A handstand workout sounds mildly silly, until you see that guy. Every gym has one. The bloke quietly working out in a corner. He isn’t queuing for machines, he isn’t hoarding dumbbells during the busy periods, he’s just… there, doing his own thing.
You know the guy; usually he’s ripped. A look of intense focus on his face. He’s a mystery to one and all and then, all of a sudden, he flings his body upright, inverting the world as we know it.
You scoff. “Is that dude doing a handstand?”
Your envy turns to awe as you realise “Woah, that dude’s doing a handstand.”
It becomes clear that he’s working out on a higher plane. A mythical plain, maybe. One where body and mind are in perfect harmony. You’ll never get there, you realise. Although, with this handy handstand workout guide, you just might…
The practical benefits of handstands
“Handstands turn your own bodyweight into a heavy overhead press, building serious shoulder, triceps, and upper back strength without any equipment,” explains Farren Morgan, founder of Tactical Athlete Training & Supplements.
It turns out that balancing upside down ropes in dozens of tiny stabiliser muscles in the wrists, elbows, and shoulder blades, all of which help you fine-tune your position. This not only improves joint stability and balance, but, as Morgan explains, “because blood flow shifts toward the head for a short time, many people report a quick ‘brain wake-up’ and mood lift.”
In fact, according to a few small studies, handstands promote lower tension levels and increased focus afterward. Big meeting coming up? Adding a handstand into your lunchtime gym routine might give you the edge.
The muscles you use doing one
As well as the stabiliser muscles mentioned, the handstand obviously asks a lot from your core and your arms, but when done right, it’s a whole body hit.
“A handstand isn’t just an upper-body flex,” says Cameron Harris, managing director of TRUTH Fitness. “Get it spot on and it’s a total-body challenge, with your shoulders and triceps carrying the brunt of your bodyweight, your abs, lower back, and obliques acting as the stabilising anchor, your glutes and legs helping you keep a straight line, and your forearms, hands and wrists acting as the root of the movement.”
What’s more, studies on gymnasts show that well-held handstands recruit roughly 80 percent of major muscles while generating shoulder and triceps effort comparable to heavy overhead pressing.
And, as Morgan and Harris point out, nailing the handstand also requires intense focus, so much so that it can also become mediative. Just picture a monk practicing one on the temple steps in Tibet and you’re along the right lines. Your spatial awareness will thank you, too.
If you’ve long since mastered the deadlift, the Turkish get-up, and the muscle-up, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a real sense of accomplishment in learning a new skill, too. “One survey reported lower stress, better mood, and a strong ‘play’ effect once you have it down,” says Morgan.
Common handstand mispractices
As Harris points out, nailing a handstand isn’t just about going for it and hoping for the best. Morgan agrees that it takes a little more finesse. The main mistake? “Most people miss a straight line when they kick up into a handstand,” he says. Other mistakes can include:
Banana back – “Arching the low spine shifts weight off the shoulders and onto the lower back, which makes balance harder and risks injury/pain.”