144 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 SHAPE.COM
FIT FASHION
This page: Lucas Hugh
Azure one-piece ($295,
lucashugh.com). Reebok
Inspire TR sneakers
($80, reebok.com).
Opposite page: SKINS
DNAmic Women’s
Vest Crop Top ($55,
skins.net). Alala Captain
Crop tight ($105,
alalastyle.com). Reebok
Inspire TR sneakers.Handstand
It’s you against gravity,
balancing your body
weight on the palms of
your hands. The good
news is that everyone
has the strength to do
this, Widerstrom says.
It’s the skill behind it
that takes the most
time to master: “You
have to practice
handstands—a lot—to
get good at them,” she
says. A big part of
that practice is in your
head, learning to be
OK with the idea of
being upside down.
“But when you conquer
this exercise,” she
says, “you’ll change
your whole outlook on
what seems chal-
lenging to you, asking
yourself, What else
am I capable of?”
This is where you start.1
Get comfortable
being inverted and
learn how to place your
hands by starting with
a 9 0 -degree hip stand
with shoulder taps.
Stand facing away from
a sturdy box or bench.
Fold forward to plant
hands on the floor,
and step feet up
and onto the box so
your body forms an
upside-down L shape.
Then shift weight into
left hand and tap
right hand to left shoul-
der. Switch sides;
repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets
of 1 0 to 12 reps,
alternating sides.2
Do wall walks to start
to straighten out
your handstand while
still being supported.
Start on floor in plank
position with feet press-
ing into a wall. Slowly
walk hands toward wall
in 3-inch steps, walking
feet up wall as high as
you are comfortable
(the goal is to bring
your body to fully touch
the wall). Reverse the
movement to get back
down. Do 2 to 3 sets of
5 to 6 reps.3
Learn how to kick
up with support
by doing handstands
against a wall. Stand
facing a wall, 2 to 3 feet
away from it. Quickly
fold from hips to plant
hands on floor in front
of wall, kicking your legs
up one at a time until
they rest on the wall.
Hold that position as
long as you can, letting
your heels come off the
wall a few moments
at a time so you’re not
completely reliant on it.
Then reverse the move-
ment to get back down.
Do 2 to 3 sets of 2 5- to
45-second holds.The perfect
handstand
Stand with feet
hip-width apart and
arms extended over-
head. Find a point on
the floor about 3 feet in
front of you. Fold for-
ward, reaching hands
toward that point,
kicking your left leg up
(for your first couple of
times, begin with less of
a push than you know
it would take to get you
all the way up, so you
can develop an under-
standing of what kind
of power it takes to get
you there). Then imme-
diately follow with right
leg, letting legs hover
above hips, which are
stacked over shoulders,
which are stacked
over wrists: “Imagine
your body is a building
where all those major
joint intersections are
a separate floor but
still perfectly stacked
to create a balanced
unit,” Widerstrom says.
Hold as long as you can,
then lower one leg at
a time to safely return
to standing.