Gymnastics – April 2019

Last month there were some great results. Bar muscle ups were achieved for the first time and others improved their max unbroken reps: Chris increased from 7 to 10, Daniel to 13, and Mauricio to 15.

Chris also achieved the highest score on the burpee + ring muscle up EMOM ladder. (That’s 1 burpee plus 1 ring muscle up in the first minute. 2+2 in the second minute. 3+3 in third. Etc.) He climbed up to 7 reps of each within the minute and then descended back down to 1 again. Great job, well done.

The April programme begins from a very positive place for all.

Now that the winter months are over we are cutting back on the conditioning (that was programmed to keep you warm!) and will focus predominantly on skill and getting as many people as possible competent in the bar muscle up.

So many of you have the strength, have worked tirelessly on drills, and are so so close to nailing this movement. Now you just need the time and space (and partner support) to achieve this. Classes over the coming months will provide you with as much of these as you need to work on these.

Secondary to this we also aim to improve your handstand walks or holds (your choice). Again, you have done much strength work and many drills over the last year. Now you will be given time and space (and partner support) to practice these as well.

Alternatively, for those who need it, you can use this time to practice your double unders instead.

Overview of the programme:

15 mins – Warm-up.

15-20 mins – Partner assisted bar muscle ups.

Advanced group – if you can already do bar muscle ups you have two tasks to achieve over the following months. 1. to increase your max unbroken reps. 2. to improve your performance in a couplet or chipper workout – you can agree this with your coach on a small group basis. You are also welcome to practice ring muscle ups instead if preferred.

Beginner – appropriate scales will be given by your coach. A separate programme has been provided as a guideline in the programme spreadsheet. Focus on achieving chin-ups (if you do not have these yet) and shoulder stability.

15-20 mins – Your choice to practice either handstand walks, free-standing handstand hold (partner assisted if needed) or double unders.

5-15 mins – Coach’s choice, to be tailored to the needs of the people in the class. This will be either a conditioning workout, an accessory or remedial exercise to support the strength movements or a midline/abs extravaganza.

Since there are a limited number of bar muscle up stations the more advanced people will complete the handstand work before the muscle ups.

The full programme detail is available here:

Gymnastics Programme – April 2019 

Use the time this month for repetition, repetition, repetition, to nail these skills.

It’s all about partner support. Make a new friend if you can 🙂

Jenna x