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Home » exercises » Straddle Press To Handstand Form Check

Straddle Press To Handstand Form Check

May 29, 2011 By Gregor Winter

Update: Check out this follow up post with the tips and hints I got on how to improve my the form.

This is me doing a straddle press to handstand.

Actually, one of the first times I ever did one. For most people this is not a hard skill to learn. Not for me…

I always wanted to do that, but my extraordinarily poor flexibility (ankle / hamstrings / glutes / back… you name it) was preventing me from doing it. Yes, I know a lot of people complain about their lack of flexibility, but I couldn’t even pike my hip to a 90 degree angle with flat back.

So I checked out lots of flexibility resources and got me a copy of Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz and started to incorporate his methods.

It’s a painfully slow process.

Finally I have enough flexibility to get slightly past 90 degrees. Still, I have to heavily lean (planche) into it, which makes it a super hard skill for me.

I also posted this in the GymnasticBodies forum for some critique.

And once again this quote holds true

“Just remember: somewhere in China, a little girl is warming up with your max.”
– Jim Conroy, Olympic weightlifting coach

She my not be Chinese, but this is simply stunning. Her flexibility allows her to do that move so much more efficient.

Gotta work more!

Filed Under: exercises, gymnastics, handstand, my workouts, videos

About Gregor Winter

Hi, I run ATG.

Follow me on instagram @gregorwinter (and ATG @atginsta).

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