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Technique

  1. Place your palms on the ground and the crown of your head in front of your hands, forming a triangle with these three points of contact.
  2. Place your feet on a box behind you.
  3. Straighten your back and stack your hips above your shoulders.
  4. Your body should form a straight line from the shoulder to the hips, and another straight line from the hips to the feet.
  5. Put some pressure on your hands for stability; don’t let your head take all the load.
Risks
  • This exercise puts a lot of pressure on the head. Make sure to warm-up your neck thoroughly before starting.
  • Risk of fall. If you feel yourself falling backwards, tuck your chin to your chest and round your back to do a Forward roll, to avoid falling flat back on the ground.

Muscles

Strength

Primary

  • Neck

Secondary

  • Back
  • Serratus anterior
  • Shoulders
  • Chest
  • Sternocleidomastoid
  • Longus capitis
  • Rectus capitis anterior
  • Longus colli
  • Semispinalis capitis
  • Splenius
  • Rectus capitis posterior major
  • Rectus capitis posterior minor
  • Obliquus capitis superior
  • Longissimus cervicis
  • Longissimus capitis
  • Upper trapezius
  • Obliquus capitis inferior
  • Lower trapezius
  • Serratus anterior
  • Anterior deltoid
  • Middle deltoid

Equipment

Appears in

Balance
Joint movements
trains stretches

Progressions

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Tripod headstand

Novice

Regressions

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Box knee tripod headstand

Beginner
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Wall tripod headstand

Beginner
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Wall tuck tripod headstand

Beginner
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Straight-arm headstand

Novice
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Headstand

Novice
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Wall one-leg tripod headstand

Beginner
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