The Journey to Inverted Mastery
Today, I want to talk about developing advanced gymnastics skills. The journey to mastering handstand press-ups (HSPU) and handstand walking is a significant undertaking, demanding patience, consistency, and a structured progression. Achieving these movements represents a considerable athletic accomplishment, and it’s a process that can be incredibly rewarding.
In this blog, I’m going to outline a clear roadmap for achieving these capabilities, focusing on how CrossFit effectively builds the foundational strength and skill required. Understanding this progression is crucial for setting realistic expectations and developing an effective training plan.
Safety First: Strict is King
You might observe athletes performing kipping handstand press ups or walking on their hands. While these demonstrations are impressive, it’s important to recognize that bypassing foundational strict strength and technique can lead to significant setbacks. Athletes can often achieve movements like toes-to-bar, pull-ups, and muscle-ups using a kipping motion before developing the underlying strict strength. However, the ability to perform a movement doesn’t always align with the safest or most effective developmental path. Prematurely introducing kipping before achieving strict strength frequently results in injuries, which can cause prolonged training interruptions and ultimately delay or even halt progress. Prioritising strict strength development is a far more effective and safer approach.
Developing robust, stable shoulders and a strong core through strict movements is paramount. This foundational strength not only safeguards your joints but also ensures that when you eventually introduce kipping variations, they feel more controlled and less taxing on your body.
The Ascension: Progression Stages to Handstand Mastery
So, where do you begin, and what are the crucial steps along the way? We’ll discuss stages and how we supplement progress even in our daily WODs, because you can significantly improve your handstand game without exclusively drilling HSPUs or handstand walks. Bear in mind, these timelines are rough guides and highly dependent on individual factors like starting strength, body composition, and consistency. For beginners, getting to stage 1 can be a few months of progress. Heavier athletes will need to look at improving body composition alongside gaining strength to get there faster.
Now, let’s talk about the reality of those timelines, because it isn’t going to be easy. Just like developing a strong pull-up or muscle-up, or achieving a black belt in martial arts, advanced handstand skills take time and dedication. We wouldn’t expect to earn a black belt in karate in six months – this isn’t “The Karate Kid”!
Here’s what you can roughly expect if you’re starting from scratch:
- Solid Plank & Plank Taps: (Approx. 1-3 Months) Before you go upside down, you need to own a bulletproof plank. This builds core strength and shoulder stability, which are critical for any handstand variation. Progress to plank shoulder taps, maintaining a rigid body – this translates directly to keeping your hips stable when inverted.
- Headstand Hold: (Approx. 1-3 Months, cumulative from start: 1-6 Months) Often overlooked, a headstand is a fantastic way to build confidence being inverted and to develop balance without the high demand on wrist and shoulder strength initially. Focus on a stable, tripod base with your head and hands, and stacking your hips over your shoulders.
- Partial Wall Walks & Full Wall Walks: (Approx. 2-6 Months, cumulative from start: 3-12 Months) These are essential for building the specific pressing strength and shoulder endurance required for handstand work. Start by walking your feet up the wall only partially, building confidence, then gradually move closer until your chest is touching the wall.
- Handstand Kick-Ups to Wall: (Approx. 1-4 Months, cumulative from start: 4-16 Months) This is about learning to get into the handstand position safely and consistently. Practice kicking up to the wall, finding your balance point, and holding a solid, stacked position. Focus on maintaining a hollow body.
- Wall-Facing Handstand Holds & Shoulder Taps: (Approx. 2-5 Months, cumulative from start: 6-21 Months) Once comfortable kicking up with your back to the wall, try wall-facing handstands. This forces you to engage your core and find your true balance. From here, progress to wall-facing handstand shoulder taps, challenging your stability on one arm.
- Strict Handstand Push-Ups (HSPU) – To Varying Depths:
- Strict HSPU to 4″ Surplus (Abmat + Plate): (Approx. 3-9 Months, cumulative from start: 9-30 Months) This is typically the easiest strict HSPU variation to achieve, providing a reduced range of motion by elevating your hands.
- Strict HSPU to 2″ Surplus (Abmat): (Approx. 3-6 Months, cumulative from start: 12-36 Months) Progressing to a slightly deeper range, using just a standard Abmat under your head.
- Strict HSPU to Floor: (Approx. 3-9 Months, cumulative from start: 15-45 Months) Once you’ve mastered the Abmat, aim for full range of motion, head to the floor.
- Deficit Strict HSPU (e.g., using parallettes for 4-6″ depth): (Approx. 6-18 Months, cumulative from start: 21-63+ Months) To increase the challenge and build even greater strength, use parallettes or plates to increase the deficit, allowing your head to go below your hands. These build immense shoulder and tricep strength, directly benefiting future kipping or walking.
- Strength Benchmark: A good rule of thumb for achieving your first strict HSPU is to be able to strict press approximately 75-80% of your bodyweight overhead. While an HSPU involves a shorter range of motion, the overhead strict press builds the foundational strength in the shoulders and triceps that is directly transferable.
- Kipping Handstand Push-Ups: (Approx. 1-3 Months after Strict HSPU, cumulative from strict HSPU to floor: 16-48 Months) Once you have a strong, consistent strict HSPU (and ideally can perform a few repetitions), you can introduce the kip. This utilizes the hips and legs to generate momentum, allowing for more repetitions or facilitating movement over a larger deficit.
- Handstand Walks (Wall-Assisted then Free): (Approx. 6-18 Months after consistent Handstand Holds, cumulative from start: 12-48+ Months) Start by practicing small steps with your chest to the wall, focusing on shifting your weight from one hand to the other while maintaining your balance. Gradually progress to taking small steps away from the wall, working on short distances and then building up.
Accessory Work: Building Your Handstand Arsenal
To accelerate your progress on HSPUs and handstand walks, regular accessory work is key:
- Strict Dips (Bar/Rings): These build crucial pressing strength for the lockout and mid-range of the HSPU.
- Dumbbell/Barbell Strict Press: Directly builds overhead pressing strength, which is fundamental.
- Push-Up Variations: Decline push-ups, pseudo planche push-ups, or elevated push-ups increase the load on your shoulders and triceps.
- Overhead Carries/Holds: Improve shoulder stability and endurance.
- Shoulder Stability Exercises: Face pulls, band pull-aparts, and external rotations strengthen the smaller muscles around the shoulder joint, preventing injury.
- Midline Stability: Hollow body holds, planks, and GHD sit-ups are vital for maintaining a rigid, stable body position in the handstand.
The Long Game: Realistic Expectations
Now, let’s talk about the reality of those timelines, because it isn’t going to be easy. Just like developing a strong pull-up or muscle-up, achieving advanced handstand skills takes time and dedication. Here’s what you can roughly expect if you’re starting from scratch:
- 1+ Strict Handstand Push-Up (to floor): We’re talking about a solid 15 months to potentially almost four years.
- 1+ Deficit Strict Handstand Push-Up: Buckle up for this one, folks, because we’re looking at a range of 21 months all the way to pushing past 5 years.
- 5ft Handstand Walk: Get ready for the long haul here: 1 year to a possible 4+ years.
Now, before you get discouraged by these timeframes, let’s be clear. These are ranges. And what dictates where you fall on that range? It’s the same factors that influence all athletic development in CrossFit:
- Consistency is Key: Regular training is non-negotiable. Aim for consistent attendance, ideally 14+ times a month.
- Dedicated Skill Work: While WODs provide a broad stimulus, some advanced movements benefit significantly from specific drills and dedicated practice outside of general class programming.
- Optimal Nutrition: Proper fueling is fundamental for strength development and recovery. You can’t build a strong foundation without adequate and appropriate nutrition.
- Managing Life’s Demands: Injuries, work-related stress, and other life events can impact training consistency. If you experience a training break, be prepared for additional time needed to regain previous levels of strength and skill.
However, understanding this roadmap is incredibly valuable. It allows for the setting of realistic expectations and the strategic planning of your training. It also enables you to acknowledge and celebrate every incremental victory along the way. This is a journey, a long-term commitment, and we are here to support you at CrossFit Chiltern. With consistent effort, intelligent training, and proper nutrition, you will make significant progress.
Remember, we offer FREE athlete check-ins to all CrossFit Chiltern members. During these, you can work with a coach to plan your goals and set some realistic timelines. Not a member of CrossFit Chiltern? The best time to start something is now!
Book your discovery call today and find out how we can help you get to your fittest, happiest self!
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