Hand positioning for handstands is largely a personal preference, but if you are working towards specific handbalancing skills, playing with variations in your stance and grip will be necessary, and maybe even reveal your optimal hand positioning.
There is nuance to improving your handstand hold time, mainly in two areas, specific upper body strength and balancing skills. And while key to longer handstand holds is better endurance and strength, building that strength doesn’t have to be boring.
The elbow has a lot of genetic variation which leads to different form compensations to find a good handstand hold. Combine this with the load-bearing demands from handbalancing, elbows can be prone to overtraining or injured. We have advice on how to address your arms’ anatomical quirks and tried-and-true injury prevention measures for your elbows.