By PW Nutritionist Steph Evans

JOIN IN THE PW HANDSTAND CHALLENGE

Want to learn a new trick to wow your friends. With all this extra time on our hands, why not join in on our handstand challenge this month! From beginner to expert in just 4 weeks – we will have you acing your handstands in no time with these 5 amazing exercises! Whether you are a complete newbie, or a gymnast wanting to build on improving your arm balances, we have you covered!

Benefits of handstands

Handstands are a great exercise for you to do at home to stay active, they can help improve total body strength (focusing on arm and core) as well as mobility in your wrist and shoulders – helping to strengthen your bones!
Not only this, but the balancing aspect can lead you to improved focus and concentration, as well as feeling more relaxed after your session!

• 5 exercises for handstands for beginners

   

  Don’t forget stretch out your wrists 

  Before and after each handstand session, you are going to want to stretch out your wrists to prevent damage. This will also help strengthen your wrists if they are feeling sore from all the weight bearing activities involved with handstands! To do this, start on all fours in a tabletop position and gently rock forwards and backwards on your wrists, repeat – turning your hands outwards and moving from side to side. Then face your fingertips together and do the same.

   

  1. Plank hold 

  This is a great move to start with as it works the entire body – improving your arm, wrist and core strength!  Start in a high plank position (keep your shoulders and wrists under your arms) and hold flat, keeping your core tight. 

  Work up to holding your plank for 60 seconds. Don’t worry if at the start you can only reach 10 seconds, if you practice a couple of times each day you will soon notice your cores strength increasing!

   

  2. Dolphin pose 

  Another great exercise for handstands is the dolphin pose! This is where you start on your forearms and walk your toes into a pike position (keep your core tight throughout). Holding this position will help with opening your shoulders – critical for reaching that handstand – as well as tightening your core! 

  Once you get the hang of this pose, add in alternating leg lifts, holding each leg up straight for 5 seconds and repeating 5 times on each side. 

   

  3. Toes up wall 

  Want to know the best way to get into handstands for beginners? Using the wall! Start off by placing your hands down on the floor and slowly walk your way up the wall with your feet until you reach an upside down position. This will help get you feeling comfortable with being upside down on your hands, to get used to the feeling of bearing your weight on your wrists before you move on to the main handstand challenge!

  Hold this post for around 10 seconds and repeat 3-5 times with rests.

4. Handstand kick ups 

Now it’s time to get stuck into it by building your power to get yourself upside down! I would recommend starting near a wall, just in case you land your handstand – the wall will help prevent you falling over the other side! Start with your hands on the floor, lifting one leg in the air. Push off your other leg to try and get your legs above your head. Repeat 5 times on one leg before switching sides.

5. Heels on wall 

Once you are able to kick up into a handstand using the previous exercise, you are now ready to move on to the final step – holding your handstand! The wall should now only be there to prevent you going over as your aim is to catch the position yourself when you are straight in the air! 

Are you taking on the Handstand Challenge? 

Need advice? We’d be happy to help, get in touch! Simply email: advice@proteinworld.com

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