← EXERCISE LIBRARYCalisthenics
Frog Stance Hold
Balance the knees on the backs of the arms with the feet off the floor, the first hand-balancing hold most people can reach. Three holds of twenty seconds before you work toward a crow to headstand.
- 01Squat down and place the hands flat on the mat, shoulder width, fingers spread.
- 02Bend the elbows slightly and turn them back rather than out.
- 03Set the inside of each knee against the back of the same-side upper arm.
- 04Shift the weight forward over the hands until the feet come off the floor.
- 05Hold with the gaze slightly ahead of the hands, then set the feet down under control.
- 01Look forward, not down at your hands.
- 02Grip the mat with the fingertips to steer.
- 03Round the upper back, do not sink between the shoulders.
- 01Looking straight down, which pulls the weight backward and makes the balance point impossible to find.
- 02Elbows flaring wide, which gives the knees nothing stable to sit on and strains the wrist.
- 03Learning it over a hard floor, since the failure direction is forward onto the face; put a mat in front of you.
Note: Reference material, not a prescription. Load, volume and whether this movement suits you at all depends on your assessment — if something hurts, stop and get it looked at.