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Gymnastics Phase 5: Pike Mobility, Shoulder Stands & Levers

Posted 31st August 2016 by Josh Schouten

Progress is not made in giant leaps when it comes to mastering you body weights.  If you’ve not had a chance to listen to coach Sommers (US Gymnastic coach and founder of GymnasticsBodies ) talk to Tim Ferris I highly recommend it (Part 1 The Secret of Gymnastic Strength, Part 2 The Secrets of Gymnastic Strength Training, Part Two — Home Equipment, Weighted Stretches, and Muscle-Ups).

Gymnastics is not about skill, its about pure strength.  You might think you’re strong when you lifting an external weights, but the truth is quickly displayed when it comes to mastering your bodyweight.  Gymnastics strength takes time and it simply can not be rushed.  Physiologically, a number of specific changes to the muscle and the connective tissue need to take place to support the demands of bodyweight training.  Connective tissue adapts at a drastically slower rate than muscle tissue.  While some of you are strong enough to perform strict pull-ups, that doesn’t mean that your body is physically ready to perform rope climbing.

If you are unable to perform an exercise at a level that has allowed the connective tissue to adapt to the required load, then you have no business attempting anything harder.  It may sound like I’m being the fun police, and it may not be fun to stop performing kipping movements, but it’s far less fun developing severe elbow tendinitis or a bicep tear because your connective tissue is not strong enough to perform these movements.  For example the risk to reward ratio of kipping pull-ups makes them a pointless exercise for health and fitness, using momentum to perform a movement does not increase strength.

The objective of our gymnastics class is to focus on building competency, proficiency and mastery at a basic level of pure gymnastics strength.  The strength endurance and connective tissue integrity developed in the grip, forearms, biceps, shoulders, ankles, hamstrings, knees, hips, chest, triceps and the upper back are all important elements of building bodyweight strength.

Physical preparation is always at the base of any well structured training program, and athletic performance if often at the peak.  As with any pyramid, the wider and more solid the base, the higher the peak may eventually reach.  In other words the mastery of the fundamentals is directly correlated to the level of advanced strength and skill required for future development.

Gymnastics strength requires a lot of time and dedication.  You won’t get very far with bodyweight training if you are not committed to practicing it on a regular basis. You need to really develop yourself to it, just like you would with the Russian Squat program and improving your squat.  The choice is always yours and you need to appreciate the time demands it take for the body to adapt to and grow stronger.  In todays fast paced world many of us overestimate what we can do in a day and we underestimate what we can do in a month, or even achieve in a year. Successful in life is not measured in how much you do in one day.

Good Training

Wrist and Finger Mobility Preparation (10min)

Front Fold (Pike Position) Mobility and Compression Strength (15min)

Flexibility is a major part of gymnastics training and without adequate range of motion your progression are limited. Explore your range of motion, find your tight points, and figure out a way to fix the crease that needs the most attention.

Stage 1: 

A1. 3-Point Calf Stretch (2x :40-:60sec each position)
A2. Split Stance Good Morning (weighted) (3x 10reps, 2320, each leg)
A3. Hip Flexor Activation Drill (3 x 10-12reps on each leg)
note: athletes must be able to demonstrate a 90* hip flexion with neutral spine in the good morning before progressing to stage 2.

Stage 2:

A1. 3-Point Calf Raises (3 x 10.10.10)
A2. Active Pike Stretch (3x 30 pulses +10sec iso hold)
A3. Straddle Leg Lifts, Internal Circles, External Circles, Pulses, and Hold ( 3 x 10,10,10, 10sec hold)
note: athletes must be able to get their head to touch their knees before progressing to stage 3

Stage 3:

A1. 3-Point Calf Raises (3 x 10.10.10)
A2. Wall Partner Pike Stretch (iso hold :45-:90sec)
A3, Straddle L-Sit Holds (Working to floor level) (3 x :10-:15sec)

Gymnastics Strength Levers & L-Sit To Shoulder Stands (25min)

We will continue work on the L-Sit to shoulder stands by strengthening key points

Stage 1:

B1. P-bars Shoulder Stand (:30-:60sec) – working to holding the shoulder stand without the shoulders touching the p-bar

B2. Pseudo Planche Pushup –  Turned hands out 45* and being on the top of your toes, taking the shoulder as far forward as possible. Maintain a tight midline. Eccentrics are an option here

B3. L-Sit Holds (:15-:20sec)

B4. Back Lever / Front Lever Progressions on rings or bar (:20-30sec hold) – Tuck, Advance Tuck, Straddle, Hollow. The aim is to complete 5 rounds of :30sec hold in each level before increasing the difficulty.

Stage 2:

B1. Boxes – working to perform a L-Sit to Pike Uprising to Shoulder Stand
Note: THIS MUST NEVER BE PERFORMED WITHOUT A SPOTTER

B2. Bent Arm Planche Holds on boxes/p-bars/floor in tuck/adv-tuck/straddle/hollow

B3. Support Hold on Rings, RTO (:15-:30sec) – no pike in the hips, shoulders slightly in front of the rings without the forearm touching the rings or straps.

B4. Back Leaver / Front Lever Progressions (:20-30sec hold) – Tuck, Advance Tuck, Straddle, Hollow. The aim is to complete 5 rounds of :30sec hold in each level before increasing the difficulty.

Muscle Endurance (10min) – One of the following

The objective here is to be consistent for all 10 rounds.  Do not burn yourself out in the first few sets as this defeats the purpose.  You need find the gear that allows you to be consistent over the rounds.  If you drop more that 2 repetitions from start to finish you have failed.  In week 1 we suggest you aim low, in the following weeks you can increase the repetitions by 1rep per round, its called the patience system for the mature trainee.

  • 10min EMOM of [10-15] Push-ups – find a level that allows you to achieve this number of repetitions.  Incline push-up to be performed with a barbell with the rack.
  • 10min EMOM of [5-10] Dips – find a level that allows you to achieve the number of repetitions. Reverse Dip on box, Dip Stations, Rings
  • 10min EMOM of [6-8] Compressions– find a level that allows you to achieve the number of repetitions. Strict Straight Leg TTB, Strict Hanging Leg Raises 90*, V-ups, Alternating Single Leg V-Ups.
  • 10min EMOM of Strict Pull-ups – find a level that allows you to achieve the number of repetitions. Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups, Chin Over Bar Pull-ups, Chest-to-bar Chin-ups, Chin Over Bar Chin-ups, 1 Eccentric Pull-ups*, 1 Eccentric Pull-ups* (*find an eccentric time that you can maintain for 10 rounds).