Upside Down Club

[Ignis Fatuus]

Not only is hand balancing awesome, it just might be a necessary survival skill in the event of a Clown Apocalypse!

Sign up here

[Haevyn]

Cool, and for those who need the extra push for motivation, there's also a handstand PVP challenge going on now. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/39126-november-5th-december-31st-handstands-pvp/

[QuirkyDM]

¡ÇɯoÉ” I ÇɹÇÉ¥ 'spuÉʇspuÉH Ë™uá´‰ É¯É I

[Mad Hatter]

Yes, come to the PvP! We handstanders need to stick together when the apocalypse comes. Besides, that's where all the cool kids hang out.

[Elastigirl]

Is there still room? I just found this group after Quirky mentioned it. I need to be prepared for the clown apocolypse

[Ignis Fatuus]

Yeah, there's plenty of room.  Only three on the list so far.

[Haevyn]

progress report! I'm maybe about 8 - 10 inches away from the wall now, can hold it around 45 secs?

How are you guys doing?

[QuirkyDM]

I put my progress on my challenge page and the PVP group, and I think we're all in the PVP thread. I was going to link directly to my post, but I can't figure out individual post's URL address.

[Arcanis]

I'll be joining up with you all. I used to be a competitive gymnast so I want to bring those skills back to perfection, and my experience to all of you.

My first tip for handstands: safety! Falling can really hurt and stop your progress in your larger fitness plan. Beware concrete, tile, and other hard surfaces. Try carpet, or mats, or anything you feel comfortable 1) falling to your knees on, or 2) falling on your back on.

Many who are training fear falling on their back more than anything. As a result they never fully extend their bodies because they'd rather fall to their knees. You will want to learn to roll forward when you are about to fall on your back to mitigate any damage. Above all, if you are going to fall onto your back, tuck your chin in, you don't want a neck injury.
 

Hope this helps!

[QuirkyDM]

Hey Silkie,

 

Always great to get advice from experienced users. I've been using the pirouette bail as my escape plan and it is working pretty well for me. That's what got recommended on the Nerd Fitness article that I think all of us are basing our training on.  Though I should video myself sometime to see if I'm extending properly.

 

Welcome to the upside-downers!

[Arcanis]

Piroutte Bail is pretty solid when you don't have softer surfaces. I think its fantastic if you've already developed the joint strength for it. The front roll, however, is going to be your friend if you're arms happen to be bent at the moment of tipping. This'll definitely happen when everyone graduates to handstand pushups (go team)!

[QuirkyDM]

Ahh. I can totally see that. Something to make sure I add to my bag of tricks as I progress, then.

[Arcanis]

Oh and wrist pushups! If you're having a hard time keeping your wrists locked you gotta strengthen them! Warm them up first of course, but make them a part of your daily handstand practice/conditioning.

[Haevyn]

Sudden outpouring of advice is great I'll be sure to try most of them out

[DinoBytes]

still room? can I join?!

[Haevyn]

please do! just add yourself on the excel sheet

[QuirkyDM]

Handstand report from my challenge thread:

2) Handstand. No picture as not much has changed. I've been opening my shoulders as suggested by Mad Hatter on the PVP forum, and I'm pushing off the wall to hold a stand. I can do 3-4 seconds at a time. When I get it to something a little higher, I'll start practicing kick ups. There's still 4 weeks to go, so I can afford to spend more time with fundamentals. Yesterday was the first day I didn't practice though. With my toe, I couldn't even hand walk up the wall and I was pretty worried about landing on it from a pirouette bail, too. My upper back has been tired the last few days, so it might not be a horrible thing to let it recover. I'll hopefully get back in to it today.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Hello everybody!  I know I haven't been posting much lately.  My internet play-time has been pretty limited.  Welcome to the club, new folks!  We almost have a full team now!  Silkie, thanks for the advice.  Any advice on how to learn to roll out of a handstand?  Safety aside, that just sounds like a cooler, more dramatic way to get down.  I learned some basic rolling techniques when I studied aikido a few years ago.  I still practice them because it's fun and has also prevented me from getting injured a few times.  And yes, handstand push ups are definitely in the future! 

[Arcanis]

Dividing it into two steps helps.

1) Learn front roll from headstand, rather than handstand.

2) Practice lowering yourself to headstand from handstand.

Putting them together smoothly, rolling to your upper neck/back instead of your head, you've got a front roll escape.

[DinoBytes]

ooooh I did aikido too! those rolls saved me from what would have been a pretty nasty motorcycle accident. (everyone was okay)

 

for the forward roll, I always tuck my chin in and try to hit the shoulders and roll down my back (kind of like an open somersault) or for you aikido folk, like a shoulder roll starting from the center of your back (and I always get up the same way as well with one leg tucked... makes me feel like a ninja especially if I pivot back and put up guard haha)

 

just to add to silkie's good advice also. keep practicing everyone!

[Haevyn]

Used to do Aikido when I was younger. The sensei absolutely killed us with the number of rolls in every direction

[Ignis Fatuus]

So, I tried rolling out of handstands a few time today.  Pretty sweet as long as you remember to lower yourself some first.  Otherwise it basically turns into a layout, which isn't very fun on a hard floor, especially if you aren't expecting it.

[DinoBytes]

Excellent! (yeeeahh I would reccommend a few solid practice rolls on carpet before graduating to hardwood) but hey, solid work my friend!

[QuirkyDM]

How is the progress going everyone? We're all accountable to one another right? Time for some accountability, then!

 

I've been working on holding my balance from a wall stand and pushing out to a handstand. It's slowly increasing from 3-4 seconds to a 7 second hold today. I'm building up consistency and longest time held. Once I can do some consistent holds of 10 seconds or more, I'll start kickup practice.

 

I found this site about balancing and it gave me some good pointers and reminders. The big two I took away from it are keeping my legs tight and together and looking towards my front instead of down to the floor. That has helped my form tremendously and now I feel my body is vertical when I hit my balance point.

 

Your turn now- how are the handstands going? Anymore tips and tricks that you've figured out? Personal bests? Inquiring QuirkyDMs want to know.

[Ignis Fatuus]

I seem to be at a plateau. I've been practicing every day, but I'm still not balancing for any longer.  I can get the balance point fairly easily, but I lose it after a second or two. I haven't been trying to see how long I can hold against the wall anymore.  I spend most of my time kicking up and trying to balance.  When I do go belly to wall, I can do the pirouette bail fairly well, but I picked that up pretty quickly. I haven't tried rolling out of it again because I've been practicing outside on concrete.  The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, so I may do my practice in the park, near a tree or something, and work on rolling some.