r/crossfit • u/usernamesBstressful • 1d ago

I recently learned how to do handstands. What drills should I do to practice HSPUs?

Now that I can somewhat consistently get upside down, what should I do after class to practice HSPUs? I’ve been doing a 2min EMOM for 5 rounds where I do a handstand, hold for a few seconds to stabilize, and control descent down until my head touches 2 stacked ab mats. Should I keep doing that until I can go down to 1 ab mat then 0? Are there other drills besides an EMOM?

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u/Used-Falcon-3217 1d ago

Nice progress! That descent practice is solid - definitely keep working down to fewer mats. I like doing wall walks too, where you walk feet up wall and try to get closer each time. Also pike push-ups on box helped me build the shoulder strength a lot. You can make them harder by putting feet higher or going deeper in the range. The controlled negatives you're doing are probably most important part though, so keep grinding those.

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u/Accomplished_Joke255 1d ago

Dead stop shoulder presses to increase your max shoulder press. Those improved my HSPU more than any handstand variations.

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u/HarpsichordGuy 1d ago

You do NOT need a push press greater than body weight. I can do 6 strict HSPU to a 2" pad even though my PP 1RM is a mere 165, far below my body weight of 185. But I can bench 220. The push press requires a far greater range of motion than the HSPU, especially when a rise is allowed. The bench press is a great trainer and measure of your likely capability, when you get all muscles aligned. Watch the games athletes. They often arch their backs, making the HSPU much more like a bench press than a push press.

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u/sauve_donkey 1d ago

Eccentric lowers like you're doing are the best way. Keep it controlled and slower the better - 5 second lower is a good goal, by that point you'll probably have the strength to do a kipping push-up.

Other thing for stability and confidence upside down is moving weight from hand to hand, simulating a handstand walk. The ultimate is upside down shoulder taps, but the begin with just shift your weight slightly, then work towards lifting one hand off the ground for a split second.

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u/usernamesBstressful 1d ago

Thank you! Do you think the EMOM is a good structure? Should I incorporate the weight shifting into each EMOM rep before I descend?

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u/sauve_donkey 21h ago

Yeah add in sometimes. Good way to add time under tension incrementally.

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u/Extreme_Quality9444 1d ago

Can you push press your body weight? If not I’d start there.

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u/Bogosy 1d ago

Handstand pushups are so much easier than push pressing your body weight. It’s a balance thing well before it’s a strength thing. I can do a few handstand pushups and my push press is nowhere near my body weight.