Tips for Stringing Together More Toes-to-Bar
Videos by Kirsten Ahrendt & Justin Wright

This video discusses three points of performance for those of you that have the prerequisite strength and skill to kip, but struggle with the rhythm of stringing together multiple toes to bar. The points discussed in the video (above) are outlined below.

Toes to Bar Kip

Remember, it’s a KIP, not a SWING! In a kip, we move between two positions – hollow and arch. We move fluidly between these two points of tension and it creates a rhythm. If you are swinging (uncontrolled) instead of kipping (controlled) you won’t be able to maintain a rhythm for toes to bar.

Using Lats in Your Kip

Turn on your Lats! When you are in the “hollow” position of your kip, your lats are engaged and you should feel like you are pressing down on the bar. When we do this, our hips are behind the plane of the bar. When that happens, we can lift our toes to the bar. However, If we stop pressing down on the bar as we raise our toes, my hips will fall under and be in front of the plane of the bar. You will now be swinging, not kipping.

Staying on Beat with Kip Swings

Don’t DROP into the middle of your swing! Let your feet swing out a little bit away from you as they come away from the bar. Sometimes I think about the sensation of “pulling my feet away from the bar” rather than just “letting them fall”. As your feet come down from the bar, they should pull you back into your “arch” position of your kip. Then you’ll be ready to press down on the bar again and move back into your hollow body position.

Connecting Multiple Reps of Toes to Bar

Having trouble connecting multiple reps of toes-to-bar? Whether you’re having to restart at the bottom of the swing for each new rep of your toes to bar to get a big enough kip swing; or, you’re strong enough to do them but lose rhythm after a few reps, try the drill in the video. 

Toes-to-Bar Drill

Because this drill starts with about a half-leg raise version of the movement, it allows you to focus on some important things and hone in on where your breakdown is occurring. Understand body position, learn to create more tension throughout your body during the movement, and master your kip by conserving momentum to bring your feet to the bar.

Once you identify the issue, you can correct it and then begin to bring your toes higher and higher toward the bar while noting if you are able to maintain your cues. Just like with any other progression, maintain the range of motion of the movement where you can still keep control of your movement. Continue to push that limit as you are able and incorporate other midline or accessory work to accelerate your progress.

Also Check Out…

4 Reasons You Struggle With Toes To Bar

Upper Anterior Chain Opener: The Banded Scarecrow

What Are Toes-to-Bar?

The post Tips for Stringing Together More Toes-to-Bar appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Handstand Walking Tips for Competition
Video by Ricky Moore

Handstand walking is already hard enough for most people without having it thrown into a workout for time. Here are some tips to keep you moving forward as efficiently as possible when handstand walking comes up in competition. Practice them now so they are cues when it comes down to 3, 2, 1…Go!

Tips for Handstand Walking

Head position for Handstand Walking

Don’t crane your neck or try to look too far out in front of you. Instead, look 2-3 inches in front of your fingertips.

Let the Finish Line Come to You

Don’t rush to the finish line or look for it. When you are there, it will appear within your line of vision. If you reach to look or rush, you will likely fall and have to repeat that segment.

Take it One Segment at a Time

This goes for ANY workout. Only think about the portion you are on and how to make that the most efficient as possible. Don’t worry about all the other portions ahead of you. Be present and keep your focus on where you currently are.

How to Fall from a Handstand

While you’re at it, make sure you know how to properly fall. It’s amazing how much more confidence you’ll have with this movement when you know you are able to safely return to the floor if you lose your balance while upside down. Check out this video where Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, demonstrates the importance of learning to properly fall out of a handstand so that you have the confidence to go for handstand holds and handstand walks and have the ability to save your inverted position all while preventing injury.

Start working on this now – we have seen handstand walking in the Open previously and there’s a good chance some sort of handstand walking, or even obstacle crossing, will appear again this year!

How to Prepare for the 2020 CrossFit Open

Check out our variety of online programs – we offer complete Open prep for all athletes plus supplemental programs for gymnastics, weightlifting, strength, your engine, and more!

Check Out More on Handstand Walking…

Breaking Down Handstand Walks
Handstand Walk Progressions
Handstand Tip: Don’t Squeeze!

The post Handstand Walking Tips for Competition appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Kipping Handstand Push-Ups: Tips for Competition
Video by Ricky Moore

You might have noticed that we don’t usually program kipping handstand push-ups in our programs at Invictus. This is because we care about your cervical spine and because you can get much stronger doing the strict version anyway. But with the Open on the horizon, it’s time to start practicing your technique with this movement.

We do not recommend you kip your handstand push-ups until you can safely complete at least 5 handstand push-up negatives @ 31A2 tempo where you are able to GENTLY touch your head to the ground (not crash down on it). This will ensure you have the strength and stamina to protect your spine when you get to kipping them for time.

If you know you need to get stronger with this movement – here are some tips and a plan for achieving your first strict reps of HSPU!

Tips for Kipping Handstand Push-Ups

There is a pretty good chance that handstand push-ups will come up in the Open this year – they almost always do. Start practicing your technique now so you don’t even have to think about it once you hear the workout announcement. Here are three tips to help you cycle through your sets of kipping HSPU in the Open, or any competition for that matter.

Hand Placement for Handstand Push-Ups

Practicing hand placement so you are in the perfect position for each rep is imperative in making sure you are able to come on and off the wall with speed and precision. It also helps you get into your ideal pressing position each set so that your reps feel easier and more comfortable.

Use this hand placement drill in your warm-ups to practice 5-10 preps per day leading up to the Open or any competition. In the video, Invictus Athlete gymnastics coach Travis Ewart demonstrates three different levels for kicking up to a handstand against a wall. Each version of the movement depends on your level of comfort with a handstand and the quality of your personal handstand. When in doubt, always default to the easiest version and work toward the more challenging versions of the movement to ensure safety, quality and a linear building of your confidence.

During the first (and easiest) version of the movement, you will place your hands approximately one foot away from the wall, kicking up immediately and trying to reach your rear foot over to tap the wall, keeping your feet in a split position.

The second version is slightly more difficult and your job is to kick the rear foot up to meet the wall, but this time stabilize yourself in a split handstand position. Once you are stable, bring the lead foot to the rear foot to meet at the wall. Descending from the wall should be a reverse replica of the movement when you kicked up.

The third and most advanced version of the handstand is to bring your feet together and meet prior to your feet touching the wall.

Foot Position for Handstand Push-Ups

A lot of times, we see athletes get ‘no-repped’ for their feet not touching the wall at the top of the rep or that they never quite make it to the wall with their feet and end up falling off without the rep counting.

Practice getting your feet to the wall so you don’t fall forward and making sure they touch in the right place will make sure none of your efforts go uncounted. To do this, first, find your perfect hand placement (with the drill above) and then perform reps by overexaggerating the leg drive. Rather than shooting them straight up to the ceiling, drive your heels toward the corner of the ceiling where the wall you are kipping against meets it. Of course, they won’t actually touch the ceiling but they will shoot back and stick to the wall – exactly what you want for each rep.

Finish Position for Handstand Push-Ups

Often times, when athletes get excited in competition and are trying to move as quickly as possible through their kipping HSPU sets, they forget to pause for a split second at the top of each rep. However, this is a movement standard in most competitions so that the judge has time to see the athlete’s arms locked out and the heels against the wall.

Practice a one-second hold at the top of each rep and how to get in a rhythm with that. After that first rep and pause, it is easier to use momentum and stay in rhythm if you use the top position (lockout) as your “reset” spot for each consecutive rep (instead of the bottom position where your head is on the floor).

Practicing these key techniques of the kipping handstand push-up will help make sure your reps are not only quick but that they count when it comes time to crush your competition!

How to Prepare for the 2020 CrossFit Open

Check out our variety of online programs – we offer complete Open prep for all athletes plus supplemental programs for gymnastics, weightlifting, strength, your engine, and more!

The post Kipping Handstand Push-Ups: Tips for Competition appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Bar Muscle-Up: Tips for the Drop-Down Swing 
Video by Travis Ewart

The bar muscle-up is many-a-CrossFitter’s favorite movements! If you already have bar muscle-ups but are struggling to do more than one at a time, here are some tips to help you start stringing together multiple reps each set.

Now, before you try to attempt this, you should be proficient with strict pull-ups, kipping pull-ups, kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups, and dips. Gymnastics is a progression and although it is tempting to jump ahead to the sexier movements, it is always best for your body and skill development to build your strength base first.

Bar Muscle-Up vs Chest to Bar Pull-Up

Some of us were taught that a bar muscle-up is like a chest-to-bar pull-up; although it does have similar attributes, the biggest difference is that a chest-to-bar pull-up keeps your center of gravity beneath the bar, and the bar muscle-up needs your body to go around the bar. If you try to do a bar muscle-up out of a chest-to-bar pull-up swing, you may find yourself feeling imbalanced and short on the finish.  

How to Connect Bar Muscle-Ups Together

To address this issue I have created the video tutorial (above) on how to correct this feeling of imbalance. Here’s how:

The Bar Muscle-Up Swing

Start your muscle-up with this drill called the ‘Air Chair Swing’ and see how simple mechanics and timing can lead to a swing-assisted muscle-up that requires less guesswork and effort simply by working a consistent and duplicable pattern.

Utilize a very small, yet controlled swing to initiate the first bar muscle-up. When we drop out of a full support position on the bar we normally keep our feet on the front side of the bar, which causes the correct weight balance during the swing.

The Drop-Down Swing for the Bar Muscle-Up

Attempting to mimic the “air chair” position in drop-down swing is what this video tutorial is about. If you’re one of those who typically have no problem on your second bar muscle-up or subsequent, this may be your saving grace.  

Watch the video and give it a shot; but remember, this is a skill, and learning a skill may take time so work diligently! I assure you, though, putting the effort into learning this little swing will be well worth your time as you float your first bar muscle-up to the top.

How to Improve Gymnastics Skills

If you are looking to work more specifically on your gymnastics then check out our Invictus Gymnastics Program, which is geared towards all level of athletes. The program consists of drills to help athletes improve in skills often seen in CrossFit, like handstand walks, muscle-ups (bar and ring), handstand push-ups, pistols and more. The sessions can be added as a supplement to your current training program three days per week or as a stand-alone program.

The post Bar Muscle-Up: Tips for the Drop-Down Swing  appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Gymnastics Drill: Target Reach Swing for Bar Movements
Video by Travis Ewart

Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, shares tips and this drill for perfecting your kip swing for bar muscle-ups, toes-to-bar, and pull-ups. The purpose of the drill is to finding that perfect, consistent position when you mount the bar to guide your feet into the same spot each rep so that you set yourself up for success with the rest of the movement.

What you’ll need is a bumper plate and a bar with a height that allows you to swing without touching the floor or the plate. The plate is just a target for you to aim for – don’t worry, Coach Travis will talk about where to place it on the floor based on the movement you are practicing and also your strengths and weaknesses in that movement.

From one arm’s length away from the bar, you are going to use your best bar mount technique and then point your toes toward your target, pretending you are using laser pointers attached to your feet to hit the target. You can practice this in single-reps at first but when you get comfortable, try to stay on the bar and knock out a set of a few reps at a time.

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post Gymnastics Drill: Target Reach Swing for Bar Movements appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Handstand Tip: Don’t Squeeze!
Video by Travis Ewart

“Tight!” You hear that cue used when coaching pretty much every movement in the gym whether it be clenching the midline for the deadlift, pressing up on the bar when receiving the snatch, or when you’re inverted in the handstand…Wait, NOT the handstand too!

Although it might seem counterintuitive at first, Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, explains why it is actually more beneficial to be less tight when walking on your hands and how that little bit of slack in your body can be harnessed and used to keep you in position and moving forward without fear of crashing heavily to the floor.

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post Handstand Tip: Don’t Squeeze! appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

How to Butterfly Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
Written by Travis Ewart

I love checking the Invictus blog every night to see what the workout is for the next day. I don’t know what it is, but when I see that the workout has pull-ups or chest-to-bar pull-ups, I get very excited. I know it’s not the same reaction for everybody, but I feel like that’s usually because they aren’t familiar with the feeling of swinging continuously, smoothly and rhythmically in their pull-ups. Many struggle with the movement of the butterfly technique even though they are strong enough for strict chest-to-bar pull-ups or regular pull-ups and that can be frustrating. 

As a gymnastics coach, I love studying movement and making sense of it. Watching bodyweight shift from one side to another, momentum starting, building and stopping and strength used efficiently are all part of my daily routine and one reason why I love my job. The other reason I love my job is watching athletes beat down the roadblocks that stand in their way. Below I describe three of the most important pieces of the butterfly chest-to-bar movement that stop your caterpillar from becoming a butterfly.

Part One: Mounting the Bar

Most often I see novice butterfly-ers doing a dead hang from the bar, move into some kipping swings and then attempt to connect some butterfly chest-to-bars only to find that it feels like they are swinging uncontrollably, coming off the bar frustrated with their lack of rhythm. Rhythm is achieved through balance and timing. On some skills like toes-to-bar it’s easier to find rhythm than in the butterfly chest-to-bar, yet they are actually quite similar in the swing prior to arching. Similarly, the bar muscle-up has the same swing pattern, so what’s the deal? (Side note: regular butterfly pull-ups can start from a dead hang and require no forward/backward swing to be successful).

Jumping to the bar may be the most important part of this movement. Standing slightly behind the bar before jumping will add a little forward swing once hanging, and if you keep your feet forward your hips (hollow body position) until you pass the vertical plane of the bar you will be able to immediately arch into a loading/re-loading position to kip and execute an immediate chest-to-bar or a toes-to-bar swing. While watching an athlete (from the side) mounting the bar I should see them jump to the bar with their feet slightly in front of them, start swinging forward and lead the swing with their toes. They should then straighten to achieve a straight body on the front side of the bar about 5 to 10 degrees forward of the vertical plane (the upright post). The swing should be relatively small and followed by the arch with toes behind the body.

Part Two: Efficient Kipping

Many athletes know what “kipping” is and how to kip a pull-up swing, but the positioning may be less than transferrable to turn a kipping chest-to-bar into a butterfly chest-to-bar. For starters, a kipping chest-to-bar should finish with a straight or slightly hollow body with straight-ish legs in a slightly leaned-back angle with the bar pressed against the middle of the chest and the tip of the elbows behind the back. Most issues with trying to turn a kipping pull-up into a butterfly chest-to-bar happen when the chest meets the bar but the legs are already bent and underneath the athlete or already behind them. To correct this, drive your toes forward/upward and your shoulders backward simultaneously, then pull your chest to the bar quickly with your feet in front of the vertical plane of the bar. Fix this, then move to part three.

Part Three:  Proper Timing

The most recognizable part of the butterfly chest-to-bar is the arched position, which I like to call the “reloading position”. Every kipping movement has a loading position. This is the body position that is achieved before the kipping swing, and in the case of butterfly chest-to-bars, it’s the arched back/toes behind body position that readies your body for the forward swing to connect the following chest-to-bar. As mentioned in part two, the feet should be forward of the body and the bar until the chest meets the bar. This is extremely important because without the weight of your legs in front of the bar there will be no ‘exchange of weight’. Exchange of weight in a chest-to-bar happens when your feet go from in front of the bar to behind the glutes which causes your chest to “exchange” positions and move forward of the bar. Pulling your feet back before completion of the pull-up will shift weight early, and after your chest touches the bar it’s just going to drop straight down and cause your swing to become imbalanced for the next rep. Be quick and patient! Wait for your chest to make contact with the bar (providing your feet are still in front) then pull them back as far as they can reach. This should be done quickly, trying to get your toes to point to the ceiling behind you. Bending your knees as much as possible will help absorb the shock at the moment of straight arms. If you feel lower back pain from overarching, separate your knees during the reloading position but keep your toes together to create symmetry and momentum into the next pull-up.

Now What?

If you are one of the many who have had trouble in the past with butterfly chest-to-bars then please take a look at your movement on video and see if you are falling into any of the sections above. Not understanding a skill with so many moving parts can be complicated and frustrating, but the majority of the time you just need a little extra guidance to show you how very close you really are! Take the time at the gym and video yourself working on these and post your video in the comments below. We will help you with your movement as much as we can so long as you post!

The next time you see chest-to-bar pull-ups on the agenda I really hope that, you too, get butterflies thinking about butterflies and how you’re going to fly through your workout!

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post How to Butterfly Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Breaking Down Handstand Walks
Video by Travis Ewart

In this video, Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, breaks down handstand walks from hand placement to the kick-up and taking that first of many steps – he has tips for both beginners and competitive athletes to make sure you keep moving forward.

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post Breaking Down Handstand Walks appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Breaking Down Bar Muscle-Ups
Video by Travis Ewart

In this video, Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, breaks down bar muscle-ups from the kip to the turnover and even the drop-down into the next swing – he has tips for both beginners and competitive athletes to make sure your reps count.

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post Breaking Down Bar Muscle-Ups appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Breaking Down the Handstand Push-Up
Video by Travis Ewart

In this video, Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, breaks down the HSPU from the set-up to tips for competitive athletes to make sure your reps count.

For more drills and progressions and to get personal feedback from Coach Travis, join our Invictus Gymnastics online program. It doesn’t matter what level your skills are, we have a way to customize your programming to be just right for you. You get tutorials, video analysis, and an amazing online community, all for helping yourself prepare for what is definitely coming! Sure, you’re going to have to work for it, but you do CrossFit (thus you’re a badass), and this is the step you have to take to being even more badass.

Twenty minutes of actual work, three times a week – start now! The Open is closer than you think!

The post Breaking Down the Handstand Push-Up appeared first on Invictus Fitness.