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.

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.

The Athlete, the Goal & the Plan: Post-Open Check-In with Haider
Written by Michele Vieux

It’s time to check in again with our friend, Haider, who has followed our Performance Program online from Saudi Arabia, since July of 2018, and has volunteered to take part in this series called, “The Athlete, The Goal & The Plan”. Meet Haider and learn about his SMART goals in these previous articles.

Today we are checking in with Haider to see how he’s coming along with the mini-milestones we set up together, how he enjoyed the Open, and any take-aways he has so far. We will continue to check back with him throughout the year to see where he is with each goal, if he’s hit any plateaus, or other things that need to be addressed, and to watch him check each goal off the list.

So far, there are only a few “concerns” or limiting factors that have come up, so in this phase of the plan, we will find out what those are, decide how to address them, and make any necessary adjustments to the mini-milestone timelines.

#1 -The Open

This is not necessarily a “concern”, according to Haider, but it did replace some of the goal work so a couple of the timelines might need to be adjusted. Haider is ok with this because he wanted to have fun with the Open workouts and test his improvements from last year – which he did!

Q: What was your goal with the Open?
A: My main goal was to be able to do better than last year in overall ranking and to be able to perform certain exercises I could not have done before. These movements were Double-Unders, Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups and Toes-to-Bar.

Q: What have you gained/learned from doing it?
A: I’ve gained more confidence in my capabilities, learned that my efforts spent working out are not for nothing, and learned that I can do better than I think I can (pushing the limits).

Q: How have you improved from last year’s Open?
A: So far, it seems I have improved my ranking by a lot, I survived all Open WODs RX’d, and I was able to perform DU’s, C2B & T2B in an Open at last!

Q: Any other thoughts?
A: I do believe I have the strength and muscle mass to perform better than I should, however, my main constraint is my weight. Once I reduce my fat, I am sure I will see a lot of improvement overall.

#2 – HSPU

Haider has been able to keep up on the static handstand holds throughout the Open but not much else of the supplemental work for this goal except for using the appropriate modifications/substitutions when HSPU come up in workouts.

There are two “limiting factors” for Haider with the HSPU goal. The first is painful pressure on butt of thumb. To address this, he is going to check out this article by Invictus Gymnastics Coach, Travis Ewart, and see if hand position is to blame. If it is not, then we will continue to examine the cause so that we can find a good solution.

• The Three Most Important Hand Positions for Successful Handstand Work

Due to a previous injury, he also experiences painful elbow pain/tendonitis on one side. Because of this, I asked him to monitor his volume on his static holds, pressing movements and also on the pull-up negatives in order to mitigate this as much as possible. I recommended him these suggestions for how to care for it when it does get flared up.

• Ice Massage
• Voodoo Floss
• Reverse Biceps Curl
• Body Work/Acupuncture/Massage Appointment

I also gave him some new things to try for HSPU progress:

• Inverted Progressions (for modification/supplemental work ideas)
• Seated Barbell Press (Bar out front/elbows at 90 degrees in bottom position)

Q: Do you feel like you are still on track with each of the mini-milestones for HSPU?
A: I am on track with the Handstand Hold against the wall, I managed to get 74s which is close to the 90s mini-goal. However, due to the concerns above, I might be off-track with the other two mini-goals.

Mini-Milestones for HSPU

1) Mini-Milestone: Hold a supported handstand for 90 seconds by April 2019
– On track!

2) Mini-Milestone: 5 Wall Climbs with less than 5 seconds rest in between reps by July 2019
– Test, then consider if timeline adjustment is needed.

3) Mini-Milestone: 3 reps of HSPU negatives @ 51A1 tempo by September 2019
– Test, then consider if timeline adjustment is needed.

#3 – PULL-UPS

Sadly, the one thing that is holding him back in this area has been hard to improve upon in just a couple of months, but we are hopeful that we are able to find a good solution for the painful tearing (both feeling and actual) that occurs on his palms whenever he does longer than a 45-second static hold or on high-volume pull-ups, toes-to-bar or any kipping movement. You should have seen his poor hands after 19.2 and 19.5! He has tried a number of taping methods and wraps with no luck. Maybe one of our readers has a pro tip for Haider?

Q: How long can you static hang now? Did you time it recently?
A: I always time my static hang in both positions. I have not improved much on the time but I feel better grip and stronger forearms. However, due to the concern above, it limits me from holding for longer than 40-50s.

Q: Do you feel like you are still on track with each of the mini-milestones for pull-ups?
A: I think I am on track with the static hold and the chin-over-bar hold mini-goals, but not the pull-up negatives @ the prescribed tempo. I would need to retest to see how I feel about these.

Mini-Milestones for Pull-Ups

1) Mini-Milestone: 60-second static hang by April 2019
– On Track!

2) Mini-Milestone: 5 reps of pull-up negatives @ 51A1 tempo by April 2019
– Test, then consider if timeline adjustment is needed.

3) Mini-Milestone: 30-second chin-over-bar hold by July 2019
– On Track!

#4 – Body Comp & Lifestyle

Great news on this front! One of the previous concerns in this area was not getting enough sleep each night. But because of his commitment to his goals, Haider changed gyms so that he would have less of a commute before and after his workout. By doing this, he has been able to get an additional 1-1.5 hours of sleep each night!

And actually, he addressed another previous concern – overtraining – by implementing a rest/maintenance day once a week, even though he was initially resistant to the idea. Even crazier…he just let me know that he’s going to take a couple days off after the Open to let his hands recover, to mentally refresh and to prepare for his upcoming L1. He would have NEVER considered doing this when we first chatted back in January but now sees the value in taking some time off every now and then.

Something he was proactive about addressing is to create a plan for how to eat during Ramadan, since he is living in a country where the holiday is strictly adhered to. Two options we came up with that he’s certain he can implement are below. I am waiting to hear which he chooses.

• Keto (he has experience with this). Normally people don’t feel too hungry when in ketosis so eating this way will not only help him survive through the daylight hours more comfortably, it will likely also kickstart that last bit of fat loss he’s looking for.
• Intermittent Fasting

Q: How has your mindset changed around taking a “maintenance” day on Thursdays?
A: I was so skeptical and worried it might negatively impact me, now I wait happily for it and try to improvise it. I call it maintenance day as it is the day where I do full body mobility targeting certain tired muscles the most.

Q: What benefits have you seen from the maintenance day?
A: It gave me better balance into my workouts, more focus and refreshed mindset, and allowed me to perform a little better during the following two days than I used to.

Q: Have you noticed any difference from the extra sleep each night?
A: On the short run, not much difference. However, I did feel I have slightly recovered better in muscle tissue. Also, it did give me more focus and stronger mentality.

What a great start, for Haider! Much progress has already been made and he’s on the path toward each of his goals. Our next step is to have him retest some of of the mini-milestone measurements so that we can make sure the dates for each of the goals and mini-milestones is still feasible. Check back with us to see how close Haider is to that HSPU!

The post The Athlete, the Goal & the Plan: Post-Open Check-In with Haider appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

If you like quintessential CrossFit, you have to enjoy 19.5. This is about as classic as it gets in the CrossFit world, a couplet of thrusters and pull-ups. And in true CrossFit fashion, this workout is sinister. It takes known movements and a familiar rep scheme (21-15-9), but buries that rep scheme behind a 60-rep buy-in of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull-ups.

Strategy & Tips for Competitors

Know your pacing and mindset so you can put your best foot forward on this one. Our competitor strategy here reviews how to think about and set goals for each round. It’ll also be important that you understand you ability to hold certain rep schemes so that you can hold yourself accountable to doing so. If you go in without a plan, it’s likely that you’ll be quickly tempted to take more sets and more rest – meaning you may not be able to complete the workout.

Strategy & Tips for Beginner & Intermediate CrossFitters

The coaches at Invictus Boston took on 19.5 right after the announcement. Here’s what tips and tricks they have for you. They go into how they broke up the reps and rounds, how they kept their hands held together, and how sore they anticipate being over the next few days. “Be humble” with the rep scheme you pick.

Time to finish this Open strong!

Even if this isn’t your favorite event, or one that you think suits you well as an athlete, make it the one you’re most proud of because of the effort you put forth. This is the type of event that rewards grit…nobody fails 95/65 lb thrusters. Dig down deep and find that little bit of extra motivation to push out a few more reps despite burning legs and heaving lungs. You have trained too hard to finish on anything other than a positive note.

We’re starting the Post-Open cycle of Invictus Athlete on April 8th. Get started now for the transition weeks before the cycle start. If you’re over 35, Invictus Masters starts the Post-Open and Masters Qualifier cycle April 1st.

Want some tips on your butterfly chest-to-bar pull ups? Invictus Gymnastics coach, Travis Ewart goes through drills and tips for kipping and butterfly chest-to-bar pull-ups.

The post 19.5 Strategy for All Levels appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

The Athlete, The Goal & The Plan: Haider’s Plan of Action
Written by Michele Vieux

Haider has followed our Performance Program online from Saudi Arabia, since July of 2018, and has volunteered to take part in this series called, “The Athlete, The Goal & The Plan”, where the person being profiled will write the Athlete & Goal parts and the coach (in this case, me) will help come up with the Plan part. You can learn more about Haider and his SMART goals in the previous article.

This article is his “plan” – how he is going to make progress toward his goals. We will check back with him throughout the year to see where he is with each goal, if he’s hit any plateaus, or other things that need to be addressed, and to watch him check each goal off the list.

Haider has a number of mini-milestones to pass on his way to his three, ultimate goals. Based on the timeline for each mini-milestone, we have selected a few to work on for now, the rest will come with time (from doing this plan) and we will add some other action steps in as he progresses toward each goal.

For Haider’s plan, it is important to note that he leads a very busy lifestyle with long workdays. He doesn’t have any extra time in his day, outside of when he normally trains, to add additional work so the pieces of his plan must fit into the time he is already in the gym.

Another cool thing to note about his plan is that, since he is a project manager and an engineer, he has created a spreadsheet to help him make sure he gets all his prescribed work for these goals done each week. Check it out!

We will check back in on Haider in a few months, to see where he is with the following…

The Goal: One, Unassisted/Unmodified Strict HSPU by January 2020

Attacking Mini-Milestones for HSPU
– Mini-Milestone: Hold a supported handstand for 90 seconds by April 2019 Mini-Milestone: 5 Wall Climbs with less than 5 seconds rest in between reps by July 2019
– Mini-Milestone: 3 reps of HSPU negatives @ 51A1 tempo by September 2019

Currently Able to Do
– Handstand Hold: 64 seconds (Because of this pleasant surprise when he tested last week, we moved the 90-second hold goal from July to April)
– Wall Climbs: 2 unbroken reps
– HSPU Negatives @ 51A1: 5 reps with AbMat

HSPU Plan of Action
– Every time you workout, either as part of your warm-up or part of your supplemental work after the workout, accumulate 3 minutes in a wall-supported handstand hold in as few attempts as possible.
– On gymnastics days, one of your stations should always be either HSPU negatives (might need to be piked from a box at first) -or- Wall Climbs.
– When HSPU comes up in the conditioning part of the workout, please perform Seated DB Press AHAP -or- Wall Climbs (1 climb = 3 HSPU)
– When HSPU is in the strength portion of the workout, please perform negatives @ 51A1 tempo (or as close to that tempo as possible with the goal of completing all reps at that tempo)

The Goal: 10 Unbroken, Strict Pull-Ups by January 2020

Attacking Mini-Milestones for Pull-Ups
– Mini-Milestone: 60-second static hang by April 2019
– Mini-Milestone: 5 reps of pull-up negatives @ 51A1 tempo by April 2019
– Mini-Milestone: 30-second chin-over-bar hold by July 2019

Currently Able to Do
– Static Hang: 43 seconds
– Chin-Over-Bar Hold: 14 seconds
– Pull-Up Negatives @ 51A1 tempo: 4 with assist from green band

Pull-Up Plan of Action
– Every time you workout, as part of your warm-up, complete two, max hold attempts at a static hang (one in pronated grip and one in supinated grip).
– Every time you workout, as part of your warm-up, complete 10-15 reps of Scapular Pull-Ups without swinging your body (tight hollow body).
– One to two times per week, either as part of your warm-up or part of your supplemental work after the workout, complete two, max hold attempts at a chin-over-bar hold (one in pronated grip and one in supinated grip).
– Two to three times per week, either as part of your warm-up or part of your supplemental work after the workout, complete at least one set of scapular work like Reverse Snow Angels, Bat Wings, Band Pull-Aparts, Y’s, T’s, W’s, etc. This would be best if you do it before your workout on “upper body day” and after your workout if upper body was not the focus of the day.
– Any time there is a single strength movement that is not upper body (for example: only Back Squats) in Part A, add in one of these during your rests: 5 reps of pull-up negatives @ 51A1 tempo (you can start with a lesser tempo like 21A1 and work your way to 51A1); 30 seconds (accumulated) chin-over-bar hold; 6-8 DB Rows per side @ 2111 tempo; 5 reps of Floor-to-Feet Rope Climbs; CrossOver Symmetry; or any other pulling exercise you like.

The Goal: Body Fat Under 22 kg by October 24, 2019

Attacking Mini-Milestones for Weight Loss
– Mini-Milestone: Lose 2.5 kg of body fat by April 24, 2019

Currently Able to Do
– 6 hours per night of sleep, sometimes interrupted (He’s figuring out how to address this by looking at the time it takes him to get to the gym and complete his workout in the evenings. We’ll find out what he figures out at our next check-in!)
– In “maintenance” mode with his nutrition plan. Meaning, he is trying to maintain his current weight. He will take the next step toward making changes in a few weeks and we’ll check back to see where he is.

Weight Loss Plan of Action
– Measure your body fat once per week.
– Report your body fat to your coach and one other person in your support network each week.
– Get 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
– At the end of each week, report to your coach the number of nights you got at least 7 hours of sleep.
– Continue to follow your current nutrition plan. Reach out to your coach if you do not continue to see weight loss like you have been seeing.

Sample Week of Training

Since Haider follows the Performance Program, we found ways to incorporate the items from his plan into his warm-ups, within the workout by either super-setting strength movements or subbing movements in the conditioning, and by adding a quick finisher each day that takes less than five minutes to complete. Since we are adding a lot more volume, we will stay in communication about how he’s feeling and recovering so that he doesn’t become injured – so this plan could change slightly depending on those things. Here is what this week’s training looks like.

MONDAY

WARM-UP (Include these things):
Dead Hang x 2 sets of 60 seconds + (one pronated + one supinated)
Scapular Pull-Ups x 10-15 reps

A.
Back Squat
*Set 1 – 5 reps
*Set 2 – 3 reps
*Set 3 – 1 rep
*Set 4 – 5 reps
*Set 5 – 3 reps
*Set 6 – 1 rep
Rest 2-3 minutes between sets
(During Rests: Perform Pull-Ups x 3 @ 51A1 tempo (or x 5 @ 21A1) for at least 3 of the sets – Do clusters if you need to break them up.)

B.
Complete rounds of 21, 15 and 9 reps for time of:
Dumbbell Thrusters (50/35 lbs)
Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups (Modify by using a band or do Jumping C2B Pull-Ups)

FINISHER: One Set of Max Handstand Hold (either wall facing or facing away)

TUESDAY

WARM-UP (Include these things):
Scapular Pull-Ups x 10-15 reps
Wall Climbs x 5 reps (rest as needed between reps)

Every 2 minutes, for 30 minutes (3 sets of each):
Station 1 – 400/300 Meter Row
Station 2 – 30 Ring Dips (Sub HSPU Negatives x 5 @ 51A1)
Station 3 – 400 Meter Run
Station 4 – 30 Toes to Bar
Station 5 – 10 Renegade Rows (55/35 lbs)
(Push-Up, Row Left, Push-Up, Row Right = 1 rep)

FINISHER: 50 Band Pull-Aparts or 25 Reverse Snow Angels

WEDNESDAY

WARM-UP (include these things):
Accumulate 3 minutes in a handstand hold
Static Hang x 2 sets of 60 seconds or more (pronated + supinated)
Scapular Pull-Ups x 10-15 reps

A.
Every 2 minutes, for 16 minutes (8 sets) of:
Hang Clean + Clean + Jerk
(No changes or additions here today.)

B.
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
12 Alternating Single-Arm Dumbbell Snatches (55/35 lbs)
9 Burpee Box Jump-Overs (24″/20″)
6 Bar Muscle-Ups (Sub Strict Pull-Ups – use a band or lower bar like this.)

FINISHER: Accumulate 30 seconds in chin-over-bar hold (Your choice of pronated or supinated)

THURSDAY

Active Recovery Day (This was added into the plan to make sure Haider is resting enough with all of the additional volume in his training so he doesn’t become injured – He previously followed the Performance workouts 6 days per week.)
Mobility Work
Light Rowing or Assault Bike
Possibly some static holding like planking or hanging

FRIDAY (Do Thursday’s Workout)

WARM-UP (include these things):
Accumulate 3 minutes in a handstand hold
Static Hang x 2 sets of 60 seconds or more (pronated + supinated)
Scapular Pull-Ups x 10-15 reps

A.
Every 90 seconds, for 12 minutes (8 sets):
Bench Press x 3 reps @ 21X1

(If you want to add anything to this, do some sort of planking or other midline work.)

B.
Five rounds for time of:
12 Alternating Pistols
9 Dumbbell Push Presses (55/35 lbs)
6 Strict Handstand Push-Ups (Sub seated DB Press x 6 -OR- Wall Climbs x 2-3)

FINISHER: Reverse Snow Angels -OR- Bat Wings

SATURDAY (Do Friday’s Workout)

WARM-UP (Include these things):
Static Hang x 2 sets of 60 seconds or more (pronated + supinated)
Scapular Pull-Ups x 10-15 reps
Banded Pull-Downs x 10-15 focusing on active lats

A.
Take 12-15 minutes and build to a heavy, but not necessarily 3-RM, Deadlift
(Do band pull-aparts -OR- pull-up negatives after first 3 sets)

B.
Every minute, on the minute, for 15 minutes:
30 Double-Unders
3 Deadlifts

FINISHER: Chin-over-bar holds

The post The Athlete, The Goal & The Plan: Haider’s Plan of Action appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

The Road to Your First Strict Pull-Up
Written by Holden Rethwill

The strict pull-up. From old school gym classes teaching young kids, to the armed forces cranking out reps as part of their training regimen. We all fall on one side or the other. We’ve either done one, or we haven’t.

For those of us who have, it seems like a mundane movement, a thing of a past, the first stepping stone on the path to bigger and better movements. Then there’s the people who fall on the other side of the spectrum. A range of reasons has kept them from ever being able to lift their chin over a bar after starting at a dead hang. For many of these fitness enthusiasts, a strict pull-up is their Mount Rushmore, the tip of their Everest when it comes to movements.

I’m here to tell you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not being able to complete a strict pull-up. Some people try and try, yet still never get one. But maybe they were going about it all wrong? Maybe they were trying to run before they could crawl? Follow along as I take you on the journey of how – hopefully – you can be proactive and hopefully check this movement off your bucket list.

The Uncomfortable Reason to Talk About: Your Weight

Before we get into any of the accessory work, or the nitty gritty as I like to call it, that will build the muscles necessary to complete a pull-up, we need to take a look at body composition. It’s a plain fact, one that many people don’t want to hear, but if you weigh more than your strength permits, you’re going to struggle mightily with the progress you need to make.

So, the first thing we need to do, is find where we can lose some weight, and more specifically, where we can lose it from. Are you someone considered bottom heavy, meaning your legs carry the large majority of your weight? If so, on top of all of the accessory work I’m going to provide you in this series, we need to make sure that we are completing the necessary cardiovascular training, and lower body strength and conditioning work to shed weight in areas that will not help us pull.

Take one of my own clients for example. Her biggest goal is to someday complete a strict pull-up. To get there, not only are we working to make her upper body stronger, but we are also attacking a piece of the problem, her lower body. She carries much of her mass in the lower half of her body, so on top of all of the accessory work we’re completing daily, we are also working to trim some of the excess and unnecessary weight that she carries in her legs. In just a short amount of time and small body composition change, she has been able to reduce the amount of band tension needed to assist her in getting her chin over the bar!

As much as some people don’t want to hear it, we need to first take a look at our weight and how we can manage it if we’re ever going to pull our body up to that bar. This means not only losing weight via our exercise regimen, but through our diet and nutrition as well. Take a look in the mirror, and if you’re someone who wants to join the list of those able to pull their body weight around, you’re going to have to make sure you’re making the right lifestyle choices that will push you towards your goal, not drive you away from it!

Phew! Now that we got the often uncomfortable and hard talk out of the way, let’s get to the fun! We’re going to dig lightly into some of the philosophies behind how to train for your first pull-up.

More Pulling (duh) and PUSHING (what?!) are in Your Future!

Let’s get to the obvious…you need to start pulling! Any way shape or form, start making your body pull. Horizontal, vertical, angular, upper body, lower body, any and all ways shapes or forms! Pulling is the best way to build your back (specifically the lats and rhomboids) and a strong back only makes pulling easier. Funny how that works, pull to make your pulling easier!

But here’s something I bet a lot of people don’t think about. You also need to PUSH!

Pressing is one of the best ways to strengthen the shoulders and pecs! The shoulders and pecs – especially the deltoids, pectoralis major, and minor – are equally as important when you’re trying to do a pull-up!

The first benefit tied to pressing is that these muscles help to keep the shoulders packed into proper positioning so that it remains stable and moves correctly. By doing so, you’re ensuring that each muscle is doing what it’s supposed to so that they all work together and you can optimize maximal output.

A second benefit, much more obvious I’m sure, is that pressing plain and simple makes your upper body stronger. The pull-up is a great test of relative strength, meaning your strength in comparison to bodyweight. By strengthening your upper body you are tipping the scale in the direction you need it to go, physically and metaphorically! Plain and simple, stronger arms equals stronger pulls!

Your Execution Plan for Press-Dominant Days

Now it’s time to get to it! Here’s some movements I’ve been incorporating into press dominant days for the client I mentioned previously trying to attain her first pull-up! Pick one of these for your strength portion and one for your conditioning and/or supplemental work. This is a general guideline so feel free to modify according to your own abilities!

1. DB Push Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
2. Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
3. Kneeling Landmine Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per arm
4. Push-ups – 3 sets of 15-20
5. Single Arm Alternating Kettlebell Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per arm
6. Barbell Strict Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
7. DB Z-Press – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions

Now I bet you’re excited to get to those pulling exercises that will get you to your first pull-up! Well, I’m here to apologize…because we’re not quite there yet! But that’s ok! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and for those of you who have stuck along this far, I know you’re committed.

Before I go any further I want to mention that these guidelines are not only for those who want to get their first pull-up, they can be for anyone simply looking to improve their relative strength or maybe add a few more reps to their max set of pull-ups!

Ok now that I’ve said that, let’s get back to it. This time we’re going to talk about the next step in building your body to achieve it’s first pull-up!

It’s Time to Talk about that Core

Everything we do originates from the core, so it only makes sense that in order to increase our relative strength, we must first increase our core strength. YoPur midline is what keeps your body from losing rigidity while executing movements. Bottom line, keep your core active, and you’ll move better and stronger!

In-CORE-perate these into Your Training Plan

Pick one or two movements each day to work into your strength, conditioning and supplemental training. Most of these movements are “static” movements which are perfect for “rest” days or if you are working around an injury.

1. Static Plank Hold – 3 sets of :45-:60
2. Side Plank Hold – 3 sets of :30 per side
3. Side Plank Rotations – 3 sets of 10-15 per side
4. Single Arm Suitcase Carry – 3 sets of 50-100 feet per arm
5. Single Arm DB or KB Front Rack Carry – 3 sets of 50-100 feet per arm
6. Single Arm DB Overhead Carry – 3 sets of 50-100 feet per arm
7. Hollow Hold – 3 sets of :30-:45
8. Sandbag Hold – 3 sets of :60-2:00
9. Push-up Position Shoulder Taps – 3 sets of :30-:45
10. Turkish Get Up – 3 sets of 3-4 per arm performed at slow tempo

PULL We Must!

So far we’ve had the pleasure of discussing our body composition, pressing strategies, as well as a new and improved midline. But, when it all comes down to it, in order to get better at pull-ups, we need to pull!

Pulling of all shapes and forms will increase posterior chain strength, which is crucial for strengthening the most important muscles involved in a pull-up – the latissimus dorsi, rear deltoids, rhomboids, as well as the biceps!

Some of the Endless Pulling Options You Should Try

There is a multitude of methods and angles we can approach this from, but I’m going to give you some ideas that maybe you’ve overlooked! Typically you’d use most of these in your strength or supplemental work for the day as you don’t want to move too quickly through these movements so that you don’t get sloppy and lose their benefits.

1. Banded Face Pulls – 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions
2. Bat Wings – 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions performed at slow tempo (1115)
3. Chinese Rows – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions performed at a 2111 tempo
4. Single Arm Landmine Row – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per arm
5. Hand Over Hand Rope Pulls – 3 sets of 50-100 feet
6. Banded Lat Pull Downs – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
7. Tempo Ring Rows – 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions performed at 2112 tempo
8. Double KB Bent Over Row – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
9. Double KB Alternating Gorilla Row – 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per arm
10. Single Arm KB Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets of 10-15 per side

There it is! Your track to getting that first pull-up! This by no means is guaranteed to get you a pull-up, but it definitely doesn’t hurt the process! I will say that if you remain dedicated, and mix and match some of these movements and ideas into your current regimen, you’re only going to push yourself further in the direction of progress. For those of you who already have your strict pull-ups, I challenge you to still incorporate this and see how much better you can be! At the end of the day we’re all striving to become better versions of ourselves, so why not implement something that is only going to help!

Let me know any feedback or questions you may have, and get to pulling!

The post The Road to Your First Strict Pull-Up appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

3 Drills for Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
Written by Nichole Kribs

I have worked with several people who have great kipping pull-ups but struggle to get their chest to the bar for kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups. Does that sound like something you’ve struggled with? If so, then read on for my top three drills to help you achieve kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups.

Drill #1: Banded Push-Away Drill

Place a band at the top of the pull-up bar. Use assistance to place one leg into the band and pull yourself up so your chest touches the bar. Hold this position for 3 seconds then push-away from the pull-up bar. I find it helpful to imagine the pull-up bar being a barbell and you are bench pressing the pull-up bar away from your chest.

You can also use a box to step onto and assist you to get your chest to the pull-up bar.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this into your training session twice a week as a warm-up drill.

Two to Three sets of:
Banded Push-Away Drill x 4-6 reps
Rest as needed

Drill #2: Strict Pronated-Grip Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

I can’t emphasize the importance of developing strength to complete strict chest-to-bar pull-ups. If you don’t have strict yet, then I’d recommend using a band to help you get your chest to the bar or use a partner who can assist in spotting you. Below is a video on how to safely spot a training partner.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this drill into your accessory session either at the beginning or end of your training day, two times per week.

Three sets of:
Strict Pronated-Grip Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups x 5 reps (use assistance if needed)
Rest 60 seconds

Drill #3: Bat Wings

This is an absolutely fantastic drill to incorporate into your training. This drill essentially puts you in the same position that you will be in when your chest touches the bar at the top of your kipping pull-up. Development of the upper back, along with helping reverse protracted shoulders, is a crucial piece to getting efficient kipping pull-ups while keeping your shoulders safe. When doing Bat Wings, make sure to pull the kettlebells high while squeezing the shoulder blades together so you can isolate those rhomboids.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this as a finisher in your training two-three times per week as follows.

Three sets of:
Bat Wings x 5 reps @ 1515
Rest as needed

Hopefully these drills will help you achieve kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups or improve your efficiency with them.

Also Check Out…

The Only Three Reasons You Still Can’t Do A Pull-Up

What’s The Difference Between Kipping And Butterfly Pull-Ups

Reverse Snow Angels – Purveyors Of Posture

The post 3 Drills for Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

3 Drills for Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
Written by Nichole Kribs

I have worked with several people who have great kipping pull-ups but struggle to get their chest to the bar for kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups. Does that sound like something you’ve struggled with? If so, then read on for my top three drills to help you achieve kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups.

Drill #1: Banded Push-Away Drill

Place a band at the top of the pull-up bar. Use assistance to place one leg into the band and pull yourself up so your chest touches the bar. Hold this position for 3 seconds then push-away from the pull-up bar. I find it helpful to imagine the pull-up bar being a barbell and you are bench pressing the pull-up bar away from your chest.

You can also use a box to step onto and assist you to get your chest to the pull-up bar.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this into your training session twice a week as a warm-up drill.

Two to Three sets of:
Banded Push-Away Drill x 4-6 reps
Rest as needed

Drill #2: Strict Pronated-Grip Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

I can’t emphasize the importance of developing strength to complete strict chest-to-bar pull-ups. If you don’t have strict yet, then I’d recommend using a band to help you get your chest to the bar or use a partner who can assist in spotting you. Below is a video on how to safely spot a training partner.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this drill into your accessory session either at the beginning or end of your training day, two times per week.

Three sets of:
Strict Pronated-Grip Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups x 5 reps (use assistance if needed)
Rest 60 seconds

Drill #3: Bat Wings

This is an absolutely fantastic drill to incorporate into your training. This drill essentially puts you in the same position that you will be in when your chest touches the bar at the top of your kipping pull-up. Development of the upper back, along with helping reverse protracted shoulders, is a crucial piece to getting efficient kipping pull-ups while keeping your shoulders safe. When doing Bat Wings, make sure to pull the kettlebells high while squeezing the shoulder blades together so you can isolate those rhomboids.

How do I incorporate this into my regular training schedule?

Add this as a finisher in your training two-three times per week as follows.

Three sets of:
Bat Wings x 5 reps @ 1515
Rest as needed

Hopefully these drills will help you achieve kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups or improve your efficiency with them.

Also Check Out…

The Only Three Reasons You Still Can’t Do A Pull-Up

What’s The Difference Between Kipping And Butterfly Pull-Ups

Reverse Snow Angels – Purveyors Of Posture

The post 3 Drills for Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Don’t Have Strict Pull-Ups? Try Mixing These 2 Variations into Your Routine
Written by Michele Vieux

The pull-up battle is real and for many athletes, getting that first strict pull-up is a goal. But what is the best way to get there? The familiar standbys – jumping pull-ups, pull-up negatives, banded pull-ups and partner assisted pull-ups – are all options and each has it’s place depending on what the workout calls for. Now let’s add a couple other options to your repertoire.

Band Pull-Down Modification

If you are working toward strict pull-ups, here is a great modification to throw into your strength portion or as supplemental work. Using this set-up allows you to get the feel of pulling while activating the scaps and lats. It also allows you to focus on pinning your chest to the bar (by driving your elbows behind you) at the top of the pull-up which is difficult to do with other modifications for the exercise.

Focus first on activating your scaps by performing a scapular pull-up which means you pull your shoulder blades down and tight. This should always be the first movement for the pull-up – whether it be strict or kipping – in order to protect the shoulder joint and get as many of its muscles involved as possible.

Next focus is to pull down with your lats and NOT your upper traps which tend to want to take over the world. If your shoulders and neck are creeping up next to your ears, your upper traps have taken over. Reset and then try again. You might need to use a lighter band if this is difficult for you to achieve.

Finally focus on your chest-to-bar position by driving your elbows behind you as you pin the bar (PVC in this case) to your chest. Hold those scaps tight as you return the bar to the overhead position in a slow and controlled manner.

Seated Modification for Strict Pull-Ups

If you are working toward strict pull-ups, try this modification for when they come up in your strength OR conditioning workout. Keep the torso upright during the pull and make the movement more difficult by straightening your legs out in front of you and easier by bringing them in closer to your body to provide more assistance.

All of the other focus points from the band pull-down modification (above) apply to this as well. I like this better than the banded modification for most because it forces you to use your body weight for the negative versus riding the band down. With that being said, if you are having trouble with controlling your descent, a band might be a good option until you can achieve a 2-5 second negative in the seated position.

Being able to do strict pull-ups ensures that you are strong enough to safely kip so if that’s something you’re wanting to do, remember that we recommend men should be able to do ten unbroken strict pull-ups and women at least five before you even attempt kipping in order to prevent injury.

Happy pulling!

Also Check Out…

Follow The Steps – Don’t Be Too Eager To Progress

The Only Three Reasons You Still Can’t Do A Pull-Up

3 Simple Exercises To Get Your Scaps Jacked

The post Don’t Have Strict Pull-Ups? Try Mixing These 2 Variations into Your Routine appeared first on Invictus Fitness.

Getting Butterflies Thinking About Butterfly Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
Written by Travis Ewart
(Originally published on 1/26/2017)

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 over arching, 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!

If you need more gymnastics help please check out our new Invictus Gymnastics Program at the link below. Post any questions you may have and we’d love to answer them!

https://www.crossfitinvictus.com/competitors/invictus-athletes-programs/

Also Check Out…

Butterfly Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups: A How To Guide

Breaking Down the Butterfly Pull-Up: The Pull

Breaking Down the Butterfly Pull-Up: Two Common Issues

The post Getting Butterflies Thinking About Butterfly Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups appeared first on Invictus Fitness.