Yesterday we went over the importance of understanding the hollow position and the proper shoulder positioning while in the handstand position. Todays goal is not only to understand the dynamics of freestanding handstands but also where athletes tend to go wrong. Having the athlete use the hollow position (with the focus on hollowing out their trunk), is how we get them to accomplish this. Achieving this will help you get to the final goal of holding a freestanding handstand.
The over extended position due to the lack of abdominal engagement is what I tend to see the most . (seen below- Emily Carothers)
A problem we all run into daily is where you will see an athlete which has everything else engaged and active. Meaning their toes are pointed, to their quads and glutes engaged, and their shoulders are active but at the same time they are over extended and not able to find that balance. (The picture above represents this).
When you run into this yourself or as a coach, have the athlete lay back on the ground and get into the hollow position. Explain how the same abdominal engagement they accomplished with the hollow is the same while inverted. Immediately have them kick up against the wall and attempt another. Getting an individual to understand how to hollow out their midsection is imperative to having the control to pull your feet off the wall into a well-balanced position. Once you have explained/understand that you have to shorten the distance between your hip flexors and rip cage, you now can you use this as a verbal cue while someone is inverted. n
Once the proper handstand is accomplished, the next step (picture below) doesn’t seem so intimidating.
skill work: (while warming up) 5-8 minutes of handstand work. I want you to concentrate on the quality and not on the time inverted. No max effort holds!
Fight the good fight,
Coach Poppa
Developing Power & Strength through the use of the Olympic Lifts.
