Crow to Handstand

Crow Arm balance is also known as Bakasana in Yoga and Frog to Handstand in Calisthenics. A relatively easier version of the Handstand Push Up, the Crow Up can be very useful for training the concentric (Up), especially if you are stuck on the eccentric (down) HSPU.

For the beginner or someone new to this move first check you have a strong balanced Crow Hold and can easily kick up to the wall in handstand. We can then Kick up to a Handstand and practice moving the shoulders on and off the wall (wall leans). The next layer is lowering the legs towards tuck (frog) while peeling the spine as slow possible from the wall. As you get closer to the floor slightly bend the arms and aim to land the knees on the elbows. This will take a while to learn the control, correct articulation of the spine and perfect distance from the wall. Make sure you turn the hands out as this drill can be hard on the wrists and don’t allow the scapula/shoulders to collapse as you lower, you should feel strong throughout the movement. It’s tricky as you reach the bottom because your head cant move forwards due to the wall, ideally the eccentric would be trained freestanding as its closer to real thing and you’re not restricted.

Once you have control in the eccentric we can start to explore the concentric. Understanding the connection between the hips and the shoulders will make this much easier, it’s the same as the L Sit to Shoulder Stand move. So as the shoulders lower the hips raise and ideally the momentum will assist in the up movement (seesaw). I wouldn’t recommend training the ‘Up’ against the wall but you could be close enough to get a foot assist at the top for balance. As your strength and control increases you can decrease the momentum.

Progressions from the strict version include Opening the body towards a Bent Arm Planche (like 90 deg HSPU), Dead Press, using a deficit for the hands or feet etc

See the attached video: Wall Drills for the Beginner and Progressions to HSPU variations for the advanced. Join me on my Handstand Push Up Training Session where I use the Crow to Handstand pathway to first warm up before progressing to harder and harder exercises, finishing with the Dead Press to Handstand.