Seven days that earn the wall.
Positions before progressions. Seven days that make week one of the Handstand program feel like week three.
Handstands don't fail from weak shoulders - they fail from unprepared wrists, a soft midline, and fear of the fall. This week spends honest time on all three so the program's wall work starts moving on day one.
~10 MINUTES A DAY - MARK EACH DAY DONE AS YOU GO; IT SAVES ON THIS DEVICE
- Nothing here should hurt. Discomfort in muscles - fine. Pain in joints - stop.
- Quality of position beats duration, every single day.
- Rest as much as you need between sets. This is practice, not a workout.
- If something hurts, skip it and see a professional in person.
Wrist prep
On all fours: rock forward and back over the hands, palm lifts, fingertip presses - 60-90 seconds total, two rounds. Finish with a plank, shoulders pushed long, 3 x 20 seconds.
WHY - Your wrists carry the whole skill. Pay them first.
The line, on the floor
Lie down: arms overhead, ribs down, glutes on, legs squeezed together. Hold the shape 3 x 20 seconds. Done honestly, it's harder than it sounds.
WHY - A handstand is this line, rotated 180 degrees.
Wall time
Back-to-wall hold (or belly-to-wall if you can walk in safely): 4-6 short holds, well within your limit. Stack hands, shoulders, hips.
WHY - Accumulate minutes in a stacked line with fear switched off.
Rest + walk
Deliberate rest. Shake the wrists out, go for a walk, let the shoulders settle.
WHY - The nervous system consolidates balance on rest days.
Weight shifts
Belly-to-wall: shift your weight slowly side to side, lifting one hand a centimetre off the floor. 3-4 sets of 6 shifts.
WHY - Balance isn't stillness - it's small corrections, trained.
The bail-out
Practise cartwheeling out of a wall handstand to a controlled step-down, both sides, until it's boring. Then 2-3 kick-ups to a wall you barely touch.
WHY - Freestanding starts the day falling stops being scary.
Test + log
Best wall hold, cleanest kick-up, how the wrists coped. Write it down, honestly.
WHY - Your first logbook entry - and the program's starting line.
Seven days of evidence. Twelve weeks of program.
You now have a week of logged positions - exactly what the 12-week Handstand program picks up and builds on. Every week of it gets read and rewritten off your log, the way you just practised.
Want it in your inbox instead? One email with the seven days and your day-7 next step. Then nothing, unless you ask.
NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. TRAIN WITHIN YOUR LIMITS.