- What's up?
- Hey, hey, here.
Leaf Thenx athlete right here.
My boy, you thought it was gonna be a solo video.
- We've got Steven Spence in the house.
This guy is crazy.
But you know what, today we're gonna teach him
top five tips to master your handstand.
- And you know I definitely need it
cause my handstand is garbage.
- We're gonna get those handstand game
up on point on those Instagram videos, baby.
Let's do it.
- Hopefully, hopefully.
One can hope.
(upbeat music)
- Alright, so let's get started.
Today, we're with Steven Spence.
I'm gonna show him and you guys
the top five tips to improve your handstand.
Before we get started, Steven.
- Okay.
- Let me see your handstand.
- Alright, let's see what I've got.
- Come on, here we go.
- Just in case it's really bad, it was on purpose.
If it's good, then you know.
- This guy's a professional handstander.
You see him in all the Instagram videos.
- Now we're just building all the hype.
No edits here.
- Here we go, here we go.
There we go.
Eh, eh.
Okay, hey, hey, look at that, look at that.
First of all, that is actually impressive dude.
- Really?
Alright.
- Dude that's impressive.
- I'm trying.
- So, you see.
If you guys find yourself at this point
where you're doing handstands,
but they're not as perfect as you can be,
maybe sometimes you find yourself
moving around a little bit.
- I'm very wobbly.
I know my back is not that straight.
I don't really know what to do with my hands,
other than like, a little bit of this going.
But I don't know if it should be out or in.
I got questions.
- You are so close to being doing
it as perfect as possible man.
Let me just show you a little tips
and you'll be doing this like a professional.
- You're gonna love it,
don't worry I'm a professional okay?
I'm a professional bro.
- Are you even a doctor?
- First thing that we're gonna start off with,
is actually going up into the handstand.
- Okay.
- So if you can go up into the handstand,
and you practice going up into a handstand,
and you perfect that move,
it's gonna be easier to get in that position
and then just start focusing on holding that position.
- Okay.
- So the first thing that you want to do,
is start focusing on practicing just going up.
And the technique to going up,
is don't try to get your foot all the way up there,
but try to stack your body.
And to do that, you want to keep your arms straight,
and the goal is to try to get your hips
on top of your head first.
Try to get your hips up into that handstand first
and then your feel will follow through.
- Okay.
- And don't let your feet past your hips.
So let me show you how to do it first,
of what it would look like.
So if you were to come up,
one leg is gonna swing.
One will kick off.
And when you go up,
try to make your hips go like this.
See?
- Okay.
- So that's how you.
- Feet follow the hips.
- Exactly.
So you want to like fall into that position.
So try that.
So make sure your hips go in first.
And your feet will follow.
So try to get those feet more
and your hips back.
There you go.
That's the first step to improving.
Awesome dude, let's try that one more time?
Another thing is when you're doing this,
try to keep you arms as straight as possible,
and try also to make sure that instead of your hands
being in between your head,
try to put your head a little bit more forward,
so that your shoulders are lining up with the tip
of your fingers.
- Okay.
- See, so it's like that.
So when you go up,
you're actually leaning a little bit forward
as you go up.
So you're gonna fall into that move.
- So, shoulders forward.
- Yeah.
And go up with the hips first.
And then your feet will fall into place.
There you go.
Now you go into that move a lot more straight.
- It's harder.
- Good, now make sure you breathe,
so you tighten your core and point.
That's a lot better dude.
So you're already a little bit straighter.
So, this is the first step.
- Gotta work on my stamina.
Endurance.
- Working on the endurance man.
- It doesn't look like it takes a lot,
but a handstand's a lot of breathing.
- If you can barely hold a handstand
up against the wall or even just like right there.
You need to just practice your endurance.
Hold it against the wall longer.
Be able to hold it against the wall
at least for like two minutes.
So, you want to practice going into that move.
You want to practice falling slow as well.
So once you go into that move,
instead of coming back down this way,
try to go into that move
and then when you're ready to fall down,
just try to fall as slow as you can
and then dismount.
So don't walk around,
get stuck in used to walking around.
Just get used to once your hands go down.
- So if I'm pedaling out,
I want to just not do that.
- Just hold it.
Yeah, strengthen, squeeze your fingers tighter
so that your body pulls back.
Cause your body's leaning forward,
that's why it wants to start walking forward.
So just press down on your fingertips,
straighten out your arms,
push like that, straighten as hard as you can,
and then fall as slow as you can.
So instead of walking forward,
just let the move fall.
- Okay.
- So you're gonna kick up.
Come into that with the hips.
Good.
And then, as your hips go forward,
your hips are always forward remember?
Exactly.
Whenever you're ready to fall,
that's how you're gonna dismount.
Dude, that was perfect.
So, right there?
That's the first tip.
The next tip I want to go on is focusing alignment.
And the way that we're gonna do that,
I'm gonna show you, is by doing a handstand
facing the wall.
Let's go.
- Facing the wall?
- Facing the wall.
- You crazy?
- You ever done these before?
- You crazy.
- So, you want to walk up.
- Okay.
- Against the wall.
Go as close as you can.
This is gonna give you muscle memory,
what it feels like to be stacked
and on top of each other.
From here, I want you to try to get off the wall.
See how I'm doing right there with my feet?
- Yeah.
- I'm against the wall.
But I'm not touching it.
I'm gonna try to activate my handstand.
I want you to do that.
- Okay.
- Now when you're doing this,
make sure your arms are completely straight, bro.
Completely straight and you're pushing down.
Keeping your core tight and body straight.
So arms straighter.
Pushing down more.
There you go.
Feet together.
Now press with your fingertips.
Just get used to being right here.
So this is the move,
that you just have to practice over time.
Eventually, you'll be doing this for a while.
And you'll be holding this without even moving,
without struggling, it's like standing up.
This will become second nature basically.
Alright.
- Whoa!
- Oh, God damn it.
- I should've told them,
I should've shown you how to get out of that one.
- Luckily we have this beautifully comfy mat here.
- You're safe here bro.
You're safe, you're safe.
To get out of that move, when you're ready,
you can either just walk back down,
like the same way you walked up.
See, you can just walk back down.
Or you can do what you did.
Either way.
- That's the professional way.
- Alright, so you want to practice this move right here.
Try to increase your time.
As you do this move,
at the beginning,
you might only be able to hold it for 10 seconds
with good form.
Or maybe you can't hold it with that good form at all.
Just trying to hold it before even trying
to hold it away from the wall.
Once you've built up your endurance
on being able to hold it against the wall,
try to come away one inch away from the wall and hold that.
That's gonna perfect your alignment.
And your muscle memory will always make sure
that you're in that straight alignment.
Cause it's used to being up against the wall.
Alright, the next tip--
- Next?
Enough for one day!
How many things I'm supposed to work on?
I just got two.
Am I supposed to remember all this,
are you gonna write it down for me?
Oh no, you know what I'm gonna do?
I'm gonna check out the video.
- No, download the Thenx app.
- [Both] I'm gonna download the Thenx app.
- That way, cause this is a lot to remember
for me right now.
- It is a lot to remember.
So if you guys have trouble trying to learn it
just step by step.
You want one step at a time.
Just download the Thenx app.
- You know I'm gonna do that.
- Break it down for you.
Alright, so moving on.
Are you ready for the next technique?
Alright, here we go.
So the next thing we're gonna do
is focus on core engagement and hip alignment.
So, now we're gonna do a handstand like this.
So instead of against the wall with our face,
now we'll do it like this.
And when we do it like this,
when we're in this position,
I want you to activate your core
and bring your hips back
while bringing your feet slightly forward.
You see that move?
- Okay, yeah.
- So from here, to here.
From here to here.
- Okay.
- See how I'm activating those hips?
- Yeah.
You make it look so easy man.
- Before you go into it,
let me show you how it gets easy.
So when you're inverted, it's kind of weird.
- There's a trick to make it easy people.
Listen up.
- Yeah, practice.
(claps)
Not just practice.
But perfect practice.
- Perfect practice.
- So here we go.
Perfect practice right here.
You're gonna pretend like you're in a handstand,
like this, and you're just gonna push your hips back,
keep your feet straight,
push your hips back,
make sure your butt touches the wall,
and that's it.
- Booty on the wall.
- That's it.
- That sounds like a song.
Booty on the wall, booty on the wall.
- Hey, you should remix it.
- Booty on the wall, booty on the wall.
Booty on the wall, booty on the wall.
- Okay, okay.
Once you get the hang of that,
you just do that while you're in a handstand.
- Alright, let's see what we've got.
- Alright, let's see.
- This hand close enough to the wall?
- Yeah, should be about shoulder width apart.
Alright, so now we're gonna, exactly.
But you gotta compensate with the feet,
so feet a little forward, hips back.
There you go.
Now that is hip activation and alignment
and core engagement.
Look at that that, like a pencil dude.
That's like a perfect handstand right there.
Alright.
- Alright!
- That was dope.
- Got my work cut out for me.
- That was dope.
Don't worry man, we almost done.
And you know what,
that looks fresh bro.
- Okay, okay.
- Compared to, we gotta do a before
and after after this.
- Okay, yeah.
- With your handstands bro.
- I'm down for that.
- Here we go,
when you're up against that wall,
don't just kick off the wall,
but engage your core, engage your hips,
make sure your hips move back,
your feet compensate,
and you're gonna find yourself
a lot more aligned, more stacked,
and when you're in that position,
it's a lot easier to hold your balance.
Alright, are you ready for the next technique?
- It depends on what the next technique is, my boy.
- It's pretty simple, you've been going it this whole time.
- Okay, yeah.
In that case, yes I am ready for the next technique.
- Okay, so the next technique is basically
a reminder of what you're already supposed to be doing.
When you're in a handstand,
you want to make sure that you're engaging your shoulders,
and pushing, like push the ground as far away
from you as possible.
Like you're trying to push the Earth down.
You're doing Earth downs.
- Okay.
- You know what I'm saying?
I'm sure you're familiar with those.
- Yeah, okay, I like that.
Chuck Norris!
- Exactly!
So, push those scapulas down
and make sure you keep those arms super, super straight.
And while you're doing that,
make sure that your legs are tight like this
and they're pointing.
When you're pointing,
you're gonna be activating from the calves
to your quads, hamstrings, all the way to your core.
That's going to keep your body in like a straight line.
It's going to be easier to manipulate your body weight.
Cause it's all connected.
So, when you do this move,
just make sure that you do the same thing
you did before, and make sure you're, from here,
you're pushing down, your arms are straight.
And you're pointing your feet.
Just like that.
And then you're gonna try to get off the wall,
just like that.
So activate those fingertips.
- Alright, let's see what we've got.
- You've got this bro.
There you go.
So push those arms straight.
Straight, push, earthdowns bro.
There we go.
There we go,
arms straighter, push, push, push, push, push.
Push.
There you go.
That is perfect form dude.
Amazing.
Make sure you breathe.
And baby, that's amazing.
- God damn it bro!
- I don't know if my arms can get as straight as yours.
That's something you've gotta work on too, right?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Be able to get your arms,
cause I feel like I'm kind of tight.
- Exactly, you just gotta practice.
- So, is it the shoulder flexibility
has a lot to do with that probably?
- It's actually, that's how I can tell
that you haven't been doing this enough.
Enough, you know?
Like this move is such a simple move,
and people just overlook this move,
cause they're like, "No, I want a handstand.
"I don't need this wall."
- That's how I am!
I'm just like, "Let me just power through it!
"I can see some way I can do that."
- I know.
I get it, I get it.
I know you.
- That's my usual technique.
My usual technique is pfft!
(laughs)
- Does that work?
I'm gonna try that.
- No, never works.
Keep trying!
- But yeah, man.
Just stick to the basics, dude.
- Okay.
- And that's going to take you so far.
And not only that,
but you'll actually be able to hold a handstand,
you won't have to like, struggle,
actually holding it.
- Cause when I do my handstands now.
- You're holding your breath.
- I'm dying.
- You're like, "God damn it, God damn it!"
- Sometimes I can hold them for a while,
but I think a while is a lot,
but it's not a lot compared to you guys.
And then I'm still dying.
- No, so it's just the endurance man.
Endurance factor.
A lot of times,
you can improve your handstands,
just by building your endurance,
building the shoulder strength
and the strength to just hold the handstand.
- Basically, I just need to get a lot stronger.
I need to get stronger and better.
- That's your new goal, bro.
So, last, last, last technique.
Are you ready?
- I'm ready for the last one
cause that means it's over.
(laughs)
- It's gonna take a lot of mental focus, okay?
- Okay, okay.
- So we got to mentally focus for this one.
- Let's do it.
- Alright, so the last tip,
the last tip I can give you,
is literally focus.
When you're doing this move,
don't be looking around,
or don't be like looking up and down,
or trying to look around.
You want to focus on one point,
and once you focus on that one point,
don't look at anything else.
Just continue to stare at that point.
How do you know where that point is?
Well, where I like to do it is,
like I said, when I'm going into my handstand,
I like to make sure my shoulders
are aligned with the tip of my fingertips,
and from there is where I'm gonna make my eye contact.
So from there, I'm gonna put my eyes on the ground,
and that's relatively gonna make like a triangle
with my hands and my eyesight.
Right there.
It's gonna be a couple inches above my hands.
Now, from there, once I go up,
I'm gonna use that point to go up.
Once I'm finally up,
I'm gonna look a little bit lower,
and I'm gonna use that point and I'm not gonna look away.
- Focus, my boy.
You better focus.
This is everything that matters!
This is what it means?
Are your hands straight?
Are your arms straight?
Are your shoulders popped out?
Are your hips piked?
Are the fingertips working?
Focus!
You look pretty focused to me,
I'm not gonna lie.
- Do I?
- Yeah, this looks great.
- Okay, thank you bro.
So, I mean that's,
you just have to have that concentration.
- Alright, alright.
- Here you go, you've got this.
- Shoulders over.
- There you go.
There we go, feet tight,
tighten with the toes.
This is the moment of truth here.
- Toes pointed.
Pike, making up for it.
- There we go.
- You know what?
Wasn't focused enough.
- You weren't focused.
You've gotta focus baby.
Let's try one more time,
you've gotta focus!
- Alright, I'm gonna try.
- Put your mind in the game.
- Here we go.
Everything you taught me.
It's all coming together.
- Remember everything!
- One, two, what was three again?
Okay, okay, okay.
Four and then five.
- You're ready, you're ready.
You're ready!
- Alright, here we go.
- You're ready bro.
You got this, you got this.
Ain't nothing but a peanut.
Here we go.
Feet straight, hips back.
Focused, tight, tight, arms straight,
pushing, activate those fingertips.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
That's perfect form right there.
Whoo!
He's got the focus.
He's obtained the focus.
You've got it.
Focus unlocked.
Focus unlocked, baby.
Handstand unlocked!
- I tried to focus!
- Handstand unlocked.
- I was trying to think about everything!
- You know what bro, it's not over.
It is over, but it's not over.
You learned everything bro,
now we have to take it to the actual floor.
Like, we have to do it without the wall.
- Oh my God.
- Yeah, you forgot about this.
Come on bro, come on.
You got this, you got this.
- I thought we were done.
- Here we go, here we go.
Here we go.
This is the real moment.
- How come I'm sweating so much more than you?
- That was like the boss.
This is like the real boss.
- Oh shoot.
- Like at the end of the game.
- Oh damn.
- This is like the end of the game boss right here.
Here we go.
Focus.
Focus!
(steady heartbeat)
It's all you bro.
Your feet are straight on, yes bro!
There we go, what, feet together.
There we go, hips back.
Yeah!
Whoo!
Steven, my man.
- Damn.
- Hey man, that was a lot better
than the first.
- It's a lot harder than it looks
when you're actually doing it the right way,
or at least trying.
- Yeah, you know, you're not gonna learn it
in like one second,
but you are already better than you were for the first time.
- Thank you for that.
I feel like I got a lot of work cut out for me.
- For sure.
- But, at least now I know what to do.
- Exactly.
And now you're doing it like night and day.
Before, you were kind of walking around.
You were definitely doing a handstand,
but now you're doing a handstand.
- The handstand.
- You know what I'm saying.
Thank you so much for joining us
on the Thenx Channel.
Definitely check out my boy Steven Spence right here.
(howls loudly)
Do you have a Youtube channel?
- Ah yeah, if you want to check out my Youtube,
it's youtube.com/iamstevenspence.
- Check out this fool right here.
This guy right here, I don't know if you guys
have seen this guy on Instagram,
but this has been one of my long time homies, man.
- Crazy, crazy, crazy.
- I've known this dude since I was like 15 years old.
- Yeah, for real, for real.
- It's crazy how time flies.
- Yeah man, happy for you.
Happy for you and all the guys here.
- And your success too. - Positive motivation putting
out to the world, I love it.
- That's what it's all about.
Keeping good vibes and sharing our knowledge
with the world man,
and sharing our knowledge with people that could be using
it to come up.
- Yeah, changing lives.
Including mine and my handstand life.
- Oh my gosh, bro, it's an honor to have you here.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Don't forget to like, comment, share, subscribe
to this video.
If it helped you with your handstands,
don't forget that you can learn how to handstand
on point with the Thenx app.
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See you next Sunday, peace out.
(upbeat music)