A handstand is one of the most important skills in gymnastics. Not only is it one of the basics on floor, the straight-body handstand position is everywhere in other skills. The handstand position is in a giant on bars, in a front handspring on vault and in handsprings (back and front) on both beam and floor. So, it’s important to both learn how to do a perfect handstand, and to master it.

Everyone can learn how to do a handstand with the right practice and drills. You also need the upper body strength and core strength to be able to hold yourself in the handstand position. If you want to learn how to hold a handstand longer, you need to practice and work hard to get stronger.

We’re going to share with you some exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles you need for a handstand, along with some drills you can do at home and at the gym to learn how to do a handstand.

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10 Minute Handstand Workout

How to Do a Handstand Step by Step

So now that you have gotten stronger with the conditioning exercises and you’ve done handstand drills, it’s time to do a handstand! Here are the steps:

1. Start in a lunge. Your arms should be straight above your head and your dominant leg should be in front slightly bent. Your front knee should not be over your ankle.
2. Kick up to handstand. You want to feel vertical and try to hold the straight body position by squeezing your bottom, your abs and trying to push through your shoulders. You want to try to pull your toes towards the ceiling. You should also be shifting your weight over your shoulders to maintain your balance, and the perfect straight body position.
3. Lower one leg at a time to land in a lunge. You should land in the same lunge that you started from.
   

Muscles You Need for a Handstand

You need strong arms and shoulders, along with a strong core in order to master and learn a perfect handstand.

• Arms & Shoulders: You need strong arms and shoulders to hold your body up in a handstand. You also use the muscles in your shoulders to help keep your balance.
• Core: You need a strong core to help keep your body in a tight-body position.

If you work on the muscles you need and then follow the steps above, you will be on your way to doing a handstand.

Handstand Progressions

Here is the skill progression for when you are learning a new handstand:

Baby Handstand: First you learn a baby handstand, where you kick up into a handstand but don’t hit vertical.

Handstand Hold: Then you learn a handstand hold where you can hold your handstand with your body vertical.

Press Handstand: Once you have mastered a handstand hold, you can move on to a press handstand.

Handstand Pirouette: Another advanced handstand is a handstand pirouette. In a handstand pirouette you move your hands so that you move in a circle in a handstand.

Different Types of Handstands

Here is a beginner’s guide to the  different types of handstands.

Donkey Kick: This is a baby handstand kick, usually with both legs. This is the first way you learn a handstand.

Teeter Totter: Slightly more advanced you’ll keep your legs straight and separated, but not achieve vertical with both legs.

Straight/Vertical Handstand: You’ve got it! Now you’re achieving a full vertical handstand!

Single Stag Handstand: Getting a little more advanced than a regular handstand, you’ll bend your front leg (2nd leg up) once your back leg achieves vertical or beyond vertical.

Double Stag Handstand: Both legs will be bent in a pretty stag handstand.

Handstand “Pop” : A good drill for prepping for front handspring vaults, do a vertical handstand and then “pop” or bounce off of the floor.

Handstand Pirouette: Once in a vertical handstand, step around in a pirouette while maintaining a straight, tight body handstand. A handstand pirouette is an advanced handstand variation.

Handstand Walk: In a controlled vertical handstand, begin taking steps while maintaining a tight body handstand. This is another more advanced handstand variation.

Wall Handstand: One of our ways to learn ways to learn a handstand for beginners, is by doing a Spiderman Handstand against the wall.

Handstand Drills for Beginners

Here are some beginner handstand drills you can do to improve your handstand. These drills will help you learn the shapes you need for a handstand, and help you strengthen the muscles you need for a handstand as a beginner. You can also check out our tutorial on how to do a handstand for beginners.

1. Lunges: There are 3 parts to this drill-
   • Legs together, T, legs together- this is to practice the “T” shape you want when you are entering and exiting your handstand. Start in a straight stand with your legs together, then move to the “T” shape with one leg up and your arms next to your ears. Then return to a straight stand.
   • Lunge, T, Lunge- This is to practice the “T” shape from a lunge. You want to start and end your handstands in a lunge.
   • Lunge, T, Handstand, T, Lunge- Now actually do the handstand and just enter and exit by moving through the “T” shape.
2. Standing Handstand Shape with a T-Shirt– Hold a t-shirt over your head while standing with your legs together. We are going to practice the straight-body handstand shape that you want. Squeeze your bottom, and your stomach and grow tall by pulling your arms up even farther. 
3. Open Shoulder Walks- Forwards, Backwards and Side to Side– This handstand drill will help you practice staying in a really tight body position–which you need to hold your handstand. Get in a plank position and then move your feet slightly back to open up your shoulders more. Then walk forwards, backwards and side to side.
4. Spiderman Against the Wall– This is one of our favorite handstand drills to do because you can use the wall to make sure you get in a completely straight body position. If you want to improve your gymnastics skills, wall handstands are our #1 recommendation!
5. Handstand Shaping on the Ground– Lay on the ground on your stomach. Tighten up your muscles so that your chest and arm pits come off the floor in a really tight hollow body position.

Tips for a Perfect Handstand

• Make sure your body is stacked – You want your feet over your hips over your shoulders.

• Look at your hands with your eyes, while keeping your head tucked in.

• Point your feet, not just your toes.

• Squeeze your bottom! If you could put a quarter in between your bottom and it would fall out, you aren’t squeezing tight enough!

Handstand Drills for Advanced Gymnasts

Here are some advanced handstand drills you can do to improve your handstand.

1. Open Shoulder Push-Up Walks 5x- Get in an open shoulder push-up position and walk to the right 5 steps holding the open shoulder push-up position and then freeze. Walk 5 steps to the left holding the open shoulder push-up position and freeze. Then walk 5 steps forward holding the open shoulder push-up position and freeze. Walk 5 steps backwards holding the open shoulder push-up position and freeze.
   Get back in the open shoulder push-up position and hop/bounce 3x to the right, 3x to the left, 3x forwards and 3x backwards.
2. Pike Ups Using a Yoga Ball 5x- Get in a plank position with your shins up on the ball and your shoulders over your hands. Try to move the ball by moving your body to as close to vertical as you can with the goal being your bottom is over you shoulders, then move the ball backwards by lowering your hips so you are back in a plank position. Repeat 5x.
3. Tuck Ins Using a Yoga Ball 5x- Get in a plank position with your shins up on the ball and your shoulders over your hands. Try to move the ball by keeping your core really tight and bringing your knees towards your arms tucking them in getting as close as you can, then move the ball backwards by extending your legs back out. Repeat 5x.
4. **BONUS DRILL: The Save Game**- The goal for this game is to practice saving your handstand. Kick up to a handstand and when you feel yourself falling either forwards or backwards try to save at least once. If you can save more times keep going! Try to save 3 times each direction in 1 handstand! Practice this for 3 minutes.

Handstand Exercises You Can Do at Home

Many of the exercises we mention you can see in the video above. These are exercises and parts of the handstand you can practice at home.

Lunge: You can practice the beginning lunge for a handstand. Start standing with your legs together and your arms by your side. Then to start your lunge, put your arms straight over your head next to your ears, and step your dominant leg in front of you and bend it slightly. Your back leg should be straight. Hold this position for 3 seconds (you want to be squeezing your core) and then pull your legs back together with your arms at your side.

Lunge & Lever: The lunge part of the lunge and lever is the same, but then you want to get your body in the shape of a “T.”  To do that, with your arms straight over your head next to your ears, lift your back leg up at the same time as you move your torso and arms down. You want to keep your body straight. You want to stop when your back leg is straight out behind you perpendicular to the leg you are standing on, while your torso is also perpendicular to the leg you are standing on. You should be in the shape of a “T” with your body. Once you have hit the “T,” slowly move your body back to the lunge, keeping your arms and torso in a straight line with your back leg.

Spiderman-Against-the-Wall: Spiderman-against-the-wall is a way of doing a handstand against the wall, while using the wall for both support and to help keep you in a straight-body position. To do this, stand near a wall that has nothing (no furniture or other objects) near you that you can hit. You can also do this with a wedge placed against the wall, or with a handstand homework mat. Stand with your back to the wall. Put your hands on the ground and one of your feet on the wall. Walk your feet up the wall and move your hands closer to the wall until your belly is flat against the wall. Hold for a couple seconds and then crawl back down the wall and back to your feet.

Open Shoulder Push-Up Holds, Walks and Hops: This drill is great to help you learn the proper handstand body position. You can see this shape at 35 seconds in this video from 3:13-4:07. Get in your push up position with your hands a little bit in front of you to create the open shoulder push-up shape. Then try to hold for 20 seconds, working your way all the way up to a minute. Then you can try to walk 5 steps side to side, and then 5 steps forwards and backwards (4:09-4:25 in the video). When you can do that well you can try to hop (4:26-4:40).

Handstand Shaping Drill with Rope: You can see this drill in this video. Grab a t-shirt that you can hold like the rope in the video. Stand in a straight body position with your arms straight above your head. Push your arms back, using your shoulders, so that they are behind your ears, or at least next to them. Hold this for 20 seconds. Press your ribs in, and then let them go back out. Do this 3x. Squeeze your legs while standing on your toes in relevé. Hold this for 10 seconds. Now lay flat on the floor on your stomach. Extend your fingers as far as you can while pushing your armpits into the floor. Then move your fingers back. Do this 3x.

Handstand Drills You Can Do at The Gym

Here are additional handstand exercises you can do when you are at the gym. 

Handstand on a Parallette against the Wall: This exercise is similar to spiderman-against-the-wall except for it’s a little harder because you do it on a parallette. The parallette makes it a little bit harder to balance, but that helps you figure out the muscles you need to use to balance correctly. You can do this against a wall with a mat.

Half Handstand and Find Vertical With One Leg: For this handstand drill you need a block. Do a handstand on the floor next to the block, and put one leg on the block to keep your balance. The other leg should be in the air trying to find the vertical handstand position. Repeat on the other leg.

Handstand Flatback onto a Mat: Here is another handstand drill that helps the gymnast find vertical. For this drill you need an 8-inch mat. Stand next to the end of the mat and do a handstand with your hands on the mat. Make sure you are squeezing your body tight with your head tucked in between your arms. Then you will want to tilt past vertical and fall onto your back in a tight-body position. The purpose of this drill is to practice the tight-body position and let the gymnast feel vertical, and how much of a tilt causes her to fall backwards.

Check out our new Handstand Training Packet:

Here are some tools you can use to learn a handstand: 

To improve your handstand in your gymnastics routines, learn the deductions you can get in a handstand and 4 tips to hold your handstand longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The exercises and drills above should be able to help you learn how to do a handstand. If you do the strength exercises and get the muscles you need for a handstand, and then practice the handstand drills, we no doubt you will learn how to do a handstand soon. Once you’ve mastered a handstand, you can can move on to other gymnastics skills.

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