How I would go from 0-70 Handstand Pushups (If I had to start over...)

I think we can all agree Handstand Pushups are top 3 SWEETEST looking skills.

But I think we can also agree that seeing someone only doing 1 or 2 isn't that satisfying...

WE want to be the guy(s) who can do the cool skills, and play with our own bodyweight like gravity got turned to 0.7x.

I'm going to give you a guide on how to get from 0-70 Handstand Pushups in ONE workout (like I did), as fast as possible.

Step #1 - Build a Crazy Base (Without going overboard)

Everyone knows this step as one of those things like "yeaaah I should probably get stronger.... HANDSTAND GO BRRRR" and then they wonder why the can't progress or worse, they get injured.

Having strong connective tissue (ligaments, joints, tendons, muscles) are CRUCIAL for bodyweight skills where your bodies in positions it was never really meant to be in.

Pushups and Pullups aren't enough, you need WEIGHT. Most guys online go way overboard with this, in this case you only need 50% of your bodyweight for 10 reps on dips, and while getting up to this level train wrist curls for stronger wrists (we use weights to progressive overload easier).

This is around the level where most people see diminishing returns, and then it no longer becomes worth the training (Think of the time requirement to go from an 90kg pullup to a 100kg pullup... That's at LEAST 6 months, for a very small % increase of strength in proportion to your bodyweight).

Step #2 - The Progressions you ACTUALLY need.

You need 4 progressions total once you're strong (Really 2 variations of themselves)

You need:

Back to wall Handstand Holds (To learn the kick up and practice balance)
Regular Handstand Holds (Freestanding)
Handstand Pushup Variation (Pike Press, L-Sit to Handstand, Handstand Negative)
Handstand Pushup

Step #3 - How to progress

First thing you need to do is get to a 10-15 second Wall Handstand Hold, this should be fairly easy. The only requirements here is making sure you're relatively straight (record yourself from the side), and most of your time is spent OFF the wall (so tapping your feet on and off).

If you can do this, move on to Handstand ATTEMPTS. Attempts are literally the META for learning skills when you're already strong. Doing between 10-40 attempts a day, or every other day is going to make it so you'll be able to CONSISTENTLY hold a 5-15 second Handstand in just a few days or weeks (on average).

Next thing, after you can consistently hold a 5-15 second handstand, start working your Handstand Pushup variation for a ton of sets of 1.

It doesn't matter what the exercise is really, they're all just different aspects of the pushup, I'm going to use Pike Presses as an example (because it's easier to type fast).

You should be able to do AT LEAST 5 reps Pike Presses (or any other variation) in 8 sets.

There's 2 key things in that requirement

You need to be able to do at least 5 reps in total
You need at least a 60%+ success rate

If you can do that, move on to doing attempts.

For guys on attempts, or trying to learn their first rep, this is what you do.

Do. More. Attempts.

To put into perspective, I did my first Handstand Pushup after FORTY TWO ATTEMPT (42).

I got ONE rep. But the next session, I got 7 reps in 6 sets (I did a set of 2). When you're strong, you progress quickly, and that's the huge cheat code with it. Now all you have to do is just do tons of sets, with a very low intensity, and gradually work on upping your total reps.

Something you can try is doing a few weeks of 20 sets a workout (2 hard sessions a week, 2 easy sessions as an example), 20 sets of 2 is already pretty good.

Then, lower the sets to 8-12 (have a range and progress in sets accordingly), and do MORE REPS.

This is exactly how I got to 0-70 reps btw.

Summary:

Get strong (At least 50% of your bodyweight for 10 on dips)
Keep the progressions simple, and just favor attempts
Focus on low intensity for the first few weeks or months, then once you're good at the skill up intensity.

Cheers,

Brandon

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