Handstand Push Ups

Today I tried HS push ups for the first time. I did two from a headstand, so I didn’t start with negatives from a handstand (like they usually recommend it).

But while I was doing them, my head almost exploded (my roommate saw me doing them and said my head was completely red)) and I was kind of worried about blood vessels in my eyes.

do I have to worry about these blood vessels popping (can that be dangerous) or is this not that big of a deal?

Thanks

I have done handstand pushups regularly for many years and never had a blood vessel burst or any other adverse affects from them. You may just need to get used to them, and the only way you do that is by practicing them regularly. I use them to warm up before every upper body training day.

They do take lot of concentration and effort as compared to doing military presses for example. Like the difference between doing lat pulldowns and pullups, I guess. For example if I do a set of 12 lat pulldowns with a weight that results in failure, my heart rate is 130 after the set, but if I do a set of 12 pullups my heart rate goes to 180.

It is just a lot more difficult to move your torso through space and keep all the supporting muscles tensed to keep your balance.

[quote]Hrastnik wrote:
Today I tried HS push ups for the first time. I did two from a headstand, so I didn’t start with negatives from a handstand (like they usually recommend it).

But while I was doing them, my head almost exploded (my roommate saw me doing them and said my head was completely red)) and I was kind of worried about blood vessels in my eyes.

do I have to worry about these blood vessels popping (can that be dangerous) or is this not that big of a deal?

Thanks[/quote]

There are three things that you have to worry about when you do handstand pushups.

  1. Your blood pressure can skyrocket because of your head being lower than your heart and the strain from the movement. This is called the “renal complex.” There are people who have died from this and others who have had a stroke and no longer can even say their own name.

2.You can also put great pressure on the cornea. The cornea is the transparent dome-shaped window covering the front of the eye. Whenever you tip upside down and strain you are putting great pressure on this fragile lens. Not a good idea. The cornea is EXTREMELY sensitive. In fact, a little known fact: there are more nerve endings in the cornea than any other part of the body (and that includes your willie). Off hand, I can’t think of a better way to damage your cornea than turning upside down and straining. And if you damage your cornea you will have far more problems than weak delts.

  1. Matt Furey recommends upside down pushups and we all know that he’s walking through life in a hallucinogenic state. I have almost made a career doing the exact opposite of what Furey recommends.

There you have it.

Get used to handstands first, where you won’t have to strain so much upside down. This is an effect me and my fellow gymnastics coaches know well; The thing is, after practicing handstands daily for a few weeks, it doesn’t happen anymore. Then you can start working HSPU’s. I don’t know why, but I know that because of constant practice, I never get red-faced or dizzy when doing handstands anymore, but if I stop practicing them for a while and start again then I get a lot of blood to my head.

My 2 cents anyways. As a gymnastics coach, handstands and HSPU’s play an integral role in our conditioning so it helps to know how to ease into it.

Straining upside down is a great way to have a stroke.

you need to work into it bro.

You’ll get used to it quick enough, don’t worry.