Have someone film you doing a handstand or just watch you do it to tell you if you’re really kicking up as much as you can. You can also practice doing a handstand about a foot in front of a wall, so that the worst thing that will happen if you kick up too much is that you touch the wall with the tips of your feet. This will also give you a better sense of how far up you can really kick.
If you put all the pressure in your wrists, then you’re likely to injure yourself while also making it much more difficult for yourself to stay balanced. If you put too much pressure in your wrists, then you will lose your balance and fall back on your feet.
You can also even walk on your hands slightly to counteract the direction your body is falling. If your legs are falling over your head, you can walk your hands forward slightly; if your body is falling backward, then you can move your hands back down a bit. If you feel your body listing to the side, move your hands over to that side. Use your hands to balance the direction of your body, and you’ll be able to hold the handstand for longer.
If you’ve forgotten to squeeze your butt, you can do it once you’re in your handstand and feel yourself losing balance.
However, you can also keep your balance by putting your legs into the splits — but that should be purposeful.
If you breathe purposefully, you’ll feel in control of your body, and you’ll feel like holding a handstand is much more manageable. In yoga, for example, purposeful breathing is the key to any pose, especially the handstand.
This can help you gain confidence in holding your handstand and can show you that nothing bad will happen if you fall out of it. Practicing against a wall can also be more efficient because you don’t have to start from scratch every time you fall over; if your feet touch the wall, you can just lightly kick them back up over your head instead of falling down.
Just spending an hour a week on a balance beam can really work wonders on your balance, whether you’re a gymnast or not. If you’re not a gymnast, then you can practice balancing on a narrow surface, such as a concrete bench, as long as you have enough room to move safely.
Perform dumbbell overhead presses to improve your arm strength. Holding a handstand against a wall for 10 seconds, for 5 repetitions at a time. Holding a handstand against a wall and doing shoulder touches. Hold your handstand, and then lift up one arm quickly and touch the shoulder on the same side of your body with it. Then, repeat this with your other hand. Do this about 10 times on each side for 2 repetitions. The plank position. The plank position is a yoga pose and is the starting position for the push-up. Get on the ground and push up through your palms, so that your back and legs remain straight, and hold the position for at least 10 seconds. Repeat this 3 times or transition into doing 2 sets of 5 push-ups.
The basic sit-up. Simply lie on your back, raise your knees, cross your arms over your chest, and reach up toward your knees, and then back down to your back. Do 2 sets of 20. The banana. For this exercise, you can lie on your back, lifting your hands up over your head and raising them a few inches off the ground while doing the same with your feet, until your body is in a “banana” shape. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat this exercise once. The bicycle. Get on the floor with your hands behind your head and neck, and “cycle” your legs up in the air. Raise your elbow to the opposite knee as it moves toward your head, and repeat with the other elbow. Do the bicycle for 30 seconds at a time.
