Hi everyone,

I’ve been training for about 6 months now, 6 times a week. Every other day I do 3 sets of handstands against the wall, plus scapula push-ups, ring rows, and knee-to-chest exercises.

On the alternate days, I train shadowboxing and various ground locomotion movements.

Every day as a warm-up, I train my wrists, do squats and spinal waves, and work on my shoulder mobility by hanging daily for 3–5 minutes, both actively and passively.

My goal is to build a foundation to learn skills like the front lever, handstand, and pull-ups.

Unfortunately, I’m not really making much progress. So far, I can’t do a free handstand or a pull-up, mainly because I lack shoulder mobility.

Before this, I was into bodybuilding and had years of issues with shoulder impingement.

I find it very difficult to properly engage scapular depression, which is probably why I’m not making much progress with push-ups.

I would really appreciate some support—thank you!

Martin!

First - WELCOME! Thank you for sharing & apologies for the slow. I have been in the "black hole" of VRL updates for 2026, so you will notice that there are now new subjects of study to explore, when your unfolding journey takes you in those directions.

I understand where you are coming from -our movement histories are quite similar. I practiced bodybuilding for 10 years, and then in 2013 my perspective slowly began to crack, change, and widen...

I share this also because, coming from that discipline in which it's possible to "grow" muscles in as little as 1 month and make visually transformative "gain" in 6 months, we need to completely re-frame the mind when it comes to bodyweight SKILL development and PRACTICE. Namely - very little of deep lasting & sustainable significance can be learnt in 6 months (see the 'Perspectives' on this here: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/perspectives-on-how-long-does-it-take). This is specific to skills-training both because it takes time to develop new motor-patterns (e.g. the body & balance coordination to hold a handstand), and also because, in bodyweight-strength training, to perform such skills as 'levers', we need to develop TENDON-integrity which is an ongoing, years-long process. The great benefit of this, however, is that, once it's built, it provides a foundation for strength like no other.

To the practical stuff - firstly, you are on the right path. You just need to keep showing up & continuing. Here are a few insights to help direct & formulate your training:

1. Shoulder-mobility - hanging is great. But this is just daily-bread for shoulder-care. It's not potent enough alone to build range - we need a specific shoulder-mobility protocol, ideally in the context of a skill - the best is developing a high-bridge. You can begin practicing it every day, as long as you are recovering. Over time, as gains are made (and you judge this by how your bridge feels, you can reduce to every second day:

A1. SMR (chest, triceps & lats focus) - ca. 2-3' ea. side: https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/smr-protocols-for-habitual-kyphosis
A2. Hanging pronated & supinated - 60" accumulated each
1 round

B1. Plate-pulsing - 30" stretch to end-range (over time, add pulses up to 30x) https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/elevated-plate-pulsing
B2. Butcher's block progression - 30" hold
https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/butchers-block-re-edit
1 round

C1. Wall-assisted hollow-back - 30" https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/back-bridging-development
2-3 sets

Next up I'll share a scapular-strength & handstand protocol

2. Scapular strength protocol, 2-3x per week as part of an upper-body strength session (great for preparation):

A1. Scapular pushup - 4-6x 5" holds (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/the-fundamental-scapular-pushup-1)
A2. AG support - 4-6x 5" holds (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/fundamental-ag-support-2023-re-edit-1)
A3. P-bar scap-depressions - 3x 10" (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/fundamental-p-bars-support)
A4. Active-hang - 4-6x 5" holds
1-2 rounds

As strength develops, progress to LEANS in the scapular-pushup (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/scapular-pushup-and-planche-lean), progressions in AG support (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/ag-support-ot-manna-progression) and P-bar depressions, and 'Arch' in the active hangs.

3. HANDSTAND - keep up your daily wrist work, and just 1-2 set of HS wall holds every second day. But, further to this, you need a MAIN handstand session practices 2-3x per week. Doesn't need to be long, but more comprehensive than just 3 sets. E.g.

Preparation
A. PWrists, shoulder-ranges (use the shoulder-mobility protocol)

Alignment & proprioception:
B1. Standing HS alignment drill of choice - 30" work (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/standing-hs-alignment-awareness)
B2. Handstand floor-line - 30" hold (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/handstand-hs-floor-line-re-edit)
1-2 rounds

Inverted support:
C1. Wall-facing HS line - 30" (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/wall-climb-up-wall-facing-hs-line)
C2. Back-to-wall HS line - 30" (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/back-to-wall-handstand-line-vrl-clips
2-3 rounds

(Once you can hold 30" submaximally with good alignment, just practice 1 set of wall-facing/back to wall holds, then 2-3 sets each of 'Toe-pulls' and 'Heel-pulls', i.e. supported-balance)

D1. Kick-up to wall - total 10-15x (rest as needed), working to feather-light kick-up (https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/handstand-kick-up-to-wall-vrl-clips)

In between your sets, practice some leg-mobility work (e.g. front & middle-splits contexts) both for rest, and also to develop this complimentary HS mobility alongside the main form

Let me know with all questions my man and feel free to open a thread with video updates & form-check requests in the threads for sharing progress!

Wishing you years of joy on the hands,

J

Hi Jason Thank you so much

Is it to much for my Wrist to Train
6 Times a day
1Day this Handstand Protocol
And the Other day
Push pull and Animal moves and ground Flow ?

Thank so much

Hi Martin,

Whilst I'm not 100% r.e. the frequency you are referring to (6x per day??), the general rule of recovery is - ARE you recovering? This is completely subjective for any part of the body which is receiving a lot of stress (e.g. wrists) but also recovery in general (e.g. how tired/lethargic you are feeling and how motivated).

My suggestion is always to start at the lower, more conservative end of volume and then increase SLOWLY over time (e.g. handstand practice 2-3x per week with the other work you are doing, then if this is okay after 12 weeks then you can try HS practice every second day.

When you also have a lot of projects at the same time with similar stresses (e.g. on wrist), HOW you WHEN you practice also makes a big difference. For example, VOLUME is the big killer for the joints. If you keep your HS practice submaximal in terms of wrist/forearm "pump" and likewise with Groundwork/Locomotion projects, and if you split them so that they are not all on the same days or too close together, this makes things more sustainable.

Lastly, adding dedicated, supplemental prehabilitation. Daily hanging & wrist-routines are the minimum "daily bread" here, however it's also worth 1-2x per year to invest 6-8 weeks of practice with open kinetic-chain complete forearm-development, 2-3x per week (see https://www.movemorevrl.com/videos/forearm-development-tools). Practice one variation for each range (e.g. 1 drill for extension, flexion, pronation & supination & radial & ulnar deviation).

Ultimately the objective here is not just to prevent injury, but to push your volume threshold higher (i.e. that you can do more on the hands, without overloading them). Think of it like this - someone who is used to running might run 5k every second day with no problems, because they have conditioned over time. If a newbie did the same, however, they would likely meet injury very quickly. BUT - if the newbie starts slow - just 1k every second day then adds 1 k every 2 weeks PLUS added prehab, they will push their threshold higher, and eventually be able to run the 5k every second day with no problems.

So, to reiterate, "too much" is completely subjective. The better question to ask is how much do you NEED (i.e. to make progress) and WANT (i.e. how important it is to you) to practice things like Handstand and Groundwork/Locomotion. From there, learn "where you are" at this time, and then determine what you need to do (e.g. less for now + added supporting prehab work) to get you there.

Ultimately the name of the game is SUSTAINABILITY. Wrist overuse will complete halt not only HS practice, but your Groundwork/Locomotion too - so, avoid it at all costs. Better to start less and increase SLOWLY over time (time being the years, not the months).

Is that all clear? Let me know with any further specifics my man!

With titanium foundations,

J

Hi Jason,

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation.

I meant 6 times in one week, not in one day — sorry 😬

I’ve been working on my handstand for about 3 months now, and I’ve noticed that my wrists have become much more resilient.

At the moment, I train like this:

Day 1:
Scap strength + handstand + spinal wave + squat hanging and shoulder mobility

Day 2:
Spinal wave + rope flow + ground locomotion + shadow boxing

And I do this 6 days a week.
What do you think about it?
Thanks ☺️