Kyle Weiger
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Never do a handstand cold
The best handstand warm-up starts with one rule: never handstand cold. Never, ever.
I say it in almost every workshop I teach, and I say it in all of my online programs. Even after this many years of training, with a body that’s conditioned for it, I don’t just get up into a handstand right away.
Instead, I always warm up what I call the big four: wrists, shoulders, hips and hamstrings.
Why wrists and shoulders come first
Of the big four, the first two are mandatory. Here’s why.
If I sustain a wrist injury, I can’t practice. If I sustain a shoulder injury, I can’t practice either.
Other injuries are different. If I have a minor issue in a knee or an ankle, I can still get creative and find a way to handstand. For example, I could climb into the wall, kick to the wall, or use another way to enter my freestanding practice. However, you absolutely cannot handstand with a wrist injury. You just can’t do it.
So I always take every precaution, because the health of my body is priority number one.
What an injury taught me
At one point, I sustained a groin injury. It got to the point where I couldn’t straddle, and I couldn’t take my legs out when I jumped.
As a result, I had to modify my practice for about three months. And during those three months, you know what I did? I got insanely good at tuck handstand.
Since I couldn’t straddle, I had to keep my legs close together. So I thought, let’s just work on tuck. Throughout that whole period, I would just tuck and tuck and tuck.
I used the injury to focus on another part of my practice that needed attention. That said, the best plan is to avoid the injury in the first place, which is exactly what your warm-up is for.
Your big four handstand warm-up
Here’s what to include. Think of this as the bare minimum.
Wrists
Start with the common wrist stretches: dorsiflexion and palmar flexion.
Shoulders
You don’t just want flexible shoulders. You also want them strong. So include any warm-up where you’re hanging from something, banded shoulder flexion work, and any kind of overhead work. Pike push-ups, supported on the wall or a bench, count too.
Hips
A deep, good old-fashioned frog squat, plus Cossack squats.
Hamstrings
A standard forward fold.
How long should your handstand warm-up be?
My normal stretch-out routine takes a really long time. But if you’re a beginner, you don’t need to devote a ton of time to it or make it your whole workout. You just never, ever skip it.
In fact, the best warm-up is one that matches the workout you’re about to do:
- A long workout ahead: take a nice, easy, long warm-up.
- Only 30 or 40 minutes to practice: warm up for 8 to 12 minutes, then get the rest of your reps in.
Either way, the warm-up always happens. Skipping it is just a bad idea.
The lesson most people learn the hard way
A lot of practitioners learn this lesson the hard way. The nice thing is that you only really have to learn it once. After that, you start to realize that your warm-up matters more than anything.
Better yet, learn it here instead of from an injury.
Try this in your next session
- Check your time. Decide how long your practice is, and size your warm-up to match.
- Go in order. Wrists, then shoulders, then hips, then hamstrings.
- Then practice. Only once the big four are done do you kick up.
Build the habit from day one
If you’re new to handstands, The 4 Essential Handstand Elements gives you a clear, structured plan from your very first session, so good habits like warming up stick early. I designed it for adult beginners working at the wall who want a clear path forward.
Keep building with me
If this helped, come train with me on social. I share drills, form checks and coaching breakdowns for adult handstanders at every stage of the roadmap.
- Instagram: @kyleweiger
- TikTok: @handstandcoach
- YouTube: youtube.com/kyleweiger
- Facebook: Kyle Weiger Handstand Coach
Warm up the big four, every single time. You’re on the right path, my friends.
Structure beats struggle.
