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Gymnastics – July programming

Posted 6th July 2021 by Anthony Masters

Hello folks,

Quick information about this July programming, transitioning from the past 2 months of structural balance work (keeping injury free & building base strength), we are now working on a 3 month straight bar muscle up & handstand push up phase. 

What is a bar muscle up? Look at this video, there are many ways this can be done, and we will aim to teach a few common variations for you to find out which you may prefer and feel suits you etc.

Bar Muscle up

The first 2 months phase is about getting stronger through controlled movements, especially for the muscle up. This will be done by applying strict MU exercises that would generally help towards achieving the strict variation. Idea is to get as strong as possible in this time so should you then wish to learn more of a kipping variation in the final phase you will already have some strength on your side to help you achieve this goal. If muscle ups are not of interest to you, think of this program as something that will help build overall upper body strength and bulletproofing those joints for all other activities you do.

Ant x

Beginner – advanced

Exercise Sets Reps Tempo Rest Notes
A1 Feet assisted strict bar MU (W/box) 4 3-5 or 5-8 Slow & controlled 30s This exercise mimics a wall MU, intent with this exercise is to build strength with slow controlled movements
A2 MU tempo descent with feet assisted 4 5-7 controlled 30s Use feet as much as needed to assist you with the exercises
A3 PVC pulldown (in hollow hold) 4 5 x 5s hold controlled 30s start with a light band to learn the movement before progressing to more resistance
B1 Bar pull up 6 4,3,2,2,1,1 42X1 60s
B2 HS PU practice*** or strict HSPU? 5 5 60s
B3 Heels elevated pistol squat on box 5 2-4 60s Coach will share a few variations
C1 Kip swing into Lat-activated pull 3 20-40s 30s Focus of this exercise is to open shoulders and build strength around this area. And improve the timing of the pull
C2 Straight bar false grip hold 3 20-40s 30s Hold 2 tennis balls, support the false grip on the crease of the wrists and not the fingers
C3 Feet elevated sissy squats 3 4-6 4010 30s This should be 8% of your 1RM bench press
D1 DB or BB cuban rotation 3 5 4010 Those with poor shoulder internal rotation work with DB