Top gymnasts, Naveen Daries and Caitlin Rooskrantz have posted an instructional video on how to do a perfect handstand in the safety of your home.This after Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre (JGC) asked the community to sponsor gymnasts, or anyone, to do handstands to raise funds and keep the centre’s doors open.
The handstand challenge campaign is on the backabuddy website, and as of 6 May had raised just over R75 000 towards its target of R100 000.
Watch the video by clicking here.
“It is very important to try and develop this skill [the handstand] as much as possible as every skill in gymnastics goes through a handstand position,” Daries said in the video.
The pair then demonstrated various exercises building towards a handstand, with one person explaining and the other performing the exercise in the background.
First, Daries moved into a push-up position with her feet on a chair while Rooskrantz explained that her toes were pointed out, her arms were straight and fingers were open on the floor.
The next exercise, ‘donkey kicks’, saw Daries place her hands on a raised surface that could support her weight, while kicking her feet up behind her to her bottom and landing them one foot at a time.
The next exercise saw Daries do donkey kicks but with her hands on the ground.
The ‘spiderman handstand’ is then done against a wall, with the person starting on hands and feet on the ground. They proceed to walk their feet backwards up the wall up to half a handstand.
“In exercise six you will be doing the same spiderman handstand just this time you will be walking further up with your feet, and moving your hands closer to the wall and this time your toes will be pointed,” Daries explained while Rooskrantz demonstrated this.
The next step sees the person doing more handstands against the wall for longer periods. The pair performed the following step of kicking into a handstand with one’s back facing the wall.
Exercise nine is a ‘baby handstand’ and sees the person try not to kick over their head but do a handstand without closing their legs and landing in a lunge position.
Rooskrantz balanced with one of her legs horizontally while raising the other vertically, as she demonstrated this.
“The final exercise is the full handstand with your feet together. Your goal is to try kick up to that nice vertical position with a nice round shape. Your toes are pointed and you are looking at your hands through your eyebrows,” Daries concluded.
Also read: JGC needs your help
