??? re: handstand drills

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nettyinpa

How long is too long to hold a handstand? My dd is a Level 4 and last night at the end of practice they split them up into 2 groups ~ one went to the ropes, the other to "the wall" where they had to hold their handstands, with their bellies facing the wall, for a minute. Well, it was actually more than a minute because the coach took her good old time counting, with some chatter in between. The did this 3 times.:eek: Is it me or is that a bit extreme? I was concerned but didn't know if this is a normal drill or not. Thanks!
 
In my opinion you can never do enough handstand work. my pre - comp girls in their warm up do a lot of different handstand drills, we usually hold free handstand, w/ and w/ out patner spot's for one minute once or twice depending on time and what day it is...what other things are planned for that training day...
 
We do a lot of those handstands against the wall with belly's in. My level 4's are currently up to a minute and a half. However, we didn't start with that, we started with 30 seconds and gradually worked it up over the summer. It really is an awesome drill and a great conditioning station as well. I know of many gyms in my area that have been doing this drill for years now, and you can really see the difference in the girls and their handstands. You can never do enough handstand work.
 
With the exception of pommel horse, every event in both men's and women's gymnastics is essentially based on one skill. The handstand.

You can never do them too much.
 
GT made an excellent point that most skills are based on the handstand. I don't really think you can ever hold a handstand for too long, and if the gymnast is able to hold it for a minute that's awesome! I often use handstands as a conditioning exercise. Depending on the level, I start with about 30 seconds and work the girls up to about a minute and a half. I usually repeat the exercise about 3 times. I also use many drills that CoachLin and Jasmine196 use--handstands and lots of them are quite common in gymnastics.
 
Same here, my girls do a lot of handstand drills. They also have to walk on hands across the floor frontward, backward, and sideways. It makes a big difference. I can tell my oldest girl has gained quiet a bit of strength just in the past few weeks with some of the handstand drills. She has the best handstand on her beam routine.
 
Handstands, handstands, handstands...you have to do lots of them. It's a great drill. Sure there is a point at which any drill can become dangerous. However, unless the kids are passing out and landing on their heads, the only real danger is getting tired.

I wouldn't be too worried bout this drill.
 
I agree with JBS...the better your handstand the easier skills will become!
 
I think I would've felt better about it if they had built up that point. They don't do them every week. Previously they did them for about 30 seconds. They had a coach filling in and I don't think she realized that they weren't quite there yet. My dd is only 6, she's pretty strong but this exercise really upset her. Is it healthy to have them upside down that long? I'm sure I'm overexagerating but I think it was a bit much.
 
My daughter started team in one gym and then moved to another when the original closed. What did they have in common? Handstands against the walls at every practice!! I think they currently do 1 1/2 -2 minutes. If you come down, you get to start over. All the girls hate it and they all cry (even the teens), but they have beautiful handstands. I think the tears come from being tired as this "fun" exercise occurs at the end of practice.
 
My dd is a 6yo level 4 and they do this drill all the time, usually for a minute to a minute and a half. My daughter likes to practice it at home and she has gotten up to 2 minutes regularly, sometimes longer. I think that they do need to work up to the longer time period, though, as it requires a lot of shoulder strength. BTW, her gym calls them spiderwalks. :)

Meg
 
nahh 3 times of one minute is nothing. don't worry its definetly normal in all gyms. at my old gym we used to have to hold 2 sets of 2 min handstands, and we held if for so long my arms used to give out on me. it should be pretty safe to hold it only for a minute!
 
I once had a coach who would make us hold diagonal handstands against the wall for 3 minutes. It was brutal at first, but by the end of the year it was no big deal. Then the next year I had a coach that had us holding them for one minute and it felt sooooo easy.
 
at our gym my dd level 3 is doing a belly up to the wall handstand for 3 min and that is followed by a wall sit for 2 min and then 10 bar hang leg lifts - her coach says if the strength is there he can teach any skill so they are huge on conditioning and i have to say at first i was thinking it was too much for her but her pediatrician says its not and she can't wait to get to the gym so i guess im along for the ride plus she now has a solid 5 sec. handstand consistantly
 
At my gym we have to hold our handstands for 1 minute without the wall support, if we walk or bend our legs we have to start over. Sometimes people have start over 20 times.
 
wow! all of theese stories really sound intense! how exactly do you get into a handstan with our belly to the wall ( i have never done this! ) do you walk your legs up??
 
Gymbum08

We often do belly-in handstands, some girls get up by walking their feet, others cartwheel in from the side, but most prefer to do a half-turn into the wall.
 

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