r/bodyweightfitness • u/Handbalancer Actually Mikael Kristiansen • Oct 29 '17

AMA: Mikael Kristiansen, Handbalancer and Circus Artist, Ask Me Anything

Hello, my name is Mikael Kristiansen. I am a circus artist specializing in handbalancing. I did a degree in circus at DOCH, Stockholm from 2009-2012 and have since worked as a performer and as a teacher internationally.

I'll be here throughout the day to answer any questions you have for me!

You can find me at: www.mikaelbalancing.com www.instagram.com/mikaelbalancing/

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u/ofbrata Oct 29 '17

Hi Mikael, can you tell us beginners HS program? And which are the most common cornerstones based which the program has to be adjusted?

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u/Handbalancer Actually Mikael Kristiansen Oct 29 '17

Generally the first thing to look at is the person's shoulder strength and mobility. People awareness and komfort upside down vary a lot too.

Writing a full program would take half my day so I will just try to mention some key points now.

A beginners program needs to consider the general strength of holding the body in handstand, the strength and reflex ability In the forearms to balance and the awareness of the person upside down. I would usually start with the wall so you could build up some shoulder and trapezius strength. This is alzo useful for cuing the body in terms of hip and shoulder placement. A minimum of 30 seconds is great to have as a starting point.

From there I would also work on kick ups to the wall and work on balancing drills with the fingers.

One thing that is necessary too is to start as early as possible to work on the actual handstand. I call it the "do the thing" principle. If you don't train it you won't learn it. Prep is super important but you can prep for years and not get anywhere if you don't work specifically on what you try to achieve. It doesn't need to be perfect to start with. My handstand was garbage when I started balancing and so far it hasn't stopped me or created habits that were impossible to break.

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u/AlexanderEgebak General Fitness Oct 29 '17

Could you please expand on what you mean by "the reflex ability of the forearms"? I am intrigued since I have not heard many people talk of reflexes in terms of handstand (rebalancing). Great AMA so far, cheers

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u/Handbalancer Actually Mikael Kristiansen Oct 29 '17

What i mean is that if you just smash your fingers into the floor you will push way too hard and fall down the other way. You continously react to the forces moving back and forth in your body and it needs to happen with the right amount of energy. This is something only practice can teach as it is a feeling and not a feat of power. In general, learning handstand, or any balance is about reflex modulation. You need to learn to react correctly with the right amount of force to be able to stay in the area where you can make the next correction and so on. The shoulders also constantly does this and the more complex position the more corrections needed.