Biomechanics of Handwalking
Walking on your hands is such a classical acrobatic skill. Whether you are seeing Cirque du Soleil or watching those ‘upside down clowns’ in a parade, walking on your hands will always dazzle and amaze people. When it comes to learning this skill, following biomechanical principles truly helps learn and master this skill.
When teaching handwalking, the first thing I start with is discussing how baby’s learn to walk. Walking may not feel like this when you have been walking for years, but truly it is controlled falling. Take a look at the next baby you meet that is around the age of learning to walk. They start by falling forward. Their first step is when they are able to catch themselves from falling by taking an actual step forward. This action of falling and catching highly relates to walking on your hands. You must have a handstand tipping over (into a bridge essentially). You need to live in this place of sort of tipping to help you stay in a handstand while walking on your hands.
To work on this skill I will either spot students by pushing or pulling their feet until their weight starts shifting forward. The other exercise I like using is to have students handstand a few feet from the wall and then try to hand walk towards the wall. They are able to work on this shift of weight because they can “land” or end up leaning on the wall after a few steps.
The next still I discuss and work on is wrist strength and use of wrists. I start with control in end range extension by doing Controlled Articular Rotations so warm up, and then Pails and Rails in wrist extension for 2 minutes. Place your hands on the ground and load your wrists like you do in a plank. From there, for 10 second intervals, use your forearm flexors and extensors to either press your finger tips into the ground or to lift them up. This control will strengthen and protect your wrists and help you develop balance from the ground up.
Next, I have my students warm up their proper handstand technique, alternating right and left, working on floating up into a handstand and maintaining a static handstand as long as you can and then repeating on the other side. This will take the foundation of wrist strength and put it into use, making the functional connection clear to students.
From there, understanding how to stabilize your low back by using your core without holding your breath is another key skill. One exercise I like using for this skill is plank with partner perturbations. Pair your students up, have them go into a plank with a neutral spine, core braced, and then for one minute, have a partner perform perturbations with taps and pushes to challenge their stability during the plank. This will help students deal with little misfires related to biomechanics and stability.
Speaking of stability, scapular stability is another key element to a strong and safe handstand for handwalking. One often overlooked muscle is serratus anterior. Serratus anterior attaches to the front of the rib cage and the back of the scapula. Have your students protract and retract their shoulder blades while in a plank. Push the floor away and then let your shoulder blades approximate without bending your elbows. Once you have mastered this exercise in a plank, take it to a handstand and repeat the process.
Building endurance for your arms is also another key skill required for successful and safe handwalking. Have your students handstand against the wall and then shift your weight hand to hand to emulate walking. Eventually lifting your hands up or even shoulder taping helps you build arm strength. Keep working on the duration of this practice walking so that once you master the biomechanics you have the endurance to actually walk around on your hands.
Another element of a great handstand is the connection of the legs. This may be more of a refinement element, but if you are struggling with handwalking and your legs are flailing, this exercise could really help finesse your handwalking. Place a squishy ball or something similar between your ankles, and then go into your handstand walking or handstand walking exercises. This will force you to engage your adductors to keep the ball in place, thus developing the skills necessary to keep your legs together while walking on your hands. Yet again another element that makes up clean, strong
When teaching and coaching handwalking it is important for students to understand the biomechanics, and then to understand how to break those down into tangible exercises. Handwalking really isn’t that difficult if you break it down. I always say once you have 10 steps you have the biomechanics down.
Handwalking really is an accessible skill for most students. It is a great identifier of the students ability to use their core, as well as comfort level upside down. The final finesse of handwalking is to work on the skill to music. Trying to handwalk in time to the beat is the last bit of creating a skill that is truly usable in choreography and will look clean and together when executed.
Try these tips out and tag us in your handwalking practice sessions!
For more information, please reach out to Dr. Stephen directly at hello@madetomove.ca
