Resources for Practicing Handstands When You Can’t Even Kick Up

A quick Youtube search of “how to handstand for beginners” yields a lot videos with the same first step — just kick up to the wall! Easy! Maybe for other people, but not for me… 😦 I found these videos incredibly discouraging. If I can’t even do “step 0” of being able to work on handstands, should I just give up now?

Fear not! There are actually a ton of steps you can take to improve your handstands before being able to kick up to the wall! It took me a while to find resources geared towards the absolute beginner who can’t kick up, so I’ve collected them here for anyone else struggling with how to move forward as well.

It took me *5 months* to kick up to the wall! Work smart, keep up the good work, and it WILL happen!

Mentality

  • Unseen Progress by THEATLASMOVEMENT. I recommend watching the whole video, but the one line that stuck out to me — “The body is making progress, even when you don’t see it.”
  • Treat not being able to kick up as a blessing, not a curse. I can’t for the the life of me find the article where I read this but… I once read that it can be easier to teach someone who can’t kick up to the wall to do a freestanding handstand, because they aren’t going to be as reliant on the wall as someone who always over-kicks all the time and relies on the wall. No idea how true that is, but it certainly made me feel better!

Getting Upside Down for the First Time

You might want to take a step back and try some easier inversion alternatives before jumping into handstands.

  • Using a FeetUp trainer. I have a review of the trainer posted here. It’s super easy to get upside down in the trainer and it was a great tool for proving to to your brain that your body can go upside down safely.
  • How To Do a Headstand for Beginners by Yoga with Adriene. I personally learned to headstand in one of Kid Ace’s Yoga for Skaters classes, but this video covers similar drills.

Balancing Your Bodyweight on Your Hands

  • Crow Pose Tutorial by Antranik. Crow Pose (aka Bakasana aka Frog Stand) is a great way to practice and strengthen your hand balancing, while proving to your brain that you have the ability to balance your bodyweight on your hands.
  • Planks. Start doing planks every day. Start really small (like 30 seconds). Don’t increase your time every day, so it’s not something you totally dread. But try to increase it as it begins to feel easier. Break up your holds into max 1 minute holds, and try to mix in plank variations like side planks, or one leg up.

Handstand-Targeted Drills and Programs

  • Yoga Handstand for Beginners Who are Afraid of Handstands by Shana Meyerson (YOGAthletica). Lots of great drills in here that you can to today with a wall, like chest-to-walls and L stands to help you get familiar with the sensation of going upside down.
  • Beginner Handstand Drills by Morgan Rose Moroney. Lots of great drills to get you training your strength, like dish hold and assisted L-stands. I highly recommend the assisted L-stand covered here if L-stands on the wall feel like too much.
  • Couch to Handstand: 30 Day Challenge by Natalie Reckert. I did not follow the full 30 day challenge, but I have followed a few random days, and they are beginner friendly, incredibly informative, and FREE!
  • The Core Play by Karin Dimitrovova. This 28 day program cultivates core strength, as well as wrist and shoulder mobility, making it perfect for handstand conditioning. The program is worth every penny and highly recommend it. I repeated the program twice and had amazing results. I ultimately kicked up to the wall finally right at the end of my second round. I have a more in-depth review here.
  • Yoga for Skaters by Kid Ace. Wednesday classes at 12PM PST/3PM EST focus on inversions and building the strength you need to get upside down. Kid Ace also has 1:1 coaching available.

Using Props

Kicking Off of an Elevated Surface

  • How to Kick to a Handstand Against a Wall with a Pylo Box by CrossFit Invitus. Practice what it feels like to have your feet over your head using a pylo box and the wall. You could always sub the pylo box for a sturdy piece of furniture. 👉Following this video was probably the single most helpful step I took towards getting rid of my fear of kicking up.👈
  • Finally Kicking Up to a Handstand at 60 by Patti Martin. Hopefully that title alone inspires you. 🙂 Again, you don’t necessarily need a fancy prop — Patti used pieces of foam to elevate her kicking leg. You can also try yoga blocks or books.

Kicking Up Using a Yoga Wheel

I personally didn’t like practicing with a yoga wheel, but I’ve seen it do wonders for others.

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