How to Do a Straddle Press Handstand
Begin sitting down or on your hands., Lean into your hands., Stack your hips., Lift your legs upward., Maintain your position., Lower back down., Give yourself time., Perform navasana., Do V-Ups., Work overall strength with push-ups., Lift up...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Begin sitting down or on your hands.
Sit down with your legs straddled and arms shoulder-width apart.
If you prefer, you can start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart and hands placed slightly in front of you and shoulder-width apart.
This sets up your body to move into the press., Shift your weight into your hands by pressing down on them.
Begin to lean forward, with your hands facing forward and palms down.
Hold your arms straight as your feet begin to lift off of the floor.
Keep your core engaged to maintain stability.Spread your hands as far as possible.
This creates a wider base and can provide more stability to your handstand., Continue to lean forward and press through your hands until your feet are entirely off of the floor.
Check your body position: your hips should be directly above your shoulders, forming a straight line.Keep your shoulders from bunching up, which focuses the weight on your deltoid muscles.
Instead, engage your abs and use your trapezius and scapular muscles in the middle of your back.
This allows you to more easily stack your shoulders and hips. , Lean forward on your hands so that your shoulders are slightly ahead of your hips.
This allows you to better lift your legs.Engage your thigh muscles and core to lift your legs upward into a vertical position.
Your legs, hips, and shoulders should now be in one line.As your legs rise, they will naturally move your shoulders back into alignment with your hips., Hold the handstand for as long as you can.
Start slowly, such as with five seconds, and gradually build up the time you can keep your body in perfect handstand alignment., Keep your abs engaged as you pike and then lower your legs back towards the floor.
Place your feet on the floor and stand up if you started in a standing position.
If you pressed up from seated position, bend your arms to bring yourself back down to a seated straddle. , A straddle press handstand requires strength, balance, flexibility and proper body positioning.
Develop each movement until it becomes easy to perform before moving on to the next piece of your handstand.
This can ensure that you maintain proper form while doing your handstand and may minimize your risk of injury., Sit on the floor with your sitting bones firmly grounded.
Engage your thigh muscles and raise your legs up off the floor either straight or slightly bent in front of you.
Stretch your arms out in front of you (and smile!) as you hold yourself in boat for at least five seconds.
Navasana, or boat pose, can strengthen your core, inner thigh muscles, hamstrings, arms and shoulders.Avoid rounding your back, which prevents your core muscles from working. , An exercise similar to navasana is V-Ups, which are slightly more difficult to perform.
Lie with your back flat to the ground.
Squeeze your thigh muscles and engage your abs.
Using your strength and not momentum, lift your legs and torso off the ground into a V-position.
Complete the repetition by lowering your torso and legs to the ground.Touch your hands to your feet for an extra challenge. , Get into a straight body plank position, keeping your hands over your wrists.
Engage your core and bum as you bend your arms and lower to just above the floor.
Then, raise yourself back up into the plank position.
This can build overall body strength that you need to do press handstands.Start with your knees down if you don’t have enough strength to do a push-up from the plank position.
Build up your strength with half-plank pushups until you can properly perform full-plank pushups. , Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Put a kettlebell between your legs and in line with your ankles.
Keep your back straight and look forward as you bend from the hips and reach down to pick up the kettlebell.
Press up through your legs so that the kettlebell is in front of you and then lower it back down.
Keep your arms straight through the entire movement.
This can build the hip strength necessary to pull yourself up into a handstand.Keep your back straight to minimize the risk of injury and focus the exercise on your hip muscles. , Stand facing a wall and place your hands on the floor 4 to 12 inches from it.
Lean your shoulders against the wall and straddle your legs up into a supported handstand.
Then lower your legs back down to the floor.
This can help you isolate your hip, stomach, and leg muscles, which will further develop your strength.Repeat this movement as quickly and as many times as you can.
It also helps your body get used to the proper movements for a straddle handstand. , Using a wall, spotter, or your strength, shift from a standing or seated straddle to a pike handstand.
This means your legs are parallel to the floor and you’re making a rough “7” shape.
This can strengthen your hips, core and back muscles as you work on pressing up your legs to a handstand.
It also shows you how to stack your hips and gently shift your shoulders forward so that you don’t fall out of your pike or handstand. -
Step 2: Lean into your hands.
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Step 3: Stack your hips.
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Step 4: Lift your legs upward.
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Step 5: Maintain your position.
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Step 6: Lower back down.
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Step 7: Give yourself time.
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Step 8: Perform navasana.
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Step 9: Do V-Ups.
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Step 10: Work overall strength with push-ups.
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Step 11: Lift up kettlebells.
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Step 12: Use the wall to build strength.
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Step 13: Hold pike handstands.
Detailed Guide
Sit down with your legs straddled and arms shoulder-width apart.
If you prefer, you can start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart and hands placed slightly in front of you and shoulder-width apart.
This sets up your body to move into the press., Shift your weight into your hands by pressing down on them.
Begin to lean forward, with your hands facing forward and palms down.
Hold your arms straight as your feet begin to lift off of the floor.
Keep your core engaged to maintain stability.Spread your hands as far as possible.
This creates a wider base and can provide more stability to your handstand., Continue to lean forward and press through your hands until your feet are entirely off of the floor.
Check your body position: your hips should be directly above your shoulders, forming a straight line.Keep your shoulders from bunching up, which focuses the weight on your deltoid muscles.
Instead, engage your abs and use your trapezius and scapular muscles in the middle of your back.
This allows you to more easily stack your shoulders and hips. , Lean forward on your hands so that your shoulders are slightly ahead of your hips.
This allows you to better lift your legs.Engage your thigh muscles and core to lift your legs upward into a vertical position.
Your legs, hips, and shoulders should now be in one line.As your legs rise, they will naturally move your shoulders back into alignment with your hips., Hold the handstand for as long as you can.
Start slowly, such as with five seconds, and gradually build up the time you can keep your body in perfect handstand alignment., Keep your abs engaged as you pike and then lower your legs back towards the floor.
Place your feet on the floor and stand up if you started in a standing position.
If you pressed up from seated position, bend your arms to bring yourself back down to a seated straddle. , A straddle press handstand requires strength, balance, flexibility and proper body positioning.
Develop each movement until it becomes easy to perform before moving on to the next piece of your handstand.
This can ensure that you maintain proper form while doing your handstand and may minimize your risk of injury., Sit on the floor with your sitting bones firmly grounded.
Engage your thigh muscles and raise your legs up off the floor either straight or slightly bent in front of you.
Stretch your arms out in front of you (and smile!) as you hold yourself in boat for at least five seconds.
Navasana, or boat pose, can strengthen your core, inner thigh muscles, hamstrings, arms and shoulders.Avoid rounding your back, which prevents your core muscles from working. , An exercise similar to navasana is V-Ups, which are slightly more difficult to perform.
Lie with your back flat to the ground.
Squeeze your thigh muscles and engage your abs.
Using your strength and not momentum, lift your legs and torso off the ground into a V-position.
Complete the repetition by lowering your torso and legs to the ground.Touch your hands to your feet for an extra challenge. , Get into a straight body plank position, keeping your hands over your wrists.
Engage your core and bum as you bend your arms and lower to just above the floor.
Then, raise yourself back up into the plank position.
This can build overall body strength that you need to do press handstands.Start with your knees down if you don’t have enough strength to do a push-up from the plank position.
Build up your strength with half-plank pushups until you can properly perform full-plank pushups. , Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Put a kettlebell between your legs and in line with your ankles.
Keep your back straight and look forward as you bend from the hips and reach down to pick up the kettlebell.
Press up through your legs so that the kettlebell is in front of you and then lower it back down.
Keep your arms straight through the entire movement.
This can build the hip strength necessary to pull yourself up into a handstand.Keep your back straight to minimize the risk of injury and focus the exercise on your hip muscles. , Stand facing a wall and place your hands on the floor 4 to 12 inches from it.
Lean your shoulders against the wall and straddle your legs up into a supported handstand.
Then lower your legs back down to the floor.
This can help you isolate your hip, stomach, and leg muscles, which will further develop your strength.Repeat this movement as quickly and as many times as you can.
It also helps your body get used to the proper movements for a straddle handstand. , Using a wall, spotter, or your strength, shift from a standing or seated straddle to a pike handstand.
This means your legs are parallel to the floor and you’re making a rough “7” shape.
This can strengthen your hips, core and back muscles as you work on pressing up your legs to a handstand.
It also shows you how to stack your hips and gently shift your shoulders forward so that you don’t fall out of your pike or handstand.
About the Author
Jennifer Mendoza
Committed to making practical skills accessible and understandable for everyone.
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