Exercise No. 16 One Handed Handstand

This is one of my favorite things to do, hand balancing is like pie. I can't get enough of it, but the difference is that it keeps me skinny and doesn't make me fat... Moving on!

To begin with, you should know how to do a handstand, a few handstand push ups, Y plank, and it helps if you can straddle press into a handstand.

   Now, to get into a one handed handstand, your balancing arm should be strengthened prior to your attempts by doing air freezes, and jumping onto your hand. Now also, a Y plank is a handstand with a triangular placement of your hands and you lean to the side. It's like the picture I have up above but with both hands. Or you could arch your back instead and lean everything sideways. All that matters, is you developing substantial core stability before moving on.

   To start, go onto your hands, finger tips on the other hand or a full palm to the ground is your decision, I find using my finger tips offers more of a lean and makes it easier to enter so I don't have to push off with my palm instead which throws you off a bit when you're learning, but is good for forcing your body to respond with stability. So do that how you feel necessary, there's no "right way" into the one handed handstand. In fact, you could just step into it on one hand, but practice pike steps which are something I'll give you later on for getting this down. That should be in the October 2014 posts.

   So once you're on your hands, and you're lifting the one up, push your chest out. Not like you're sucking a bunch of air in, but like you're standing up as straight as possible, with a slight arch in your back. The pushing your chest out is a large factor in this, because it's very awkward to hold your body as straight as possible.

   Now we're going to have what I call an aim leg. The one that points up and is your center of gravity. That leg should be the opposite of your standing hand. Right or left, whichever is the opposite, straighten it and align it best as you can with your standing arm.

   Your leg that hangs down will be the weight that counterbalances your other side equalizing your weight distribution.

   Now your head placement, hand placement, whichever is more comfortable for you. Although I discourage learning this with a bent elbow because in the beginning, your tricep is nowhere near strong enough to support your entire body weight alone. But, after time, you can learn variations such as I have such as the pike stall, jumping into the handstand, flag freeze, pike freeze, if you're a nut go ahead and learn the one handed planche, as well as you have the real flag freeze where every part of your body is facing the ground sideways. That's very challenging and awkward to learn from experience. One handed handstand push ups are a beginning to all of this as well.

   There's a lot you can do with all of this. Hand balancing is a world of opportunity and there are so many ways you can do it. I may very create a hand balancing list, I find it quite fascinating and I love talking about it on here because there's so much to share, and it promotes healthy living because to hand balance, the toxins and such you take into your body must be minimal to remain light to your arms, and be strong enough to hold the positions and such as taught

   Good luck!

-The Fitness Cookie