Photo: Snapped! by Becca Clark
Everyone wants to hold a handstand longer, but to do this, you need to think about specific things while doing the skill.
What exactly should you be thinking about during a handstand? There are tonssss of different things to focus on, and your area of focus will change based on which stage of skill-learning you’re in.
Considering handstand training isn’t usually a primary focus in cheerleading (although it should be), most cheerleaders will be able to do an average handstand – not as good as a hand balancer but not as poor as an absolute beginner.
Here are some key things to think about when practicing handstands:
- ️Keeping your shoulders open from beginning to end (this means from a side view, arms are not in front of ears creating a “closed” angle)
- ️Reaching upwards through your shoulders as much as possible
- ️Maintaining a straight body position, trying to squeeze your abs, glutes and flatten your lower back
- ️Reaching forwards instead of down when lunging into it (you should begin standing on 1 line of a cheer floor and after the lunge, your hands should reach the next line over – the entrance will be the width of 1 strip of the floor)
- ️Once in the handstand, think about lengthening your body and pushing everything upwards towards the sky
- ️Spread your fingers wide and push the knuckles closest to the tips of your fingers down into the floor to help you balance (your hands should look like spider legs with your finger’s middle knuckle being the highest point)
When focusing on these major areas, straight knees, correct head position and squeezing the feet together will all come more naturally.
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