How to do a hand stand?

Question

I want to know how to do a hand stand. I mean I held one for like 2 seconds, and came down..but I need to know how to hold myself up, and stay straight etc,

also when I do my bridge (i self taught) I can get discomfort in my head, (am i going down to fast?), and what should I do to not get discomfort?

Answer 1

Squeeze the muscles in your butt, abs, and a little bit in the knees.  The discomfort is probably from going too fast or just from being upside down.  But, its not really too likely that its from going too fast because look at all these other girls doing back hand springs and things.  They do those VERY fast.

Answer 2

The feet

When you first start training, try to keep your toes pointed. Yes, this is mainly for aesthetics. You could still perform a handstand with hook feet, but I feel that when I straighten my toes it helps to line everything up. The feet point upwards; the body flows in that straight, upwards direction.

The legs

When you first begin, you will also find it easier to try and keep your legs straight and together. Keeping them straight will prevent them from flopping around like limp noodles, making things harder to control. Keeping them together will prevent them from flailing about as two different entities. You've got enough on your mind trying to coordinate the rest of your body. So help simplify things and keep those legs together for now!

The torso

The torso is one of the major components that will determine the look of your handstand. As far as your torso is concerned, a straighter handstand is achieved by slightly tensing the abs to keep your body in line. You will get handstands like this:



If you were to relax your abs a bit, let your torso and legs fall towards your backside, and bring out your head (discussed below) then you'd wind up with handstands like this:

Gymnasts back in the day held handstands with this significant curve in their backs. For this reason, I'll call this the "old" style handstand.

As gymnastics changed, the handstand was straightened out for both aesthetic and technical reasons. The modern form allows harder, more complicated gymnastic skills to be performed.

The shoulders

You'll want to really extend and engage the shoulders. This muscular tension will give you greater control. Think of shrugging your shoulders upwards or trying to push into the floor. The difference looks like this:

The head and arms

You'll find your head position will be the single greatest factor affecting your back/handstand shape. Why is this? Because the spine follows the head. If you really pull your head out (to look at the ground), then your spine will follow suit and bend. This will give you that banana shape. Try and keep your head between your arms as much as you can. Instead of pulling your head out all the way out to stare at the ground, try to look upwards a bit with just your eyes. This will help to keep your head in and your back straight.