CALISTHENICS
MOVEMENT
HANDSTANDS


BLOGS & TUTORIALS

 
Tutorials, special interest John Donohue Tutorials, special interest John Donohue

The Most Important Acrobatic Skills - Learn Acrobatics From Scratch!

Backflips, helicopteros, 540s, corkscrews: all amazing moves, but where the heck does one start if they want to do one? It all starts with knowing the foundations: jumping, rolling, twisting, and more. In this article I lay out all the skills you need to learn and give you a bunch of progressions to to work on, so that you can set your acrobatics journey in motion.

Read More
products John Donohue products John Donohue

Movement Made's Calisthenics Rings

Compared to what’s already on the market, the Movement Made rings stand apart. From the manufacturing process, to the way they’re put together and set up;  to how they fold neatly for packing;  the new buckle system which allows you to use the straps without doubling them for extra-high anchor points, and more. 

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

The Only 5 Gym Ring Exercises You Need!

You really only need to work through a short list of essential exercises to work your entire body and, with rings, it’s made easy. In this article I’m going to go over 5 staple exercises you can do with the rings, as well as ways to make those exercises easier or harder, depending on where you’re at with your fitness. 

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

How To Not Get Stuck In Your Middle Splits!

After seeing Matthew Smith guide our mutual friend Theo into performing the side split in just A SINGLE SESSION(!), I knew I had to invite him to my channel to share his knowledge with you guys, so this tutorial is all about getting down into the side split.

Read More
Sondre Berg Sondre Berg

The Best Calisthenics & Handstand App Just Got Even better!

A lot has happened since since the release of The Movement Trybe App. The content inside the fitness app has both improved and expanded. There are now 40+ different calisthenics, handstand and movement programs, 100+ workouts and 1200+ exercises and progressions.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

Handstand guide for Complete Beginners - 3 steps

Anyone can learn to handstand! Learning a handstand from scratch and becoming comfortable upside down by conditioning your fear of falling from a handstand; building up to the required strength; and developing awareness of your body in terms of your spine, your pelvis, your legs, and your overall stability - these are the foundational building blocks to getting started on your handstand.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

5 Common One Arm Handstand Mistakes... and how to fix them

Beyond the obvious - building up to the required strength and balance to be able to perform the one arm handstand (OAHS) - there are certain things I think will be helpful to keep in mind for anyone training towards their one arm handstand (OAHS). In this video tutorial I will go over the 5 one arm handstand mistakes I see people making most often. I believe that, if you are able to keep these common mistakes in mind and gain control over them, your training towards the one arm handstand (OAHS) will be made more efficient and effective. OAHS mistakes mentioned in this article:

  1. You’re not strong enough to start your one arm handstand training

  2. You’re handstand is not good enough to start the OAHS journey

  3. You’re egocentric in your one arm handstand training

  4. You think the full one arm handstand is easier than the straddle

  5. You’re not using the wall in your one arm handstand training

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

One Arm Handstand - Drills and Progressions when starting out

In this beginners guide to one arm handstands we dive into some super practical and immediately applicable drills and progressions to incorporate into your One Arm Handstand training. We go over a full list of entry drills - that is, drills that work on our shift from two hands to one - and then we move on to freestanding hold drills. Throughout the piece you’ll also find super handy tips that will help you on your one arm handstand journey. By the end of the post, I’m confident you’ll walk away with at least a few things that will help you reach the OAHS.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

One Arm Handstand - Position/Form Guidelines to Make Your Life Easier

After reading this piece you should have a clearer perspective on your approach to the One arm handstand (OAHS), as well as some practical tips you can apply to your OAHS training which will make it more effective and efficient. I’ll cover my recommended form cues regarding shoulder positioning, hip positioning, and more, as well as certain things I think you should steer clear of when approaching the One arm handstand.

Read More
John Donohue John Donohue

Planche Training With Resistance Bands

Using a resistance band is one of the the best way to approach training for the planche. It will provide you with measurability, specificity and injury prevention for your planche training. I’ll go over several different band-assisted planche variations and progressions, and the things you need to be aware of and keep in mind when training planche with resistance bands.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

How to Backflip - WITHOUT a gym!

Whether you’re 10 years old or 35 years old, there’s a good chance that if you see someone doing a backflip, you think to yourself, “I wanna be able to do that”. In this tutorial, myself and Theo are going to go over everyyyyything you need to learn to backflip, so that you can finally make your childhood backflip dreams come true. 

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

3 Shoulder Positions for Efficient Handstands

A handstand isn’t JUST about balancing on your hands. You need the proper head and hand positioning, shoulder positioning, hip and spine positioning, and more. In this article we cover shoulder positioning. Proper shoulder positioning will greatly help your handstand become more efficient and effective. Here we cover the three form cues that are crucial for proper shoulder positioning: shoulder elevation, shoulder flexion, and internal rotation.

Read More
John Donohue John Donohue

5 Handstand Myths that will destroy your progress

The goal of this article is to dispel a few common myths regarding handstands. Taking these myths into consideration, we are able to have a clearer perspective on how to view our handstand journey, as well as train for it more effectively and efficiently.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

Hip and Spine Positioning for a Straight Handstand - Handstand form 102

In this final piece to the handstand puzzle, we will go over how to achieve the correct hip and spine positioning to get your handstand form to perfection. The reason I’ve put hip and spine positioning together is because you can’t really work on one while ignoring the other, especially when upside-down in a handstand. Once you've got this and the previously-covered form cues down, you are ready to put together a perfect handstand.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

Tuck Planche - 7 form cues and 4 adjustable exercise drills

In this Tuck Planche tutorial I will teach you practical tips on how to perform the movement, what muscles to tighten, and what to do and think about while you are doing the Tuck Planche. I will also teach you technical drills that will help you learn the Tuck Planche faster, as well as strength drills that will help you develop the relevant strength for this skill.

Read More
Tutorials, special interest John Donohue Tutorials, special interest John Donohue

10 Tips on Managing Injuries For calisthenics & handstands

The difference between people who make it far in handstands and calisthenics and those who don’t, is how well those people manage their injuries. Cause let’s face it - everyone doing high level athletics will get injured. In this article, I’m going to give you 10 helpful tips on how to deal with injuries particularly related to calisthenics and handstands. Of course, preventing injury in the first place is ideal. But, when that is a foregone conclusion, we must learn to manage our injury.

Read More
Tutorials John Donohue Tutorials John Donohue

How to Handstand Kick Up

In this tutorial I will simplify the handstand kick up, the must-know handstand entry for all movers. In other words, I want you to think about as few steps as possible when entering the kick-up, and still perform it as effectively as possible. We will cover the steps for entering the kick up, form cues to keep in mind, and drills for training your kick up.

Read More