Smashby's Training Blog

CrossFit athletes are often required to perform fairly advanced exercises and high repetitions of movements during their training. By simply improving one’s technique, it can lead to movement patterns that are safer, faster, and more efficient. I’ve heard a lot of different cues as a trainer and athlete, and sometimes it just takes a slightly different way of explaining the same thing for something to click. My goal with the “Smashby’s Tip of the Week” series is to offer my own two cents on ways to move better, and provide a new cue that helps some of you!

Since the thought of going upside down can be scary for a lot of people, handstand push-ups are one of the most intimidating movements for athletes. When I teach them, I tend to follow a fairly basic progression:

• Can the athlete support their own body weight with their arms?
• If no, there are a number of exercises and modifications I prescribe (which I can explain in more detail if my readers are interested) to get to that point.
• If yes, how can we build strength and confidence in that inverted position?
• Once they’re confident upside down, the work can begin to teach the actual handstand push-up.

Today’s video will focus on my preferred method of getting upside down safely, and increase stability in that position. In my next video I’ll talk more about proper positioning (such as being in a hollow body, active shoulders, etc), but for today we’ll just talk about how to get inverted!

I hope you find this information beneficial.

If you do, please share it with someone else you think it could help!