Robin Peter Zander - How To Do A Handstand

Why Handstands?

The title of this book is How ToDo A Handstand, which assumes that you are already interested in handstands. Iwont spend much time throughout the book discussing the question of whyhandstands. I have heard hundreds of people say that they want to learnhandstands, and then watch them not take steps towards doing so. That is why Idecided to create this book. Even so, the reasons for learning handstands arenumerous and Ill briefly discuss my favorites.

Standing out in a crowd is an important ability tocultivate, whether for getting a job, finding a partner, or making an impact onthe world. Some people have more charisma than others, but the ability to benoticed is a learnable skill. Training handstands develops the skill ofstanding out. As I discuss in the section on overcoming fear in this book,embarrassment and nervousness are antithesis of balancing a handstand. When youlearn to overcome your fears in handstands, you will also overcome fearselsewhere in your life.

My friend Ben Weston teaches men to dance so that womenapproach them in bars and clubs. I find this a hysterical career (although I almostnever go out to bars), but feeling uncomfortable dancing in a public setting isone I know very well. As I discuss in the Accelerated Learner, I wasntalways comfortable on a dance floor. Being able to do handstands was one of thepivotal moves that allowed me to gain confidence in my ability to dance andmove effectively. Learning handstands can be a pathway into greater physicalcomfort, on and off of the dance floor. To learn more about my friend Ben, visit http://www.mrbenweston.com

There are two ways to adopt new behaviors: increasemotivation or decrease the barrier for entry. As a fitness trainer, I have seenthat the primary way people are encouraged to get more fit is throughpressures and guilt. This results in gym goers feeling guilty for not everusing their memberships; great for the gyms, not the users. The solution is toadopt new behaviors that are much smaller and simpler. As an example, fitnessgoers who adopt the goal, single, daily push-ups are more likely to continue toexpand their fitness repertoire, than the fitness-enthusiast who sets the goalof running a marathon sometime next year. Running a marathon is too big a leap.Learning a handstand is small goal similar to the push-up. It is difficultenough to be challenging and small enough, given knowledge of the steps, thatlearners can continue on the path of skill acquisition. In short, handstands area gateway drug for getting more fit. Learn more about ways to decrease thebarrier for entry to adopting new habits by visit Stanford University professorBJ Foggs website http://www.bjfogg.com

More people dont learn handstands because of a lackof knowledge of the incremental steps. In learning each of the steps towardshandstands, you will receive the added benefit of experiencing incrementallearning. This, in itself, is a valuable skill. How To Do A Handstand willnot only teach you to balance a fearless handstand, but also how to break downany goal into the tiny, learnable pieces.

Finally, handstands are fun! Otherwise, they arentworth doing. Handstands can be an empowering physical activity that anyone canlearn. If youve never liked fitness, let this book change your mind. I wontshout at you to try harder or encourage you to feel badly if you dont perform.Rather, enthusiasm incentivizes learning (in any domain). There is good reasonthat the best teachers of all time were all extremely positive about theirtopic and their students. While I wouldnt think to put myself on the level ofRichard Feynman or Sir Ken Robinson, I can and do make learning handstands fun.Enjoy the progress and, I promise, you will see the results.

Here is the breakdown of what wewill cover:

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Incremental Steps ................................................................................................................................................................................

Fear ................................................................................................................................................................................................................