Stage 4: Gymnastics Movements

Hollow and Arch Positions

Hollow Body Position

• Defines midline stability for gymnasts and provides the basis for solid gymnastics movement.
• Characterized by a strong core contraction with active tissue from the big toes all the way to the fingertips.
• Involves a posterior pelvic tilt and the spine is pulled into lumbar flexion, shortening the midline.
• Lumbar flexion varies depending on how it is being applied.
• Athletes proficient in the hollow position find core and stabilizing activities simple.
• Ability to complete a Tabata hollow hold or hollow rock without losing form indicates superior core strength; Tabata protocol consists of eight intervals of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest.

Hollow Body Position (Supine on the Floor)

• Requires no space between the lumbar spine and the floor.
• Scapulae are elevated off the ground.
• Hip is extended with a posterior pelvic tilt.
• Knees and elbows are locked.
• Arms are by the ears with active shoulders.
• Ankles in plantar flexion with pointed toes.
• Execution involves lying on the back, pointing toes to the sky, and reaching hands high on the shins.
• Low back presses into the ground, closing out all space.
• Scapulae lift off the ground.
• Lower legs without losing torso position while tracing legs with fingers, pausing when feet are six inches off the ground.
• Pointed toes, tight glutes, engaged abs, and elevated scapulae are maintained.
• Arms are brought overhead with biceps tucked to ears with active shoulders; limbs are locked and active tissue is engaged throughout the entire body.

Arch Body Position

• Achieved through a strong contraction of the posterior kinetic chain while lying prone on the ground.
• Tissue is active throughout the body, similar to the hollow position.
• More easily established than the hollow position because it is less technical.
• Aggressive arch depends upon active flexibility of the shoulders, spine, and hips.

Arch Body Position (Prone on the Floor)

• Requires the chest and quads to be lifted off the floor.
• Knees and elbows are locked.
• Arms are by the ears with active shoulders.
• Ankles are in plantar flexion with pointed toes.

Drills and Skills

• Hollow sit-ups
• Hollow rocks
• Shotguns
• V-ups
• Arch chest lifts
• Arch leg lifts
• Arch rocks
• Arm haulers
• Alligator Drills
• Hollow hold to arch hold
• Hollow rocks to arch rocks
• Shotguns to arm haulers
• Alternate between hollow and arch positions by rolling while maintaining form.
• Armadillo Drills
• Elbows on knees
• One leg extended
• One leg one arm extended
• Rock the athlete up and back at any tempo while they maintain a midline contraction.
• More aggressive movements can be employed if the ground is smooth and soft, such as tipping the athlete from side to side or spinning him or her.

Pull-Up

• Primary Movers: latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, brachioradialis.

Ring Row

• Begins with lat activation and a pull to the rib cage with the feet on the ground.
• Acts as a strength progression for pull-ups.

Strict Pull-Up

• Starts with arms locked out at the bottom and chin above the bar at the top.
• Begins with lat activation before the arms bend, maintaining the hollow position.
• Should be a prerequisite for kipping pull-ups.

Slow Close/Open Drill (Hollow/Arch)

• Pause in hollow (close).
• Return to neutral (hanging straight, no swing or sway).
• Pause in arch (open).

Beat Swing (Kip Swing)

• Involves close/open (hollow/arch) fast.
• Athlete becomes still with control.

2-FOR-1 Kipping Pull-Up

• Perform a swing, swing, pull.
• Emphasize more lat activation on the pull, closing the angle of the shoulder.
• Pull into the bar, then press away.
• Teaches control of the swing.

Kipping Pull-Up

• Employs the hollow position and active lat engagement.
• Feet tap forward effectively closing the shoulder angle and creating a slight weightlessness before a pull into the bar.
• Push away occurs at the top, and the athlete passes back through the same position achieved on the way up.
• Active tissue is maintained throughout, including during transition movement.
• Outstanding examples are the speed and power that requires both organic adaptation (strength and stamina) and neurological adaptation (agility, coordination, and accuracy).

Butterfly Pull-Up

• Is not covered in this course.
• Considered a “dead-end progression” that does not lead to anything else.
• Classified as a third-wave adaptation as proposed by Stephen Seiler.
• Has value for those specializing in the sport of CrossFit.
• It's not needed for 99 percent of CrossFit athletes who are not Games athletes.
• The goal for most CrossFitters it to stay healthy and active.

Considerations For Pull-Ups

• Learning new movements and skills is fun.
• Athletes proficient in strict and kipping pull-ups can be encouraged to learn the butterfly kip or other new skills.

Knee-To-Elbow and Toe-To-Bar

• Primary movers: Latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominis, iliopsoas, rectus femoris.

Floor Drill

• Test before the hollow position or lat activation, bringing the knees slowly to the elbows will be difficult or impossible.
• Try the movement after performing a strong hollow position and lat activation, and the movement will be easily achieved.

Strict Knee-To-Elbow

• Stay compact with arms straight.
• Knees flex and lift away from the floor.
• Knees move towards elbows.
• Focus is on closing the angle of the shoulder.
• Spot at low back and hamstrings.

Strict Toe-To-Bar

• (Flexed or Extended knee) Stay compact with arms straight.
• From knees-to-elbows position, extend the knee to contact the bar with the foot.
• Straight leg to parallel (touch the bar and return to an L-sit).
• Straight-leg toes-to-bars utilizes a complete hang to feet touching the bar.
• Requires more lat activation.
• Spot at low back and hamstrings.

With a Kip

• Is easier if the movement can be done strict.
• Give the athlete a target, and raise it up as long as they can maintain a the kip movement.
• Hips are slightly situated behind the frontal plane.
• Bent-leg toes-to-bars require staying compact and flicking the feet.
• Some athletes will prefer straight legs.

Considerations

• Whether the athlete prefers straight legs or a knee drive with a toe flick depends, in large part, upon his build and hamstring flexibility.
• Least effort is required by always keeping weight distribution close to the frontal plane, which is easier with a knee drive and a flick of the feet than with a straight-leg movement.
• Practice different variations.
• Practice them strict and with a kip.

Toes-to-bars variations:

• Strict straight leg
• Strict bent leg
• Straight-leg kip
• Bent-leg kip

Once proficient in the variations, challenge yourself with these auxiliary Drills:

• Around the world
• Windshield wipers

Adjustments

• Around the world can be scaled by going over a shorter barrier: PVC and a couple of plates to anchor it.
• Also try bent-leg variations.
• Windshield wipers can be scaled by staying in a tuck position.

Ball-Up

• Primary movers: Latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominis.

Points of Performance

• Maintain straight arms throughout the movement.
• Hips are aligned inline with the arms in the inverted position.
• Strict straight-arm movement in which an athlete slowly pulls to inverted from hanging while maintaining a tight tuck position.
• Knees are pulled into the chest, the heels are pulled to the glutes, and the chin is tucked.

Spotting

• Spotters are usually needed during the the athlete is developing.
• Spot is initiated at the low back and hamstrings.
• Low-back hand transfers to the shins as the athlete moves to inversion, and the hamstrings hand transfers transfers to the low back.
• Athletes able to pull slowly into this position likely excel at pull-ups and toes-to-bars.
• Improves skills needed for the rope climbs
• Prerequisite for the pass-through, and with rings skin the cat and straight-body inversion.

Pass Through

• Primary movers: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid.

Points of Performance

• Hips continue past frontal plane from ball-up position.
• Athlete continues lowering body until they are in line with the shoulders.
• The line made by the shoulders and hips is parallel to the floor.
• In the pass-through, a tight tuck position is still maintained, with the arms straight and toes pointed.
• The hands continue to hand off to one another as the athlete transitioning.
• Both hands will be spotting at the shins
• Once the position achieve, spot during movement back to the inverted ball-up and then to the ground.
• Arms remain straight throughout.
• Serves as a scaled version of a back lever.

Front Level Primary

• Muscles: Latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominis, rectus femoris.
• A static hold with the body held supine (face up) while gripping the rings or bar.
• Shoulders, hips, and ankles are in alignment parallel to the ground.
• This movement requires a great strength.

Floor Drill

• Follow a hollow position on the floor, and pull a piece of PVC to your quads.
• The palms will always face down in the front lever.
• Partner pulls up on the PVC.

Get Inverted

• Toes extend toward the ceiling from the ball-up position.
• The shins will be touching the bar.
• Spotters will catch the low back and hamstrings.

Lower in Degrees

• Practice lowering the body a small distance and then pulling back to inversion.
• Progressions include five degrees, 15 degrees, 30 degrees, and so on.
• Lower slowly down to the ground if progress is not met.

Scaling

• Develop this movement by shortening the lever.
• Scaling options include a tuck position, one-leg tuck position, and a straddle.

"Ice cream scoops"

• Develop the front lever.
• Pop out to front lever from pullup and return back to top of the the pull up, moving from a bent-arm position (vertical body) to straight-arm position (horizontal body).
• The body remains straight the entire time.

Back Level

• Primary muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid.
• Static hold is the body being held prone while gripping the rings or bar.
• This holds both the shoulders, hips, and ankles parallel to the ground.

Strengths

• Requires a great amount of strength.
• Sometimes considered easier because the shoulders naturally help stop your range of motion in shoulder extension.

Floor Drills

• Lie face down on the floor, try to press a piece of PVC to your hamstrings while your partner pulls up on the PVC.
• Try it with both supinated and pronated grips.
• It is recommended that athletes whose elbows use pronated grips.

Get Inverted

• Lower a small distance and then pull back to inversion as strength develops
• Lower to 5, 15, 30, etc. degrees

Ring Support

• Proper execution done by actively pressing down into rings and slight turnaround.
• Avoid relying on straps, hands stay pressed to sides looking forward.

Progressions

• The hands can be turned inward 45 degrees.

Iron Cross

• Shortening lever simplest ways to scale iron-cross.
• Feed hand from outside.

Dip

• Static apparatus before and after the dynamic.

Parallel-Bar Dip

• Strength progression of ring dips.

Box Ring Dip

• Elevate box used to scale load
• Athlete does not need to be stable on rings.

Ring-Dip

• Controlled movement of the eyes looking at the horizon.
• Athletes work past their paralell motion to become completely re-established.
• Make sure to spot each variation at the waist.
• Important body straight, hips should move at rate as shoulders, watch for fault.

What is needed before attempting a movement?

• It is not recommended to teach kipping until the athlete gets the movement pattern down.

Muscle-Up

• Main ingredient is willpower.
• The muscle-up is movement in gymastics and should celebrated because it is really cool.

Scaling From the Floor

• Toenails are important and need a false grip.
• Knees and toes on floor with pinkies facing each other.

Gymnastics View

• Start with a hang and engage muscle.
• Engage throughout the movement.
• Use strict movements.
• Bent arms will lead to proficiency of strict movement.

Bent-Arm Uprise

• Consists of swing for kip.
• Consists of closing and opening or follow arc
• Make sure to have control
• Tension and Straps.

Pull To The Hips/Pull and Transition

• Spot from side at the low back and hips.
• Maintain Swing 1 and continue it through 2 and 3 and make sure to go the hips.
• Always find straight body.

Consider

• Find shoulder Hips and Hands level with the rings.
• One that progresses the fastest.

Pistols

• Requires strength, balance and flexibility.
• Requires balance and extreme levels of mobility.

Options

• Squat with heels and legs together.
• Stand and flex leg.
• Use plate below heels of feet.
• Dumbbell or weight.

Hand Stands

• Want to avoid just balancing try find great form.
• Squeeze hips to toes.

Keypoints

• Press through the soldiers.
• Find your hollow.
• Point toes.

Spot

• Athletes with assist spots.
• Coach will assist

Handstand Push-Up

• Shoulder, Deltoids, and Triceps
• Head and Hands, disadvantage of having a triangle that makes a lever system

Variation-Gymnastics

• Used in movement
• Progress strength

Headstand

Progression

• Knee off elbows
• Fully extend leg off
• Both legs off the floor(headstand)
• A tripod is used with the hands.
• Create balance.
• Make sure to spot headstand
• Check range.

The planche:

• Balance skills to work towards
• Bent is stand for arms for elbows off the floor.
• Follows range of movement.
• The straight arm. Is basically the same except the knees are locked out

Parallettes

• Great for skill and strength triceps core strength

Consider

• Assist at the lower back
• Not that spotters that assist for apparatus.

Tuck on the parallel bars

• A parallel level
• All of each arm for athletes extended each time

Ring Aux Drills

• Start a few feet off the ground.

Varitions

• Turn the hands out at the top and bottom or turn hands at top and bottom.
• One Arm Extension-extend sides.
• Scale by adding support.