Press Handstand, Straddle, Eccentric || The Sustainable Training Method

In this video : Press Handstand, Straddle, Eccentric || The Sustainable Training Method

If you're an adult gymnastic skill seeker who wants to unlock the straddle press to handstand, you’re going to want to check this out.

The eccentric straddle press handstand is a progression toward the straddle press handstand. We can use eccentrics to build strength and control in a movement before training the concentric.

You might not be strong enough to do a straddle press handstand yet, but you can start to build the required strength, balance and coordination by performing the eccentric.

If you can hold a 30-second freestanding handstand and a straddle handstand for 10-15 seconds, you're ready to start training the eccentric straddle press.

You can perform this movement on p-bars or with your hands flat on the floor.

You can also enter the handstand via a split kick-up, tuck kick-up, straddle kick-up or pike kick-up, whichever you prefer.

Start by kicking up to the handstand and holding a nice straight handstand with the feet together, the toes pointed, the knees locked, and a strong posterior pelvic tilt (PPT).

Pull the ribcage down, keep the shoulders elevated, and the shoulder angle open.

You want to have the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles stacked in an excellent vertical alignment.

Once you've found balance in the straight handstand, keep the legs straight as you open them into a star handstand. Keeping the quads contracted and the toes pointed as you abduct the hips to move the legs as wide as possible without flexing at the hips.

The range of motion will depend on your adductor flexibility.

From here, fight to keep the shoulders elevated as you flex the hips and move the pelvis into an anterior pelvic tilt (APT) to lower the legs towards the straddle handstand.

Keep pulling the legs apart as you slowly move them down to the straddle handstand. It can be helpful to consider closing the angle between your chest and thighs as you bring the legs down. Resist the urge to lean the shoulders forward, and keep pushing your chest towards your legs while maintaining the 180 degrees of shoulder flexion.

When first learning the eccentric straddle press, pausing for 5-10 seconds in the straddle handstand is recommended. This helps us build strength and awareness at a critical point of the straddle press handstand.

Depending on your pancake flexibility, how will this next part look? If you have tight hamstrings, your knees might start to bend, and you'll need to lean the shoulders further forward to control the bottom half of this movement.

Aim to keep your arms and legs as straight as possible as you contract the hip flexors to close the angle between your torso and thighs and pull your feet towards the floor.

Compress as much as possible to bring your feet as close to your hands as possible. The aim is to show control in the eccentric straddle handstand press from top to bottom. At no point should gravity take over.

When learning new skills like the press to handstand, it's essential to slow the movement as much as possible. The slower you can go, the faster you will progress in unlocking the concentric straddle press handstand.

Give it a try, and see how you go.

If you've got questions, please leave them in the comments.

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Music By Scott Holmes