Episode 7, script

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Katja
Posts: 17
Joined: 03 May 2021, 15:52

Hey everyone,
Here's Episode 7 written out. In case you're interested.
Greetings from Katja

Episode 7 – Natalie Reckert 7 week handstand

Actively balancing (2:00)
1
When up (or as soon as your hands touch the ground), catch yourself by immediately pushing out the shoulders and tuck the ribs (the alignment). This will bring you back in position every time when falling out to one or the other side.
2
Slightly overshoot (2% too much weight to the front) to then correct with the fingers and metacarpale rather then having the weight in the lower part of the hand-palm
3
It’s a ripple: pushing out the shoulders, curving the back, hollow body shape.

4 (4:40)
Kick up in handstand, find center of mass, then catch yourself like described and stay for 3 seconds.
You can use a spotter or the wall.
Goal: 10 x 3 sec holds (no matter how many attempts), then extent to 5 sec

5 (7:10) Toe pulls
Chest to wall handstand, take off one toe, find balance, take off the other
Aim for 3 sec, later 5 sec

6 (7:45) Heel pulls
Back to wall, one foot off, find balance, other heel off to free
Aim for 3 sec, later 5 sec

7 (8:05) L-shape to free
Chest to wall but one leg distance away
L-shape, take one foot off, find balance, second foot off and close it next to the other foot
Aim for 3 sec, later 5 sec

8 (8:25) One knee bend
Back to wall but half a leg distance away
One leg is straight, the other bend and its foot against the wall, knees pressed together
Find balance and remove the touching foot off the wall, stay like this
Or close both legs together

Avoid… (8:54)
• Sticking your chest out (happens if you lack shoulder flexibility). Keep at least imagining curving your back and push your ribs in.
• Stick your head out too much. Only that far that you can look between your hands. It’s the hipps you want to get up first. Not the head.
• Having your legs too much to the back. Happens when squeezing the butt very much. Learn to imagine where your legs are.
• Making a posterior tilt. Then the legs are more to the front and the butt sticks out.
• Making an arch in the back (10:24) plus sticking the chest out. That happens when leaning the shoulders too much to the front. Because it feels like falling to the back first (arch: posterior tilt, legs more to the back), but then you fall out to the front (wrongly correcting by sticking the chest out and leaning the shoulders forwards). When this happens, really make sure that you have the weight in the tip of the fingers and not at the back of the hand. This is my mistake at the moment!
• Tilting posterior too much. Then you’ll get a pike, shortening the length from tucking the hips too much. Keep lengthening while maintaining a posterior tilt.
• Not pointing your toes. (11:30) Always activate your legs, pressing the feet together and tip toe. Imagine the opposite ends of toes and hands, make it a outstretched line. In between have the activated core to feel both strength and lightness.
• Having the hands wider than elbow-width apart.
• Bending the elbows.
• When still having shoulder flexibility issues (12:15) (me!), don’t lean against it (like when you have the arms outstretched against a wall and hanging your back down), but actively push up. Concentrate on elevating!

Exercises for freestanding handstand (12:20)
1 Kick-up’s
• Kick up, stay for 3 sec
• In between sets
o arm circles to front and back, windshield wipers by bending to one leg (wide stand) touching the foot with one hand and stretching the other to the ceiling and look up.
• 10 x, 2 sets

2 Toe taps (17:55)
• Chest to wall
• Doe toe taps, hold the balance for 3 sec
• 5 x in one chest to wall handstand
• In between sets stretches (not all at once, just one or two, between the next set another):
o opening and closing the ribcage by stretching back and curving also with the outstretched arms
o rolling the shoulders to front and back
o hamstring stretch by putting the hands on the ground in front of you, bending and straightening the legs
o do the same with legs wide
o One-sided arch stretch by leaning on both legs and one arm behind (bridge position), stretch the free arm back and arch more
• 5 sets

2 L-shape one foot off (25:40)
• Chest to wall
• Put the feet up in L-shape (one foot straight, the other straight or slightly bend touching the wall)
• Make the foot that’s touching light and take it off, you don’t have to close the leg next to the other
• 10 sec free standing, 3 x in one standing, 3 sets
• In between stretch
o Bridge (arms under, not above like a ‘real’ bridge’ with fingers pointing towards the feet)
o Circular stretch with stick, stick above the head, stretched arms, locked elbows, circle torso around

Conditioning and Endurance (30:40)
1 Tucking and straddling
• Coming up in a a) tuck b) straddle to the handstand (back against the wall)
• Slightly touch the wall and come down in the same way
• If you can’t come up in tuck or straddle yet, kick up and come down in tuck or straddle
• 5 x tuck, 5 x straddle, 2 sets
• In between stretches
o Wrist stretches
o Shoulder stretch by interlocking the fingers behind the back and stretching up, also with forward bend, in the forward bend also bending knees and straighten again

2 Wall walks (33:50)
• Walk in to chest to wall and straight away out again
• 5 x (without putting the feet down), 2 sets
• In between stretches
o Pushing against the wall with the arms, putting a) the hands and b) the elbows to the wall, stretching the T-spine downwards
o One arm (lower part) pointing up, leaning against the wall, bend sideward to stretch the front part of the shoulder

3 Back to wall handstand (36:56)
• 60 sec hold, 3 x
• Breaks in between as short as possible
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Natalie Reckert
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Sep 2019, 21:14

Hello Katja,

Thank you so much, this is really great!

I hope you get a few seconds of balance by now.

Best,
Natalie
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