If you don’t have a gym membership, a home gym, or an inversion table at your home, a great bodyweight exercise you can do, to exercise similar muscles, is the handstand. A handstand is a challenging but very rewarding exercise to do. It’s great for building strength in the arm and core, as well as improving overall balance and health.
Below we take a more in-depth look at the 10 benefits of regular handstands.
The 10 Benefits of a Handstand:
1. Improves Upper-Body Strength
A handstand improves the muscles in your forearms, biceps, triceps, and shoulders.
2. Improves Core Strength
A handstand requires that you use your core to stabilize your body from your hands all the way up to your feet. This greatly improves core strength.
3. Improves Bone Density
As handstands are a weight-bearing exercise, regular handstands can improve the bone density in your hands, wrists, arms, and back.
4. Improves Balance
As a handstand improves your core strength it also improves your overall balance.
5. Improves Concentration
Keeping your balance while doing a handstand requires constant concentration. Doing it regularly improves your ability to concentrate when required.
6. Improves Blood Flow
As your head is below your body for the duration of a handstand, blood flow to your brain is improved considerably and can lead to improved cognitive abilities.
7. Improves Mood and Reduces Anxiety
Some people report that regular handstands improve their overall mood and reduce anxiety. This is most likely due to the decrease in the production of the stress hormone cortisol, during a handstand.
8. Improves Central Nervous System
A handstand requires constant contact between different parts of the central nervous system. With regular handstands, you can improve the functioning of your central nervous system.
9. Improves Oxygen Circulation
A handstand increases circulation in your lungs and upper body. This increases oxygen circulation throughout the body.
10. Improve Weight Control
This might seem unlikely, but regular handstands can improve metabolism. During a handstand more blood flows to the thyroid glands which, through the T3 and T4 hormones, improves the function of your metabolic system.
Final Thoughts
A handstand is tricky at first but easily mastered. Once mastered it’s a great way to improve strength, balance, and overall mental and physical health.
This article was last updated on July 8, 2021 .
