/r/handbalancing

Photograph via snooOG

A forum for people interested in hand balancing (handstands, planches, etc.)

/r/Handbalancing is a sub for all people interested in anything that involves balancing on the hands. Handstands, planches, elbow levers, it all belongs here. More info can be found by clicking here.

How to get started

Click here to read how to get started.

Webchat

Click here for the online chat. Alternatively, you can connect to #handbalancing at irc.snoonet.org using your IRC client.

Rules (click for details)

  1. Be constructive and realistic.
  2. Posts must be discussion oriented.
  3. Title your posts properly.
  4. No advertising.
  5. No medical advice.

Non-rules

  1. Spirit of the rules over the actual rules.
  2. This isn't a professional thing.
  3. It's okay to talk about as long as it's sorta on-topic.

Recurring threads

  • Chit-chat, every friday

/r/handbalancing

32,931 Subscribers

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/11/01
08:00 UTC

5

Advice for getting my standing press handstand back?

So, I used to be able to hold a 2 minute handstand (video)and do a press handstand (from standing, not sitting), and now I can only hold a handstand for ~30 seconds (can't do a press handstand). I want to try to get back into handstands again! So, I'm going to hold a handstand for as long as I can every day, and spend 10 or so minutes doing handstand drills (mainly just handstand holds for various intervals with breaks). So far I'm on day 2. Do you think I can build back up without any other training, like lifting weights?

8 Comments
2024/11/01
01:00 UTC

2

Right wrist still in paint after physio (twice), wrist brace, wrist mobility exercises and warm-ups etc..

Please direct me to an appropriate subreddit if this is the wrong one for me question, apologies in advance.

I have been wanting to do handstanding training on and off for 2 years and I can't be even remotely consistent as I keep having pain on my right wrist. I've gone to two physios and neither have been able to help (second seemed promising then i kept doing his exercises and saw zero improvement in pain with handstanding after a month of "rehab")

The physios exercises consisted of wrist curls to begin with, with an emphasis on the negative (this was for the paint on my lateral wrist (ulnar side), and reverse curls (as doing curls would cause pain on the medial side of wrist).

The physio said something about my right forearm being much tighter and stronger than my left, probably due to a compensation when doing pull-ups.

Wrist mobility seems to do nothing and makes my wrist feel worse the next day or two when I go to do mobility again.

Wrist guard works in the moment at preventing pain, but then it seems it makes it worse the next day or several.

Please if someone can point me in a better direction, I would greatly appreciate it.

One more piece of background, I went to get an xray and nothing but the ultra sounds showed i had;

"mild tenosynovitis" and "mild median nerve enlargement"

2 Comments
2024/10/31
18:55 UTC

5

One Arm Handstand Training Split - Looking for Feedback

I'm currently training for a one arm handstand and would love some feedback on my training split. I train hand balancing 4-6 times per week (not on fixed days), focusing on different aspects each session.

Current Split:

Day 1: Weight Shifting Focus

  • 20 total sets of weight shifts (10 each side)
  • Each set: Shift weight to one side, hold 10 seconds, come down
  • Rest between sets as needed

Day 2: Endurance Work

  • 10 handstand holds at 40-60% of max hold time
  • 3 wall holds
  • Focus on quality and consistency

Day 3: Weight Shifting Focus

  • Repeat Day 1 protocol
  • Same structure: 20 total sets, 10 seconds each

Day 4: Conditioning & Mobility

  • Shoulder opening & strengthening work
  • Pancake mobility drills
  • Middle split progression work

Additional Training

  • Handstand push-ups 1-2x per week (separate from main hand balancing work)

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

4 Comments
2024/10/28
00:08 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/10/25
07:00 UTC

6

How do you handstand on paralettes?

I've been practicing handstands for a few months and I've gotten to the point where I can kick up 100% of the time and manage to balance for a few seconds without hitting the wall. I wanted to start using low paralettes since in the future I want to handstand on high bars and learn L sit to handstands. My problem here is I can't kick up to handatand on paralettes, as I always lose balance mid kick and my arms feel unstable even though, since I also do street lifting, my arms are quite strong. Do you have any suggestions or drills I could use to fix this? I also think fear may be a factor because I feel like paralettes could easily slide out of place even if they have anti slip bits underneath

5 Comments
2024/10/21
09:11 UTC

2

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/10/18
07:00 UTC

3

Shoulder Rotation in Handstand (crosspost from r/bodyweightfitness)

Hey guys, just a quick question. I wanted to play around with shoulder rotation while holding a handstand to give me another tool for balancing.

When I'm in the handstand and I try to rotate my elbow pits forwards, the right one moves no problem but I can't get the left to do anything at all. Works fine on a table/ floor, but as I walk up the wall around halfway I can't get the left elbow pits to rotate to point out at all. The right seems fine.

No history of injury, and haven't noticed an imbalance in anything before. Any ideas on what might be going on, or any exercise to strengthen this? I'm not even sure what it is I should be stengthening to be honest.

Thanks guys.

4 Comments
2024/10/17
02:00 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/10/11
07:00 UTC

2

Yuri Marmerstein Online Workshop?

Hi everyone,

I’ve struggled to conquer my freestanding handstand for quite some time, due to lack of a somewhat structured path. I know there are several online resources that could guide me for free but I stumbled upon Yuri’s 2h workshop (https://joinreps.com/)

Anyone has done it? Opinions? Am I wasting time? I know the guy is a proper master, just not sure if it’s worth the investment

4 Comments
2024/10/10
19:22 UTC

3

Tips for crooked handstand?

Hey all! Wanted to get some advice. I’ve been training handstands for about 3 months now, and have recently gotten upwards of ~1 minute holds.

I had my wife take a picture of my form the other day, and I noticed how crooked I am. I tried a few tweaks like pushing more through one arm or another, and trying to l move my feet left or right. Neither of those efforts resulted in a straight line. I’m wondering if I’m shrugging less on one side, or perhaps have a flexibility issue in one shoulder?

Does anyone know what I should do to improve this? My goal is to start working towards a OAHS, but I want to make sure my fundamentals are locked in first.

https://imgur.com/a/INU5ows

14 Comments
2024/10/10
15:25 UTC

0

steps to handstand/splits

I'm interested in what steps and movements should one master before being able to do handstands and spltis, Im practicing combat grappling sports and find the mobility, stability, flexibly and strength that gymnastics give you really fascinating and would love to incorporate gymnastics training into my workouts. any idea what might be helpful to me?

1 Comment
2024/10/08
02:53 UTC

0

Experimenting with AI: Handstand Coach 🤖🤸‍♂️

Hey everyone! I've been experimenting with AI and developed an AI Handstand Coach. The idea is to create a cycle of improvement: generate a workout based on your current skill level and goals, master it, then come back to generate a new, more challenging workout as you progress.

I'm still in the early stages and would love to get some feedback from the community. If anyone is interested in doing a 30-minute user interview, I'd be happy to offer 6 months free Pro access to the Handstand Quest App as a thank you! The coupon code will be provided after the interview is completed.

Here’s a quick explanation with video on how it works.

Any thoughts or feedback are very welcome. Let me know if you'd be up for a chat!

9 Comments
2024/10/05
19:54 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/10/04
07:00 UTC

2

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/09/27
07:00 UTC

3

OAHS confuses me

I'm at a stage in my OAHS journey where I can consistently get 1s - 3s holds (not slow falling but actual holds) but most of the times I fall because of leg rotation. I can't figure out why rotation happens in the OAHS. I tried playing with various amounts of tension in the legs, hips and glutes as well as leg postioning but I still fall so I figure the problem might be located elsewhere. Could it be the shoulders?

Another problem is I often fall back on my feet because straddling my legs leads to a big hip pike and tends to shift my balance too far back. What do you guys do to avoid that? If I try to open my hips on purpose it decreases connection with my lower body thus making rotation even more likely.

1 Comment
2024/09/21
12:12 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/09/20
07:00 UTC

2

hand orientation

Do you keep your hands slightly turned in, neutral, or slightly turned out for handstands? Someone once told me in a workshop I took as a beginner to turn them in slightly and I’ve been doing that ever since without question (idk why I never questioned in until now, 3 years later) and I have achieved a lot since then, but now I’m being told by a different mentor that the most efficient way is neutral, but that turned in is actually harder. Maybe it doesn’t matter all that much lol. Just curious about feedback and opinions on this!!

8 Comments
2024/09/20
01:53 UTC

3

OAHS Form Advice

Hey guys, I've been training OAHS for 2 months now. I can hold a two-arm HS for about 2 minutes consistently and thought it would be fun to take the plunge into learning the OAHS.

I have a rotation issue as you can see which was my main reason for making this post, however any advice about my form in general would be greatly appreciated!

https://youtube.com/shorts/n-Nlhq4h1ks

6 Comments
2024/09/17
09:47 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/09/13
07:00 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/09/06
07:00 UTC

23

Can't believe I'm getting there!

I don't know where else to post this or who to tell in my life, but after over one year of consistent weekly practice with a coach and some training at home, I'm finally getting there! My form is good, my strength is improving and I can't wait to leave the wall soon and do more stuff moving around and such. It's been a loooong journey and for a long time it didn't feel like anything was happening, I plateaued for months.

And now to finally see progress and improvement, I'm just so so happy. Can't wait to see what's next. It's so difficult to explain this to people because it doesn't look like much on the outside and you cannot really explain all the work that goes into it, the frustration and the joy of holding just a few seconds longer.

Thanks for reading and I'd be happy to read about your journeys towards your handstands!

4 Comments
2024/09/04
07:34 UTC

5

Seeking to connect with fellow handstand teachers/enthusiasts/studios frequently offering handstand workshops in Denver metro area

Including Colorado Springs, Castle Rock and anywhere on/within the Colorado front range really! I used to train in a pretty robust handstand community in my hometown and I miss it. I am a yoga teacher and a handstand coach, I offer handstand workshops at the studios I teach at and I'm looking to attend some as a student :) thanks in advance!

3 Comments
2024/08/30
15:34 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/08/30
07:00 UTC

15

Any professional acrobats or hand balancers here?

I've always wondered if this sub is mostly calisthenics people or gymnasts or acrobats or just hobbyists. Are there any people here who have a career specialising in handstands?

Super curious about your story. How long did it take to learn to hand balancing? Did you have a gymnastics background prior? What are some of the types of jobs you've worked on?

10 Comments
2024/08/25
01:49 UTC

6

How do you keep your full palm on the floor in a handstand?

I'm teaching myself hand balancing and am learning mainly off a mix of online videos and trial and error. My current issue is getting the metacarpal area of my palm flat on the floor so I am balancing on my fingers and the heel of my palm missing out the centre. Many videos discuss the proper finger and hand placement but I haven't found a solution to my specific problem. If you have any tips, please let me know.

22 Comments
2024/08/24
15:35 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/08/23
07:00 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

1 Comment
2024/08/16
07:00 UTC

7

How much effort are you good handbalancers holding the hollow hold when holding the handstand?

I've noticed I'm not holding a hollow hold great when I'm holding (probably why I'm not consistent) but I'm wondering how much of effort you guys are using when holding a straight line handstand? I feel like it's easier when everything is align but squeezing my ass and legs and pushing my shoulders out with my and tight( feels like a lot of effort at least rn

4 Comments
2024/08/15
01:27 UTC

1

Weekly chit-chat thread

How was your week?

0 Comments
2024/08/09
07:00 UTC

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