CrossFit has many different gymnastics-based moments, and these skills are a foundation of the sport.
“In CrossFit, body-weight movements are considered gymnastics (e.g., air squat, push-up, pull-up, etc.). We are taking skills from the sport of gymnastics and applying them to workouts. In CrossFit, the gymnastics label is applied to any exercise in which you move your body through a range of motion (ROM) or extended range of motion (EROM) without an external load. Isometric holds are also considered gymnastics.”
CrossFit.com
While any sort of bodyweight movement can be considered a gymnastics workout, for the purposes of this article, we will focus on movements such as kipping pull-ups, bar muscle-ups, handstand skills, etc. – all the fancy CrossFit movements that require a good deal of strength, flexibility, and coordination to perform correctly.
Keep in mind that we all have different goals. Gymnastics movements are beneficial for all, and the following drills will be helpful for any goals you set concerning your gymnastics goals. However, while some may want to improve their kipping bar muscle-ups, others may wish to strengthen their strict pullups or handstand hold. Either way, the following six tips and drills will take you back to the basics. No matter your skill level, dialing in these basic movements will help you improve in your CrossFit gymnastics journey.
1: Hollow and Superman Holds
The hollow and superman holds are essential to our gymnastics work in CrossFit. No matter your skill level, adding in these holds a few times a week (or even daily) will drastically improve your movements.
Hollow and superman holds teach us to control our core while putting us in the positions we need for the kip swing. Even if you do not perform many kipping movements, these two holds are a great way to build a stronger core.
It doesn’t take much. Try performing three sets of 20-30 seconds of both hollow and superman holds three times a week. Make the most of this time. Drive your low back into the ground in the hollow hold, doing your best to keep the arms by the ears. In the superman hold, keep the feet together and legs straight, and squeeze the glutes and the back.
2: Bar hangs & Kip Work
Bar hangs are another movement I recommend doing every time you are at the gym. Just like the hollow and superman holds, you don’t need to do much. Three sets of 20-45 seconds three to five times a week will strengthen your grip and shoulders, once more giving you a strong base for gymnastics movements.
Kip swings are another movement utilized a lot in CrossFit, but they are also a skill that we often forget about tuning. After getting a kipping pull-up or toes to bar, we often stop working on the basic movement of the kip swing.
However, if we take the time to once more go back to the basics and add in a couple of sets of practice kip swings each week—working on performing them with the best technique possible—we can continue to build great movement off of it.
3: Strict strength with gymnastics
Building your pulling and pushing strength with strict movements is one of the best ways to improve your gymnastics work. The more strict pull-ups you can do, the more kipping pull-ups, toes-to-bar, and muscle-ups you will be able to perform.
Oftentimes, I see athletes get frustrated when they are unable to get a muscle-up or a kipping chest-to-bar pull-up. They come to class consistently and wonder why this particular set of skills seems to take so long to improve.
Many times, these athletes lack the strict strength needed to transfer to the more advanced gymnastics movements. Even adding in a few sets of pull-ups and push-ups a couple of times each week can get you much closer to attaining your goals.
If you can not yet do strict pull-ups, use a band or focus on pull-up negatives. .
We always need to come back to the basics, especially when it comes to our high-skill gymnastics movements. No matter your current skill level, you will always benefit from more strict pull-ups and push-ups.
4: gymnastics Flexibility
Flexibility is highly essential when it comes to our gymnastics movements – particularly our shoulder flexibility.
It doesn’t take much. Even spending five to ten minutes a day stretching after (or before) your workout can give results. Find a routine you can stick to. For a simple starting point, use a band tethered to a pull-up bar to perform an overhead stretch for 1 minute on each arm. Then, step back and stretch the lats. Use a PVC pipe and perform shoulder pass-throughs.
There are countless resources out there where you can find ways to work on your flexibility. The more flexible you are, the better you can move your body through gymnastics movements.
5: Dedicated Practice Time & Consistency
When it comes right down to it, if you want to get better at something, you need to do it. Build the base first with your strict strength and flexibility. Don’t cut back on the basics.
When you are ready to improve your muscle-ups or other gymnastics movements, set aside time each week to practice outside of a workout. You need to have time dedicated to feeling the movement and getting better at it—you can not expect it to happen in a workout under high levels of fatigue.
Be patient. Gymnastics skills are often advanced movements and do not come overnight. Realize that consistency is critical. There will be many days where you feel as though you are not getting better, but as long as you stay consistent and honestly put in the work, you will get better.
