a short training session, I was able to catch a balance in a handstand.

Therefore, I concluded that the most important thing is to believe that you can.