Parents Press handstand and age

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Is there a particular age that kids tend to get their press-handstands? They look awfully hard!
Is it easier on a beam, or on the floor?
 
I think dd started doing them around age 5.5 or 6. She was one of the earlier ones in her L2 group to get it.
 
I think my DD got hers the summer she was 7 maybe? She was first exposed to them during team summer camp and fell in love. She worked them mostly on beam and on a folded panel mat, rarely on the floor.
 
DD started working on them in her first developmental group year.... So age 5? I'd say she got it late that year or the beginning of the next?

Definitely easier on floor. She did a press HS in beam in her L5 routine.
 
The smaller ones seemed to get them sooner. My dd was (and still is) tiny. She is 11 now and only 52" tall and about 60 lbs. Back then (at age 5-6) she was probably only 40 lbs and she was wearing a size 4T.
 
There were a couple her age that year that did, but certainly not everyone does. She was super strong and small at the same time, so that helped for sure. I will say that learning it young helped. But the end of the year she was 7 (almost 8) the group of them (7 and 8 year olds..l. all L5) had contests to see how many could be done in a row without putting their legs down.... And four or five of them were doing 8-10 in a row? Some were still working on getting one, so it varies.

Edit: when she was 7 she was say 45" and 40 lbs?
 
My dd was 8 when she got hers on beam. She is on the muscular side but still small for her age.
 
My dd is 9 yrs old, level 4, tall and thin yet very strong and cannot get it with her long legs.
 
my daughter got it right around when she turned 5. She is the only one in her l3 group that has it as far as I know.
 
it helps if you go to a gym that actually works on them :confused:. DD is L7 and is not tiny...she recently left a gym that never worked on press handstands. I don't expert her to ever be able to do one at this point!
 
Hmmmmm.....DD desperately wants to be able to do them. She's 6yo, but very tall. She's 50" (or 4'2"). She's definitely flexible, but her limbs are so long! However, I think it's figuring out how to balance once she gets her hips rotated thats killing her. Plus, they don't practice during class, ever.
 
I will say that while DD got them when she was six, they were part of her conditioning almost every training session, so yup, it makes a big difference. The coaches spotted them when they were first learning to get the feel.

The girls with longer legs took longer.
 
Think of the flexibility factor this way. Imagine that you, yes you, are sitting in a straddled position. Most of you would be fortunate to get your hands placed on the floor and be able to lean forward onto them. The reason you may not be able to do this is you can't bend far enough at your hips because your back muscles, gluteal muscles, and hamstrings are too short and will pull your shoulders back and keep you from leaning forward onto your hands.

If you were able to lean all your weight onto your hands, the next step is to lush your hips and feet slightly upward.... and more is better than just enough. To make this happen your legs need to move close into your body while your hips lift. That's flexibility and strength, and that's a combination most of you don't have, as well as some kids who get frustrated with straddle presses.

The flexibility and strength combination does not need to be a 50/50 proposition. More flexible kids can get by with less strength, and stronger kids will need less flexibility...... but that's just to get up ugly.

To do this skill well, the person doing it needs to be flexible enough to bend forward far enough to squeeze a baseball between their legs and sternum, and strong enough to support themselves on their hands with their legs tucked under them and their hips held at elbow level behind them. The hard part to the tucked lift is the need to lean forward to maintain balance, but if you can do that, and all of the above, you're straddle press worthy.
 
Think of the flexibility factor this way. Imagine that you, yes you, are sitting in a straddled position. Most of you would be fortunate to get your hands placed on the floor and be able to lean forward onto them. The reason you may not be able to do this is you can't bend far enough at your hips because your back muscles, gluteal muscles, and hamstrings are too short and will pull your shoulders back and keep you from leaning forward onto your hands.

If you were able to lean all your weight onto your hands, the next step is to lush your hips and feet slightly upward.... and more is better than just enough. To make this happen your legs need to move close into your body while your hips lift. That's flexibility and strength, and that's a combination most of you don't have, as well as some kids who get frustrated with straddle presses.

The flexibility and strength combination does not need to be a 50/50 proposition. More flexible kids can get by with less strength, and stronger kids will need less flexibility...... but that's just to get up ugly.

To do this skill well, the person doing it needs to be flexible enough to bend forward far enough to squeeze a baseball between their legs and sternum, and strong enough to support themselves on their hands with their legs tucked under them and their hips held at elbow level behind them. The hard part to the tucked lift is the need to lean forward to maintain balance, but if you can do that, and all of the above, you're straddle press worthy.

I'm out,:p
 
My dd got hers when she was 5. She did lots with with support at the hips. She got less and less support each time till eventually she did it on her own, she didnt even realise she hadnt been supported
 

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