A press handstand is one of the coolest ways to show off your crazy gymnastics strength and control. It’s also one of the TOPS skills. Before you can learn to do a press handstand, you should have mastered a regular handstand.
A press handstand is a handstand done starting from either a standing or sitting position. If you are going to be starting from a sitting position, you should be sitting on the floor with your legs in a straddle and your hands on the ground in front of you. If you are going to start in a standing position, you can be in either a pike or straddle stand with your hands on the floor in front of you. Then you will need to lean forward with control and transfer the weight of your body to your hands.
As the weight is transferred to your hands you can slowly raise your feet and legs off the ground in either a pike or straddle position. Most gymnasts straddle their legs up. With control raise your legs until they are straight over your head in a handstand. While you are raising your legs, your shoulders will move past your hands, and then as your legs rise, they will move to straight over your hands.
And we’ve also put together a PDF of 12 Drills to Help you Learn a Press Handstand.
How to Do a Press Handstand Step by Step
1. Sit on the Floor in a Straddle Sit.
Your hands should be flat on the floor in between your legs with your fingers spread out. Lean forwards over your hands and as your shoulders tilt forward, transfer your weight from your lower body to your hands.
2. Pull Your Lower Body Off the Ground.
Use your stomach muscles to pull your legs off the ground, while you are leaning your shoulders over and past your hands. All of your weight should be on your arms as your core muscles lift your legs.
3. Raise your Legs into a Handstand.
Slowly raise your legs up until they are straight over your shoulders in a handstand. You can either straddle them up or pike them up. As your legs rise, your shoulders will move to straight over your hands.
4. Handstand
Once your legs are straight over your head you will be in a handstand. To hold this with control you need to make sure your legs and shoulders are stacked over your hands so that you form a straight-body position. From the handstand position you can reverse these steps to lower yourself back into a straddle sit onto the floor, or you can kick down from your handstand.
Tips for Learning a Press Handstand
A press handstand is an advanced skill that requires significant strength, flexibility, and dedication. Here are some tips for learning one:
- Use blocks or folded up panel mats to give yourself leverage to practice drills more easily.
- Keep doing strength and flexibility exercises while you practice specific press handstand drills. The more core and arm strength you have, the easier it will be. Consider doing our Press Handstand Workout that you can do at home.
- Practice the phases of a press handstand separately, so that when you are strong enough you can put all of the phases together.
Muscles You Need to Strengthen for A Press Handstand
Arms: Your arm and shoulder muscles are providing most of the strength needed for a press handstand. They are what give your press handstand control and hold your body up.
Core: You need strong core muscles to lift your legs from the ground up over your head.
Exercises You Can do at Home for a Press Handstand
Handstand Hold: Having the strength to hold a handstand is an important part of the press handstand. You can practice holding a handstand without any support, with someone holding your legs or against a wall.
V-Ups: V-Ups work to improve your stomach muscles and they also mimic the motion of pulling your legs up off the floor. To do a V-up, lie flat on your back. With your legs squeezed together and arms over your head, lift your legs and torso simultaneously off the ground. Touch your hands to your feet, and then lower your torso (with your arms next to your ears) and legs to the ground simultaneously to complete the repetition.
Push-Ups: Push-ups are a great, simple exercise for improving your arm strength that you need for a press handstand. To do a push-up, get into a straight-body plank position with your shoulders over your wrists. While squeezing your core and butt, bend your arms. You want to focus on your body position and only go as far down as you can while still maintaining control of your movement. Raise your body again by straightening your arms to complete the repetition.
Kettlebell Deadlifts: Kettlebell deadlifts are a hip-pulling exercise just like a press handstand. In the press handstand your hips are pulling your legs up over your head. To do kettlebell deadlifts, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Place a kettlebell between your legs, in line with your ankles. With a straight back, looking in front of you, bend from the hips, and reach down to pick up the kettlebell in between your legs. Your shins should be vertical and your lower back should be flat. Then pushing through your legs, return to a standing position.
Press Handstand Drills
Here is a video of 5 drills you can do at home to improve your press handstand:
All of these press handstand drills are shown in the video above.
Pike Drag Ups with Forward Roll: Start in a plank position. Drag your feet as close to your hands as you can, while keeping your arms straight. Then, do a forward roll out of it. Repeat until you’ve reached the desired number of reps.
Weighted Arm Raises: Start in a straight stand (with knees slightly bent), holding light weights in each of your hands, starting with your arms by your side. Raise your arms slowly over your head (180º angle) and then back down to your sides. Repeat until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.
Press Muscle Memory: Start by laying a folded panel mat about 8″ away from the wall. Lay down on the mat so that you are perpendicular to the wall with your back on the mat, hands on the wall, and your head hanging off of the mat. Straddle your legs and bring them up against the wall and try to get them to touch the floor. Repeat until you’ve reached the desired amount of reps.
Straddle Stand and Handstand Lowers: Start in a straddle stand with your hands on the mat between your legs. Slowly lower yourself down to the ground to a straddle sit. If this is too easy for you, start by doing a handstand and lowering yourself down to the ground in a straddle sitting position. Repeat until you’ve reached the desired amount of reps.
Straddle Press Against the Wall: Stand a panel mat or pillow against the wall, to protect your back. Starting in a straddle hold, try to press all of the way up to a handstand, using the mat/pillow to lean up against if you need to. If you don’t have a mat/pillow, try to press from your straddle hold as high as you can get, then put your feet down.
Check out our new Press Handstand Training Packet:
We have linked some gymnastics equipment below that will be helpful on your journey to learn a press handstand.
Tools for Learning a Press Handstand |
Description |
Price |
| Handstand Homework Mat | A handstand helper is useful for practicing and mastering your handstands at home. They allow your gymnast to practice against a door with a padded surface. | $182.02 |
| Kettlebells | Kettlebells are helpful for doing strength exercises. | $45.62 |
| Parallette | You can use parallettes for press handstand drills. | $255.00 |
| Wedge Mat | When first learning a press handstand it’s useful to do them against a wedge mat. | $217.07 |
Check out our new Press Handstand Training Packet with everything you need to learn a Press Handstand!
It includes:
- a 30 day training calendar with drills and reps based on your skill level
- how to achieve a perfect press handstand
- drills to help you improve your body position, your strength and to help you practice your press handstand
- an instructional video with how to do the drills
Master a perfect press handstand today!
Press Handstand Progressions
When you are learning a press handstand, here are some progressions leading up to the skill.
- Handstand – First you need to have mastered a handstand.
- Kick to handstand, lower yourself to the ground
- Press from a standing position with your hands on the ground into a handstand
- Straddle sit into a handstand
- Press Handstand – Then you can put all the parts together in order to do a press handstand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What equipment do I need to practice press handstands?
A: All you need to practice press handstands is a flat, non-slip surface and your own body weight. No specific equipment is required for this skill.
Q: How can I improve my strength for press handstands?
A: To improve your strength for press handstands, focus on exercises that target your core, shoulders, and arms. Planks, shoulder presses, and push-ups are great exercises to build the necessary strength.
Q: What is the proper technique for performing a press handstand?
A: The proper technique for performing a press handstand involves a combination of core strength, shoulder stability, and controlled movements. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart, then slowly lean forward as you lift your legs off the ground, engaging your core muscles to press into a handstand position.
Q: How long does it take to learn how to do a press handstand?
A: The time it takes to learn how to do a press handstand varies for each individual depending on their current strength and flexibility levels. With consistent practice and dedication, some people may be able to master the skill in a few weeks, while others may take longer.
Q: Are there any tips for beginners learning how to do press handstands?
A: For beginners learning how to do press handstands, it’s important to start with basic exercises to build strength and flexibility, such as planks, pike push-ups, and hollow body holds. Focus on proper form and technique, and practice regularly to improve your skills. Remember to be patient and stay consistent with your training.
If you want to learn how to do a press handstand, the first step is to develop the muscles you need. You can strengthen those muscles with the exercises we’ve listed in this article. After that, practice some of the press handstand drills and you will be on your way to learning how to do a beautiful, controlled press handstand.
View Comments (33)
I do 60 jumps on trampoline, 40 -ups, 10 push-ups, and 10 kettle bell deadlifts
Me to
This really helped thank you!
Hi, I'm having a lot of trouble when coming down to the straddle position from the handstand. I also have the same problem when coming up from the straddle position to the handstand. I can do it perfectly when I do it standing though, any tips?
Eva, try to lift your feet more than your butt when coming up!
Eva, try to lift your feet more than your butt when coming up!!!!
I need a little help
I have trouble just like Eva
i have attempted it before and when i hold the straddle going into the press handstand it hurts my legs as if they are not strong enough tips?
It really helps
Im having trouble with the standing position any tips?
Im having trouble with the standing position any tips to help me achieve my dream?
please let me know if you have any tips on the standing position
I am very flexible and averagely strong. I always stretch my legs and wrists before doing a press handstand but the problem is when I go into a straddle hold my hips hurt horribly. I have never had hip problems before. Any idea why this is happening and what to do.