Skills
Press to handstand
From the wall negative to the press from planche, with straight arms.
- Steps
- 8
- Levels
- N5–N12
- The goal
- From planche
- Crosses with
- Handstand · Planche · L-sit, V-sit and manna
Before you start
They are all transitions: every rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
Hip compression is part of the press: train it separately; it is not measured.
The main path
PRE-1Level 5
Wall negative
From a wall handstand, lower with straight arms and legs apart until the feet reach the floor.
- Achievement
- 1 negative of ≥5 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
More about this step
Good to have first
- Handstand · Wall handstand: 60 s — Being comfortable upside down against the wall.
If it won't come today
- Partial descent.
PRE-2Level 6
Free negative
The same descent, from a freestanding handstand with no wall.
- To start
- Wall negative: 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
- Achievement
- 1 negative of ≥5 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
More about this step
Good to have first
- Handstand · Freestanding handstand: 10 s — The free negative starts from a freestanding handstand.
If it won't come today
PRE-3Level 6
Elevated straddle
Feet on a box, hands on the floor: press up to handstand with straight arms and legs apart. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Wall negative: 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
Good to have first
- Handstand · Freestanding handstand: 10 s and Planche · Tuck: 3 s — A freestanding handstand and a shoulder lean with locked arms.
If it won't come today
- A higher box.
- Free negative
One of the two
PRE-4aLevel 7
Straddle from standing
From standing, hands down and press up to handstand with straight arms and legs apart. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Elevated straddle: 3 × 3 reps or Free negative: 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
PRE-4bLevel 7
Pike from standing
From standing, press up to handstand with straight arms and legs together and straight. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Elevated straddle: 3 × 3 reps or Free negative: 3 × 3 negatives of ≥7 s
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
PRE-5Level 8
Straddle from L-sit
From an L-sit or straddle L, press up in straddle with straight arms. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Pike from standing: 3 × 3 reps or Straddle from standing: 3 × 3 reps
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
Good to have first
- L-sit, V-sit and manna · L-sit: 3 s or L-sit, V-sit and manna · Straddle L: 3 s — The starting point is the L or the straddle L.
If it won't come today
PRE-6Level 9
Pike from L-sit
From an L-sit or straddle L, press up in pike with straight arms. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Straddle from L-sit: 3 × 3 reps
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
Good to have first
- L-sit, V-sit and manna · L-sit: 3 × 30 s or L-sit, V-sit and manna · Straddle L: 3 × 30 s — The same starting point, held longer.
If it won't come today
PRE-7Level 12The goal
From planche
From a straddle planche, press up to handstand with straight arms. Each rep ends in a handstand held for 3 s.
- To start
- Straddle from L-sit: 3 × 3 reps
- Achievement
- 1 rep
- Mastery
- 3 × 3 reps
More about this step
Good to have first
- Planche · Straddle: 3 s — The starting point is the straddle planche.
If it won't come today
Training it
Reference, not a prescription.
How it's trained
Lowering first, then pressing up
It starts with the lowering: from the handstand, lower with legs apart until the feet touch down. Then you press up from a box, and only then from the floor. In people with a good press, the hips close more: compression, bringing the legs toward the chest, is part of the movement.
Prepare the body
Warm hamstrings and a comfortable handstand
Hamstring pulls are among press injuries, from lack of flexibility or warm-up in the pike or straddle: they are warmed up first and the straddle is not forced cold. Also, strong, mobile wrists and a comfortable handstand.
When to stop
A pull at the back of the thigh
A sudden pain at the back of the thigh in the pike or straddle is one of the typical press pulls. Stop for the day; flexibility is worked separately and warm.
Wrist pain still there the next day
It is the joint that complains most when the weight is on the hands: more than half of people who practice handstands have chronic wrist pain. If the pain is still there the next day, the previous step or parallettes, which keep the wrist straighter, load it less. Under 18, see a doctor.
Pain at the front of the elbow
It is the sign of biceps overload in straight-arm skills. In 57 filmed biceps tendon tears at the elbow, the typical pattern was a nearly straight arm, palm up, pushing without moving; 5 happened in a planche. If it shows up, stop for the day.
Pain that gets worse
Discomfort up to 2 or 3 out of 10 can be tolerated if it does not get worse during the session, afterwards or the next day. If it goes past that or gets worse, stop for the day.
How to read it
Every step has three marks. “To start” is what you want to have before training it, measured on the previous step or on another progression. The achievement is the first clean one, and mastery is repeating it within a single workout: “3 × 8 reps” means three sets of eight in one session.
Levels run from N0 to N16: N1 to N4 beginner, N5 to N8 intermediate, N9 to N12 advanced and N13 to N16 elite; N0 covers the steps before that.
Added weight and assistance are written as a percentage of bodyweight (BW): +18% BW is 12.5 kg if you weigh 72 kg. “Per side” means the numbers apply to each side.
When two steps sit together —“one of the two”— either one counts: whichever you do opens what comes next.
How a Skills step is counted: On holds, arms locked on straight-arm skills and no more than 20° off the line: a sagging hold does not count. Transitions end in the final position, held for 3 s. A freestanding handstand is timed from when the legs come together and stay still until the first hand step, the first foot down or a touch of the wall.
Myosin keeps track
Here's the sequence. In the app, each step ticks itself when you finish the workout that meets it: the achievement the first time, mastery when you repeat it. And when you master a step from your routine and the next one is a different exercise, it offers to swap it in.
