CrossFit Santa Cruz’s Laurie Galassi, a gymnast and fifth-place finisher at the NorCal Regional, shares her coaching tips for mastering the handstand. In Part 3 of the series, Galassi teaches the handstand walk.
“A handstand walk is a weight transfer. It is a momentary handstand on one arm,” she says.
Her first progression is to shift weight from arm to arm in a push-up plank.
“With all of this, if you’re in control, you can advance. The second that you’re not in control and doing things by choice, you’re done,” she says. “You’ve gotta master that skill before you can add on because, just like your handstand, it all stacks up.”
Next, she has the athletes shift their weight from hand to hand when inverted in a handstand. Then, she has them kick up into a handstand a few steps from the wall and handstand-walk into the wall.
“When you think about Pose running, the whole concept is that you are falling and catching, right? So when you’re handstanding, you’re also falling and catching—but without breaking any line,” she says.
The final progression is developing balance using a partner to spot a free-standing handstand.
Galassi has her athletes continue to practice the skills necessary to progress further.
“Happy handstanding,” she says.
5min 27sec
Additional reading: Why Train Gymnastics Basics? by Jeff Tucker, published Aug. 1, 2008.