Forma

03/08/2026

Incredibly beautiful retreat in Tuscany 🇮🇹

We thought it may be our last trip to Sasseta after our 4th year of hosting, but the beauty of the place, the tranquility, the energy and feedback of the group has seriously made us reconsider. When you arrive at Sasseta the frequency of relaxation & wonder is palpable immediately, it is truly a special place!

We were reminded of our own principles: consistency, patience, effort, balance, flexibility and openness. By the group and also from the whispers of the great mystery that reveals itself when you quiet down enough to hear.

“It was beyond all my expectations on every level; the venue, the activities, the group feel and the food”

A snippet of the wonderful feedback we received from a brilliant group of people, it was a pleasure to host, share and just be with you 🙏🏽❤️🌞

We are finalising dates for 2027 and will release them as soon as confirmed. Who will discover or return to The Merema with us next year?

07/07/2026

Handstand Workshop
Intermediate level, focusing on building the foundations for the single arm handstand, refining our press mechanics and the path toward mastery of all the basics 🤸🏽🙏🏽❤️

Saturday 18th July 10am-1pm
DM for bookings

13/06/2026

Snippets from our Foundations class 📹

The aim is to build improved awareness and control throughout the body - the focus is primarily on strength using bodyweight but also some weights which can help accelerate awareness and mobility.

Here we have dips combined with L-sits and stiff knee good mornings targeting the posterior chain, we do this in both straddle and narrow stances 😊🙌🏽

20/04/2026

New skill unlocked for 🥳🙌🏽😎

Long time Forma Fam member Joe has put in some specific work to gain his press handstand and we’re stoked 💪🏽🔥

Learning a new skill as an adult is what keeps you young and healthy, so much work goes into obtaining the press handstand, consistency over time, it becomes fun, almost essential… the body doesn’t feel as good if you miss sessions!

Big up and big love for the support and dedication to moving ❤️

15/04/2026

Straddle, middles splits and pancake - all nice ranges to achieve in terms of flexibility, but for those wishing to achieve the press handstand your time would be better spent training for specific strength and awareness in drills that directly transfer to the press.

2nd slide shows an active compression drill that targets hip flexion in a narrower straddle range but with the specific flexed position of the lumbar spine with the global tension experienced with shoulder flexion and scapular elevation strength when pushing in the overhead position. Working the hip flexion or overhead push in isolation will be beneficial, but together it becomes much more beneficial and functionally related to the press handstand.

3rd slide really highlights the articulation of the spine from flexed lumbar to straight, whilst simultaneously activating maximum compression between torso and legs. This awareness and control we would say is the major component lacking for achieving a well executed press to handstand. Again, active elevation through the shoulder girdle at the same time adds a whole other dimension to the global tension.

Train both, train the one you find most difficult more for more efficient progress!

11/04/2026

We’re back with our Sunday morning double after a week off over Easter for some rest & recovery 🤗💪🏽 with coach

9am Foundations - Strength & Mobility class followed by 10am Handstands 🤸🏻

1st Video Annette and Gareth beautifully demonstrating the Rear Support (think reverse plank) with a combined wisdom of +110 years 💪🏽 😊 a great test of active balance between the front and back myofascial chains of the body. External rotation of the shoulders coupled with scapulothoracic retraction and spinal extension opens the chest and arms beautifully whilst the posterior chin activates to provide uplift against gravity.

2nd Video shows pike fold push ups, a very useful progression building toward handstand pushups (if wanted) and a great bodyweight drill that builds overhead pressing strength without spinal compression. Resistance can be altered by brining the feet closer to the hands and maximising plantarflexion at the ankle (tiptoe).

3rd video we have the basic standing kick to handstand entry but with the added challenge of a split hold. This position requires the shoulders to travel past the wrists slightly in order to counterbalance the bottom leg. Overall more challenging in both control and flexibility from the standard standing kick to handstand.

29/03/2026

24/03/2026

Week one complete of a 6 week strength cycle specifically geared towards the Single Arm Pull Up - SAPU by coach 😅💪🏽

Slides show:
1. Single arm scap pulls- these target the very bottom position, the hardest/heaviest part of the pull. Other hand is simply stabilising body rotation. Really targets teres major, lats and rhomboids from their lengthened state.

2. Weighted pull ups 5x3 . First time in 2 years doing any weighted pulls and they felt good - consistent basics carry over. Aiming for 60% bodyweight by end of week 6 for 1 rep (approx 40kg).

Slides 3, 4 & 5 single arm assisted pulls - using the rings as these allow for a closer to true function movement, specifically supination of the hand during the upward phase.

2 finger assisted, archer pull ups and rope assisted. All offer slight variations in the assisting arm and make training more fun (if you like variety? 🙋🏽‍♂️)

6. Top position lock offs. Isometric for the closed elbow angle and only 5 secs to begin with. Mid position and low position will be attempted further into the programme (s**t, those will be tough) as welll as single arm negatives and some rope climbs.

And as a side note, the lower back felt amazing the next day!!

19/03/2026

Flexibility Thursdays 😅
It’s not just relaxing passive stretches.

This drill is a great one for targeting both the short (bent knee leg) and long adductors (straight leg) simultaneously, focusing on improving end range under load - where the stick can be used as much or as little to grade the load placed on the adductors - eccentric lengthening phase. Followed by the concentric contraction phase - pulling the legs into adduction to return to the start.

16/03/2026

Stalder Press handstands are built through layers.

Shoulder positioning → compression → patterning → strength.

There are many drills to help you get there and refine the skill but here are a few of the drills we’ve been working on recently.

We’ll explore these ideas in more depth at the Handstand Workshop on Saturday 28th.