The 12 Minute Athlete 6-Week Handstand Challenge

Get ready you guys—because we have a new 6-week challenge coming your way.

During the next month and a half, we’re going to be working on different exercises you can do to help you build up to doing a freestanding handstand. Don’t be too intimidated—it doesn’t matter if you’ve been practicing handstands for a while now or you’ve never even tried to do one, this 6-Week Handstand Challenge is for you.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I do handstands pretty often and many 12 Minute Athlete HIIT workouts on the website and app include handstands and handstand variations as well. If until now you’ve been skipping those workouts, it’s time to get to working on your handstands.

You Can Do a Handstand

Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited about this new 6-week challenge, because handstands have really become one of my very favorite exercises of all time. But I promise I didn’t just wake up one day being able to do them. My first attempts were pretty miserable, and as I look back to my handstand journey, there were so many times when I was extremely frustrated because I felt I wasn’t making progress fast enough.

Yet that’s the thing about handstands—the journey never seems to end. Although I can now consistently hold a freestanding handstand for a minute or more, I’m still working on handstand presses, handstand push ups, and one day would love to be able to hold a one arm handstand. It’s a slow process, but I’m getting there.

So if you think you could never do a handstand, you’re not alone—because I used to think the same exact thing.

You just have to remember that almost anything is possible if you put time and effort in it and keep on trying. I know you can do this.

Need Some Handstand Motivation?

We’ve written about handstands a bunch on the site, so whenever you feel like you’re not getting anywhere, your motivation is fading, or you’re having trouble staying consistent with your practice, go back to these posts–they just might help.

Why You Should Do Handstands On a Regular Basis

7 Tips For a Better Handstand

My Handstand Journey: Lessons Learned

Handstand Push Ups: Why They Rock (And How To Start Doing Them)

Don’t miss out on the Handstand Challenge! Join below for updates:




Who Is the 6-Week Handstand Challenge For

This 6-Week Handstand Challenge is for athletes of all levels, whether you’re brand new to handstands or have been doing them for a while.

I know that many of you have already started practicing handstands, and some of you are already pretty good at them. You can still take this challenge! Even if you’re slightly more advanced, you’ll still probably learn something new, and more importantly, you’ll get into the habit of practicing consistently (and have fun along the way). If there are steps that seem too easy for you, you can simply skip them or progress to a more advanced version.

The same is true if you’ve been too intimidated to even try a handstand. This challenge is a perfect chance for you to get started since we’ll go through different exercises and various drills that will help you to build stronger body and help you work up to doing a handstand.

One very important thing that every level will learn from this challenge is consistency.

Being able to hold a solid handstand for some time won’t happen overnight or by practicing just whenever you happen to remember it. By taking this challenge, you have to be ready to work on your handstands at least three times a week.

What Can You Expect from This Challenge

Let’s be honest here: if you’re just starting out and attempting your first wall supported handstand next week, you’re probably not going to be able to do a freestanding handstand by the end of the challenge. I don’t want to discourage you, I want you to be realistic. I took me several years to be able to hold a handstand for even 15 seconds, although if I had known then what I know now I would have gotten there much sooner.

But being able to do a freestanding handstand by the end of the challenge is not what matters. What matters is making progress and being better by the end of the challenge than you were when you started. And if you take this challenge seriously, I promise that you will see the difference between weeks 1 and 6.

During this challenge we’ll focus on the most important things in handstand, including correct warm up and stretching, body alignment, core, shoulder and arm strength, and much more. And I will be there to help you and answer your questions in our Facebook group along the way—you can submit photos and videos of your weekly progress and I’ll do my best to give you feedback.

6-Week Handstand Challenge Rules

Here’s everything you need to know about the 12-Minute Athlete 6-Week Handstand Challenge:

Plan to practice your handstands 3-6 days a week, 5-15 minutes every time. Consistency is the most important thing when you want to get better in your handstands.

Do your homework. Every week, I will post the next week’s training focus and homework here on the blog and let you know about it also in the Facebook group. The homework may be something like doing wrist stretches, wall walks or something else that helps to strengthen your body and get your technique right. I’ll also post videos and photos so you can see exactly what you are going to do.

The homework will always build on last week’s homework so even in Week 4 you’ll still be working on your skills from Week 1, and so on.

Practice handstands before your HIIT workout. If you worked out hard and already did tens (or hundreds!) of push ups, burpees and pull ups, your body will be super tired, and it will be much harder to work on your handstands. Do your handstand practice first and HIIT after that to make faster progress. You can also do them at a separate time of the day, a.k.a. do handstands in the morning and HIIT in the afternoon, etc.

Post pictures and videos in 12 Minute Athlete Facebook group. The best way to do this is to take a photo or shoot a video at the beginning and in the end of every week, so you can see your progress. I’ll help you to check your form and give you feedback and tips based on your photos and videos. Don’t be shy to share how you’re doing!

Let’s Do This!

Our Facebook group is the place where we share our struggles and successes. Let’s all support and help each other, just like we did in our last 6-week challenge, the Fuel Your Body Nutrition Challenge. So be sure to join the group if you haven’t done it yet.

Also, keep your eyes peeled every Friday when we’ll be posting the next week’s focus and homework.

Last but not least, don’t be afraid to take this challenge or think that it’s not for you. It’s meant for everybody and all levels of athletic abilities! If you’re ready to put in the work, you will see progress.

There’s no better time to start than now.

Weekly Focuses and Homeworks

Check out the following links to read about weekly focuses and homeworks and to watch the demonstration videos.

Handstand Challenge Week 1: Wall Handstands

Handstand Challenge Week 2: Wrist Health

Handstand Challenge Week 3: Shoulder & Hip Positioning: Pike Rolls

Handstand Challenge Week 4: Balance Practice: Wall Splits

Handstand Challenge Week 5: Core Strength: Hollow Body Holds

Handstand Challenge Week 6: Freestanding Handstands

 




















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23 thoughts on “The 12 Minute Athlete 6-Week Handstand Challenge”

  1. I didn’t have a Facebook account but I have just create one and ask to join the 12 minutes athlete group to follow your headstand challenge. Thanks for creating it!

    Reply
    • Hi Karolina! Yes, it’s a good idea to join our Facebook group. People are really great and supportive there. Let’s do some handstands! 😉

      Reply
    • Great Marilyn! Make sure to join the Facebook group if you haven’t done that yet. We’re glad you’re in!

      Reply
  2. For someone who has never done a handstand before, this will be a great challenge. REally looking forward to this.

    Reply
  3. I can’t wait to see videos for handstand challenge so I can incorporate new exercises/ drills to my handstand practice that I have been doing for over 3 years. I will stick with it.

    Reply
  4. I can’t wait to do this! I failed miserably trying to get into a handstand against the wall and have been reluctant to try again. I REALLY want to learn this.

    Reply
    • Hi Trish! It happens! The important thing is to get back to it. We talk about falling in this challenge as well. Thanks for joining!

      Reply
  5. congrats to your challenge,if it was 40 yrs ago might have gone for it,as it is,i hope you get some people to realize value of being in best shape they can be!!john k. uspta pro

    Reply
  6. This sounds awesome and I’m totally motivated but then I just read about your journey and wonder how it is that you managed to bring this down to 6 weeks?? Whilst it took you much longer? And I’m not nearly as fit as you are!!

    Reply

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