Doing handstands....?

Question

To be able to do a handstand is it required to have good arm strength? or can you already support your own weight? I'm about 108lbs & 5'5 in height, but no arm muscle or anything. I've been practicing for about 3 days now just doing headstands and up against a wall and also walking up the wall with my feet but I either can't support myself with my hands or I'm just scared I won't be able to. So to do a handstand should I do pushups and stuff to build strength? If so how many a day and what other exercises would help? Thanks.

Answer 1

I would love to know what this has to do with martial arts. Why not put it in the football section?

Answer 2

this is how i learned to handstand:

just try to go up into a handstand over and over, at first without going completely vertical. practice landing softly.

the more strength you get the easier it will be to hold your body weight.

slowly you can make your way to vertical as you gain strength.

if you ever feel your going to go past vertical, raise one hand off the ground and you should rotate to face the other direction as your feet land on the floor, instead of you just falling on your back.

another thing i found useful when first learning a handstand was doing a semi-slow cartwheel, but stopping in the middle, not landing.  i like this one because if you go to far you just complete the cartwheel.

once you gain enough strength to make it to vertical, if you feel your going to fall forward, try walking forward with your hands by taking 1-2 steps at first. then land softly. do this over and over, also moving backwards.

adjust your posture and legs so that you can control your balance and therefore control which direction you walk in or if you stay in one place.

congratulations you should now be doing a handstand.

my friend and i used this method to become very good at handstanding, it takes a few weeks to get enough strength to take those first few steps, and a few months after that to have great control, get used to the blood rush to the head, and enough endurance to walk 100ft or more.

this skill must be practiced regularly to achieve results.

good luck and happy handstanding

PS practice in an open area, you dont want to bang into stuff and hurt your toes etc.

Answer 3

Push ups are a good start. Doing a push up from a bridge position can build those muscles as well.

Apart from that, working on the wall is a good way to practice and build on the feel for doing a handstand.

If you are worried about falling you should find a proper instructor who can spot you and show you safe tumbling, rolling and break fall techniques.

Good luck and keep practicing.

Answer 4

You should focus on developing good upper body strength. Practice everyday until you get proficient at it. Do push ups so your arms get used to your body weight. And before you know it you'll be doing handstand push ups!!! Good Luck!

Answer 5

My gymnastics coach had me do it this way:

Get down into pushup position about six inches to a foot from the wall. Stand up back where your feet are in your forward C position, take one large step forward, plant your hands and kick up. Immediately tighten your core and look at your hands while pushing against the ground. You'll probably do what I did for a long time: bounce off the wall then stick up. It took me about three days to stick my first wall handstand.

Remember: suck your core (abdominal) muscles in tight, push with your arms, and keep your eyes on your hands. Don't forget to breathe.  Keep thinking "Up, up, up" to help keep your mind focused on pushing yourself up and keeping yourself straight.

Once you're against the wall and keeping it stuck for a little bit, start trying to do handstand pushups. This'll really build the shoulders fast and help you push yourself up more easily. Otherwise, pushups and core exercises (sit ups/crunches/etc) will help.