??? re: handstand drills

[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. 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!

[CoachLin]

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...

[jasmine196]

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.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

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.

[hammy]

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.

[priljune]

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.

[JBS]

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.

[GymnastRaeRae87]

I agree with JBS...the better your handstand the easier skills will become!

[nettyinpa]

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.

[vmom]

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.