Many stretching techniques can be incorporated into an athlete’s training regimen without a gym or any special equipment. These techniques are especially useful during these current times of social distancing and personal safety. These stretches are static and are best done after activity or a short warm-up. Each stretch is specific to a muscle group, but if all are performed, they provide the opportunity for full-body flexibility to fit any sport.

Make sure to breathe slow and deep while stretching and concentrate on relaxing into the stretch. Relaxing your muscles will deepen the stretch and make the stretch more comfortable. Each stretch should be held for approximately 30 seconds and performed multiple times if desired.

How To Use A Wall To Stretch

Place your heels, back, shoulders, and head against the wall. Slowly start to raise your arms above your head with your palms facing outward, keeping as much contact with the wall as possible. This exercise will open your chest and stretch your shoulders and arms.

Stretch your calf muscles by placing one foot on the wall and your heel on the ground. Then lean into the wall until you feel the stretch in your calf. You can stretch different areas of your calf by either keeping your knee straight or bending it slightly.

You can stretch your hamstrings and groin by laying with your back flat on the ground and your legs straight up against the wall (in an “L” shape). If this position creates a prominent stretch in the hamstrings, then continue to hold the position. However, if you would like to target the groin and create a deeper hamstring stretch, begin separating the legs as far as is tolerable.

How To Use A Doorway To Stretch

Place your hands on either side of the doorway and lean forward. Depending on your hands’ position, it will target different areas of the upper body; straightening or bending your arms will change the stretch as well. Placing your hands around the waist region will target your chest, the shoulder region will target your shoulders, and above the head will target a combination of the two.

For female athletes that need a lot of flexibility, a doorway is a fantastic way to practice stretching. Stand in the doorway and place one foot directly underneath you on the ground. Bend down and lift your other leg into a spit position against one side of the door frame. If you want to practice back flexibility, you can also use your arms to walk yourself up the door- while holding the spit position- so you are standing up.

How To Use The Stairs To Stretch

Place one-foot several stairs above the other and lunge your weight into the top foot. Push your body weight forward through your hips. This will open up your hips and provide an excellent stretch for your hip flexor.

Another way to stretch your calf muscle is to stand on the edge of a step and let your heels drop below the step.

sportswoman stretching

You can use the stairs to do over-splits. Place one foot on the first step and slide into the splits making the front leg elevated above the hips. This is a way to extend the range of motion beyond what is standard on the ground. This is an advanced stretch, and you should be able to do your splits flat on the ground before attempting the over-splits.

You may already know about basic parallel bar moves like Dips, L-Sits and Inverted Rows, but there are many others.

1. Bicycle Walks

Start at one end of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Begin by bending one knee and bringing it up toward your chest and quickly lowering it as you perform the same movement with the other leg. Simultaneously start to lift one hand and move it forward along the bar followed by the other hand on the parallel bar until you are “walking” forward. Engage your core and lean forward only slightly. Continue this movement to the end of the parallel bars, and then reverse the movement back to the starting point.

2. Traveling Dips

Start at one end of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Bend both elbows and lower yourself until your elbows are at 90 degrees. Explosively extend your elbows, raising your body forward up into the air and letting go of the bar momentarily. Come back down to grasp the bar again and immediately repeat the movement without pausing until you reach the end of the bars. Repeat the movement backwards, making sure you are engaging your core and are leaning forward only slightly.

3. Push-Ups

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground, putting one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position and perform the move, engaging your core, keeping your chest out, and squeezing your glutes.

4. Plyometric Push-Ups

Warning: this is an advanced movement! If you don’t have the required strength, or the bars you’re on are particularly narrow/slippery, don’t attempt this.

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground and put one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position. Perform Push-Ups as normal, but focus on driving up with enough force that your hands leave the bar momentarily. Come back down and grasp the bar again, then immediately repeat the movement without pausing, making sure to engage your core, keep your chest out, and squeeze your glutes.

5. Push-Ups With Knee Drive

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground, putting one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position. Perform a standard Push-Up while adding a knee drive toward your chest after each repetition. Alternate which knee drives on each repetition. Engage your core, keep your chest out, and squeeze your glutes.

6. Push-Ups With Spiderman Knee Drive

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground putting one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position, perform a standard Push-Up while adding a knee drive toward the outside of your elbow after each repetition. Alternate which knee drives after each rep. Engage your core, keep your chest out, and squeeze your glutes.

7. Shoulder Tap Push-Ups

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground putting one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position and perform a standard Push-Up. After every repetition, lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder. Alternate which hand you’re lifting after every rep. Engage your core, keep your chest out, squeeze your glutes, and focus on keeping your belly button point straight toward the ground as you tap your shoulder!

8. Single Leg Push-Ups

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Lift both legs off the ground putting one foot on each parallel bar. Get into a standard Push-Up position. Keeping the knees straight, lift one leg off the bar, extending it backwards in the air behind you. Perform a standard Push-Up, making sure to engage your core, keep your chest out, and squeeze your glutes. Perform an equal amount of repetitions with both legs in the air.

9. L-Sit Pendulum

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Keeping your knees straight, engage your core and hip flexors and lift your legs up until they are at 90 degrees. Laterally rotate your trunk to the left so your legs go over the bar, then rotate to the right keeping your legs straight, head up, chest out, and your body erect.

10. Bar-to-Bar Rotation

Start in the middle of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. Straighten your arms so your elbows are almost locked and your feet are off the ground. Explosively propel yourself to the left, lifting your right hand off the bar, and rotating your whole body to the left, and grasping the bar to your left with your right hand. Pause for a moment to control your momentum, and then perform the same movement until you are back at the starting point. This exercises requires a lot of core and shoulder stability as well as explosive power!

11. Decline Crunch

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an overhand grip. Lift both feet off the ground and put both legs over the bar so the back of your knee is on top of the bar while still holding on with both hands. Once you have both legs on the bar, squeeze your glutes, contract your calves and hamstrings, and let go of the bar with your hands, slowly lowering your body towards the ground. Once you are hanging upside down, place your hands behind your head and perform a crunching motion.

12. Vertical Upside Down Pull-Up

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an underhand grip. Keeping your knees straight, lift both legs off the ground until you are in an L-Sit position. Maintaining that position, perform a standard pull making sure to engage the core and lats.

13. Monkey Bars

Start at one of the parallel bars, grasping each bar with a neutral grip. While hanging from the bar, lift both legs off the ground until you are in an L-Sit position. Keeping that position, lift one hand off the bar, moving it forwards and grasping the bar again followed quickly by the other hand on the parallel bar. Repeat this movement until you reach the end of the bars, then reverse the movement, making sure to engage your core and not swing back and forth too much.

14. Lateral Monkey Bars

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an overhand grip. While hanging, lift both legs off the ground until you are in an L-Sit position. Maintaining that position, lift one hand off the bar, moving it laterally and grasping the bar again, followed quickly by the other hand on the parallel bar. Repeat this movement until you reach the end of the bar, then reverse the movement, making sure to engage your core and not swing back and forth too much.

15. L-Sit Typewriter Pull-Ups

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an overhand grip. While hanging, lift both legs off the ground up until you are in an L-Sit position. Maintaining that position, pull yourself up until your head is over the bar. Extend your right elbow and laterally shift your body until your left cheek reaches your left hand. Reverse the movement until your right cheek reaches your right hand. Return back to the starting point and lower yourself back down. That’s one repetition.

16. Hanging L-Sit Pendulum

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an overhand grip. While hanging, lift both legs off the ground up until you are in an L-Sit position. Maintaining that position, rotate your trunk to the left until your legs are completely facing that direction, then reverse the movement back to starting point. Now, rotate your trunk to the right, then reverse the movement back to starting point. That’s one rep. Focus on contracting your core to naturally return your legs towards the starting position.

17. Hanging Windshield Wipers

Stand facing one of the parallel bars and grasp it with both hands using an overhand grip. Keeping your knees straight, lift both legs off the ground until you are in an L-Sit position. Maintaining that position, rotate your trunk to the left until your legs are parallel to the ground. Then reverse the movement back to starting point. Now, rotate your trunk to the right. Then reverse the movement back to starting point. That’s one rep.

The parallel bars might be nothing more than two poles located in close proximity to one another, but their versatility is only limited by your imagination.

If any of these moves are too advanced for you, there’s almost always a way to scale them down. For example, if the L-Sit Pendulum is above your current fitness level, you can simply start with the basic L-Sit and work to lengthen the intervals you can hold that position.

If you want to build ridiculous bodyweight strength and a rock-solid, capable core, parallel bar exercises can certainly help you get there.

Photo Credit: CasarsaGuru/iStock

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Traditional strength training has proven benefits for any athlete, regardless of the sport. For the purpose of this article, traditional strength training is any exercise that uses an external load (barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells) to improve strength. Staple strength training moves include the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Lunges, Overhead Press, etc.

What few realize is that those benefits also come with some limitations. Many young athletes nowadays rely almost exclusively on weight training to develop their athletic abilities and improve their performance on the field, ice or court, and it leaves their body quite imbalanced. Working with a lot of high-level athletes who come to me with many limitations, it has become clear to me over the years that one can become very adept at traditional strength training while still missing the components needed to develop into a well-rounded athlete.

One way to bridge the gap? Gymnastic strength training.

Before going any further, I think it’s important to distinguish gymnastic strength training from pure gymnastics. The former utilizes an extremely wide array of bodyweight exercises to strengthen and mobilize the muscles and joints of your body. The latter includes all the same components plus the skills and acrobatics elements. So in short, gymnastic strength training does not utilizes any flips, cartwheels or crazy jumps you’d see at the Olympics. Rather, it’s a way of strengthening the body in a wide array of movements and positions. It doesn’t always require implements like rings or parallel bars, as many gymnastic strength training movements can be performed with nothing but your own body weight.

What’s Missing in the Weight Room?

Why would someone need the addition of gymnastic strength training in their training routine? Simply put, it does a great job at filling the gaps where traditional strength training alone fails to deliver. Let’s run through some limitations of traditional strength training.

Loss of mobility. This isn’t a guarantee, but I see it happen often. A lot of athletes like to lift weights to get stronger, but few of them are willing to dedicate any substantial amount of time to mobility and flexibility work. Many people will actually lose mobility as they get stronger via traditional weight training due to them rarely working their joints in a full range of motion.

If strength is developed in a specific range of motion it also means that over time your body will progressively have a more challenging time achieving the range of motion and movements that have not been strengthened.

Second, traditional strength training is overwhelmingly limited to the sagittal plane. In human movement and performance, there exists three planes in which movement can occur. Now consider for a minute how most strength training exercises are performed. It’s either front to back (Bench Press, rowing variations) or up and down (Squat, Deadlift, Lunges). That’s about it. Few movements address the other planes (side-to-side and rotation) of movement, which are crucial for sports performance.

Third, there exists a limited variety of demand on core recruitment. Traditional strength training does stimulate the core through big compound movements like Squats and Deadlifts. Your core is required to fire and stabilize your spine and torso in order to move the weight in a safe, effective manner. This is all great, but other than teaching your body how to brace, it doesn’t get trained in many other ways.

Think about all the ways your torso and your core are required to function in sports when you’re changing direction, throwing, hitting, punching, climbing, swimming, etc. Your core’s main function is to transfer forces between the lower body and the upper body in all those different movements. Just being good at bracing in a neutral position is not going to leave your core very well-equipped for sports performance.

Why Gymnastic Strength Training?

Let’s revisit our three points above and see how gymnastic strength training can come in and fill the voids in our athletic preparation. I will also give you some specific examples of exercises that you can start using today to make your training more well-rounded.

If there is one thing gymnastic strength training addresses better than any other training method out there, it’s mobility.

Mobility is not just the ability to stretch a muscle or achieve a certain range of motion; it is the ability to control movement and have strength in a full range of motion. This is greatly important for optimal performance; you want to have joints and muscles that have great movement potential and be strong throughout those ranges of motion and movement patterns. An example of such an exercise would be a Straight Leg Fire Hydrant:

This is an exercise that seems very simple, and many will overlook its potential due to its simplicity, but once you try it, you quickly realize how tough it is. It does a great job at increase range of motion at the hips while strengthening the hip in an end range position. Another fantastic exercise is the Stiff-Leg Windmill:

This is a great one to increase mobility (strength AND range of motion) in multiple areas of the body; including the hips, the shoulders, as well as the obliques and trunk muscles.

RELATED: 17 Effective Rings Exercises That Build a Better Body

Gymnastic strength training also does a great job at training the body in different planes of motion, which is very important for an athlete. Most sports require your body to twist, turn, cut, change direction, shuffle, spin, etc. That is why it is important to train your body to be strong in all these different positions, not just in a singular plane of movement like a Squat. A Cossack Squat is a great example of an exercise that challenges a different plane of movement than traditional strength training exercises. At first glance, it looks similar to a Lateral Lunge. When you look closer, however, you can notice how it takes the hips and knees through a greater range of motion, and there is also a rotation component at the hips (with the foot on the straight leg rotating up):

As mentioned above, most traditional strength training exercise don’t challenge the core outside of bracing. Learning to brace in such a way is important, but the core can and should do more.

Depending on the variety of floor and bodyweight exercises you are adding to your weight training routine, you can challenge your core in many other ways. It’s been my experience that most young athletes greatly neglect their core. That’s why including some specific gymnastic exercises can go a long way in challenging your core in various planes of movement. One movement that is a staple with my athletes of all levels is the Hollow Body Position. This is an exercise that engages all your core muscles and really helps your body learn the force transfer that’s so important in most sports. What I really like about the hollow body position, other than engaging all the muscles as a unit, is that you can progress it in many different ways. The one I start most of my athletes with is the Bent Knee Hollow Hold:

Again, an exercise that seems very simple at a glance, but one that is highly effective when done right (and one many weight room warriors struggle with at first). The key is to keep the lower back pressed down hard while maintaining a normal breathing pattern. I like to work up to multiple sets (4-5) of 60-second holds before trying some of the more advanced variations.

Another great core exercise is the Side Over Arch. It’s an exercise that recruits your obliques, lats and other lateral muscles of your trunk. It can be pretty challenging at first to get good range of motion if you have really tight obliques, which is something I commonly see in athletes of all level. That’s why it is important to start slow with low reps before increasing the range motion and the number of reps.

Traditional strength training is a great tool to strengthen your body and get it ready for athletic performance, but it is important to realize it does have limitations. A complete, well-rounded athletic development program fills in the gaps. Gymnastic strength training is just one more tool to add to your tool box in your pursuit of athletic performance. When done right, it makes your body strong and mobile in positions few other training methods can, it builds a core stronger than you’ve ever imagined, and it significantly reduces your risk of injury.

Start out with the five different movements I highlighted in this article, performing each of them at least a couple times a week, and see how you feel!

Photo Credit: nickp37/iStock

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Olympic rings can go by many names, including gymnastic rings, blast straps and “slings.” Of course there are also their more expensive approximations, in the form of the TRX trainer, Jungle Gym XT and the like. You’d be right in thinking that most of the information contained within this article also pertains to those implements, though there are some moves that can be executed on a set of rings that cannot be done on a TRX-style trainer.

Rings are one of those pieces of equipment you can sling up anywhere, use them to train and challenge your body effectively, then repeat for years on end without them (or you) ever falling apart. They can be a great beginner tool to reduce load, or a tool to add progression for more advanced athletes through increased range of motion and instability.

I do believe rings are best used as a complementary form of resistance training to a program that includes barbell, dumbbell and/or kettlebell work. But make no mistake—they are a great tool. The efficacy of training using unstable suspension straps has been validated for older adults (age 60 and over) (Gaedtke & Morat 2015), College-aged females (Bethany et al. 2011), College-aged males (McGill et al. 2014), and NCAA Division 1 athletes (Prokopy et al. 2008).

Positive outcomes have been shown in a number of studies, with very little in terms of negative outcomes. Reports suggest increased whole-body strength over the course of a training program, increased torso and extremity muscle activity, improved flexibility and better overall perceptions of well-being.

It’s important to note that all known studies have stuck to the use of basic exercises mimicking those that might already be performed in a strength training program ( Push-Ups, Rows, Planks, etc.). The role of strength training routines that instead try to mimic more gymnastic exercises (Muscle-Ups, Skin the Cat etc.) have not been validated, so we’ll not dive into those here.

The following exercises are not for someone who’s looking to be the next Olympic gold medal gymnast, but instead for those looking to complement their weight training with some effective bodyweight exercises. Exercise examples are provided for some key movement patterns, but it’s up to you to decide the applicability of that exercise according to the abilities of you or your athletes.

Upper-Body Ring Exercises (Pull)

There are some excellent upper-body pulling options available to you via Olympic rings. Movements are easily scalable with a simple change in torso angle or foot positioning changing the difficulty level. The main advantage to using rings is in their ability to freely rotate, providing a more ‘natural’ shoulder movement versus many other forms of training. This can encourage good scapula mechanics and activation of the shoulder and scapula stabilizers.

Due to the instability given during rowing movements, there may also be some additional activation of the posterior chain muscles. These exercises therefore train a large amount of musculature in a variety of ways, including some isometric and dynamic stabilization.

In the case of the Eccentric Chin-Ups shown above, straps provide an excellent tool to regress Traditional Chin-Ups, for those who struggle to perform the full variation using a bar. Some may also find this a nicer position for the shoulders and elbows here. If the rings are positioned high enough, you can also perform traditional Chin-Up and Pull-Up variations using Olympic rings, again potentially benefiting from the freely rotating nature of the implement.

Upper-Body Ring Exercises (Push)

Like upper-body pulling exercises, push exercises performed in the rings allow for a more “natural” movement of the shoulders. Many report pressing in a neutral grip position to be a little more “joint-friendly” for the shoulders.

A neutral grip position may be maintained throughout the press, but allowing some pronation and internal rotation while pressing can also assist with taking the pectorals through their full muscle length. For example, palms facing each other at the bottom of the press, and palms facing downwards (pronated) at the top of the press.

Performing fly movements using rings can also provide for a more “functional” form of muscle isolation training, and improve strength in an often weak position important for some sporting movements (for example, grappling sports or tackle sports).

By performing press movements with a set of rings, there will also be an additional challenge on the anterior core musculature. The One-Arm Push-Up is an anti-rotational core exercise, and one that cannot be replicated without a suspension trainer. While not demonstrated here, Ring Dips are another excellent way to train the upper-body with this tool.

Upper-Body Ring Exercises (Posture/Shoulder Health)

These are all great examples of accessory movements that can be performed using rings and work to improve posture, position and health of the shoulders. Particularly in those who overhead press and barbell bench press frequently.

Core Ring Exercises

Some research has indicated higher core muscle activation in Planks using suspension training versus when performed in the more traditional manner (Byrne et al. 2014). It would therefore not be too presumptive to suggest that this might also be true in many other core exercises involving a suspension trainer of sorts.

Research also indicates that movements like Pikes and Roll-outs provide some of the highest levels of core muscle activation seen amongst many other popular abdominal exercises (Escamilla et al. 2010).

More recently Cugliari & Boccocia (2017) showed high levels of rectus abdominis and external oblique muscle activation in the pike and bodysaw exercise while done in a suspension trainer. Performing these exercises in a set of rings can be a good core workout option for many.

Lower-Body Ring Exercises

The main advantage of using a set of Olympic rings for lower body training is in their ability to unload movements such as Squats, Split Squats, Lunges and even Step-Ups. This can be a great means of training for beginners or those who struggle with their full body weight.

Performing jump-type movements such as Jump Squats, Side Jumps and Split Jump Squats using rings can lower joint impact by unloading the movement to provide a safe metabolic style of training.

Performing these explosive movements for a lower volume of training with less fatigue can also provide a stimulus to develop sport-specific power. Since load is taken away from the body, this form of power training will emphasize the high velocity portion of the force-velocity curve.

Photo Credit: South_agency/iStock

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One look at the upper-body development of male gymnasts shows just how effective bodyweight training with rings can be. These guys are not small and slender—they’re flat-out jacked.

Another huge benefit of the rings is that they’re portable. So you can bring them almost anywhere, including an outdoor park. There’s nothing quite like experiencing a great workout outside in the sun.

While you do need a basic level of strength to successfully transition from a bar or the floor to rings training, some of the lower level movements can be picked up quickly through consistent practice. If you don’t have access to a pair of rings, quality sets go on Amazon for under $30. If you’re looking for a great addition to your home gym, rings will do the trick.

With that in mind, here are three powerful gymnastic ring exercises anyone can learn within a few weeks. I’ve also included a “recommended baseline” that outlines how adept you should be at a traditional exercise before attempting the ring exercise.

1. Ring Push-Ups

Prepare to stuff your face with humble pie when you first try these out.

A guy who can do 20 regular Push-Ups might be shaking all over the place during his first set of Ring Push-Ups. That’s because his smaller stabilizer muscles are weak and not used to the instability of the rings.

At first, consider cutting your range of motion a bit short by touching your front delts to the upper ring at the bottom of the movement. Too often, I see people attempting to go all the way down when they don’t have the requisite strength to push back up without their lower back hyperextending or shoulders shrugging up to their ears.

Once you can maintain pristine form over this shortened range of motion, increase it to the point where your front delts touch your thumbs.

Recommended Baseline: 20 Consecutive Push-Ups on the Floor

2. Ring Inverted Rows

There’s a common mistake people make on Inverted Rows. They pull only with the arms, cutting the movement 6 inches short at the top and failing to feel anything in their upper back muscles. You want to protract your shoulder blades at the bottom and then squeeze them together as you pull yourself up.

Ring Inverted Rows take the traditional Inverted Row a step further by adding instability to the exercise. Your goal here is to move your body over a full range of motion, finishing thumbs-to-chest at the top. If you can’t do that just yet, set the rings slightly higher. A more upright position will be easier, allowing you to work on perfecting your form before lowering the rings and increasing difficulty.

Recommended Baseline: 5 Consecutive Chin-Ups

3. Ring Chin-Ups

Unlike with a fixed bar, your hands can move freely on the rings. This means you can perform Ring Chin-Ups either with a neutral grip (palms facing each other), or start with your palms facing away in the hang position before finishing with palms facing you at the top; whichever feels more natural.

Recommended Baseline: 8 Consecutive Chin-Ups

Give these three gymnastic rings exercises a shot in your training and add some more muscle to your chest, shoulders and upper back. You may suck at first, but keep putting in the work and I’m sure you’ll grow to enjoy gymnastic rings training—and the awesome results it can offer—in no time.

Photo Credit: pattonmania/iStock

READ MORE:

• 5 Gymnastics Conditioning Exercises to Improve Body Mobility
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Heels Up

This exercise is meant to build strength in the abdominal muscles by targeting lower abs, but can also significantly develop lower-back muscles and improve posture by tightening your core.

How to do it:

Begin on your back facing upward and raise both legs. Imagine your body forming the shape of a capitol “L.”

With your arms to your sides at shoulder level making a “T” shape with your upper body, curl your hips under so you are pushing your feet toward the ceiling. Do not move any other direction than upward. Execute this movement 20 times, then give yourself a 30-second rest. Complete 3 sets.

*Note: If flexibility is lacking in extending your legs up, it is still possible to adequately perform this exercise. Just make sure your legs don’t raise higher or lower when your hips curl under.

Swimmers

Have lower back pain? Great! Well, not so great, but this exercise is perfect for developing strength in uneven muscles that could be the cause of your uncomfortable sensation. You may also feel pain in other parts of your body like the hip or shoulder because of the uneven muscle growth.

How to do it:

Lie flat with your belly on the floor and arms in close proximity to your ears while your legs are extended and close to one another. Have your chin resting on the floor in such a way so your nose is pointed straight ahead with neck muscles relaxed. Raise your right arm but keep it from moving outward, while simultaneously raising your left leg (again, don’t raise it outward). Maintain straight limbs during this exercise. Keep both limbs in the air for 3 seconds then lower them to a resting position for 1 second. Now with your left arm and right leg, perform the same movements. This completes 1 repetition. Execute 20 repetitions then rest for 1 minute (completes 1 set). Perform 3 sets.

Balancing Act

With all the various apparatuses in this sport, like gymnastics bars, there is a high risk of injury while performing any skills on them. But similar to other sports, one of the most common injuries experienced by gymnasts is a rolled ankle, incredibly tedious and absolutely necessary to let heal. Luckily, Balancing Act is a simple and effective exercise that builds the muscles needed to help stabilize such an injury. To do this exercise a pillow, cushion or folded towel is needed to stand on. For this example we will be using a pillow.

How to do it:

Stand on top of the pillow with your right foot and have your left foot flush against your right leg with your left leg bent. We are trying to directly target the ankle, so it is very important to keep whichever leg your are balancing on completely straight. So if our right leg is bent, that knee will be receiving the bulk of the work instead of the ankle. Maintain this balanced position for 30 seconds, then switch legs so that you are using your left leg to balance instead. This will complete 1 set. Perform 3 sets.

For more effective results try doing this after waking up and before going to bed.

It is important to note that if you have weak ankles, try performing this near a wall to brace yourself while balancing.

If you have stronger ankles and this all seems relatively easy, do it with your eyes shut. Removing eyesight makes the whole exercise noticeably more difficult and you should feel more effort to keep yourself balanced coming from your ankle.

Arm Dips, but Up with the Hips

Dips are one of the most common ways to work out the triceps. This variation of Dips is slightly different from the traditional way of doing them but can have incredibly effective results when done correctly. This will also target core muscles in your abdomen and back.

How to do it:

Grab an object (like a coffee table, bench, couch, etc.) that is between your ankle and knee in height.

Start with your back against the object you are using in this exercise and rest your hands on the edge of it. Extend your legs out in front of you and squeeze your butt to hold up your hips so your whole body is straight from your feet to your shoulders. The key to this mobility exercise is to keep your bottom from dropping to the floor and maintain a straight line with your body.

Bend your arms while keeping shoulders over both hands. A good indication that you are doing it wrong is if your chest starts to sink forward, so try not to let your hips drop. If you are familiar with traditional Dips you’ll notice this version is more difficult so go slowly and keep the repetitions at a number that best suits your skill level (as low as 8 reps). Arms should only bend until your hips start to drop.

Stationary Flying

This exercise works back muscles while improving shoulder mobility. This is a great source for mobility development in the shoulders due to the relation of strength and flexibility to range of motion. There isn’t much pressure exerted on hands, elbows or shoulders so it is low-impact and can be performed by trained athletes and anyone recovering from an injury. It is as much as a conditioning exercise as a rehabilitative one.

How to do it:

To perform stationary flying, lie on your stomach on the floor with both of your arms out to the side even with your shoulders making a T shape. It is better for your arms to be above your shoulders rather than below, so before performing any repetitions, slide your hands a few inches upward, bringing your biceps ever so slightly closer to your ears.

Just like in the “Swimmers” exercise, rest your chin on the ground with your nose pointed forward while having your legs together and extended to maintain a perfect alignment.

Raise your hands, forearms, and upper arms from the ground. Hold for 2-5 seconds then return back to the resting position. Repeat this hold 15 times then 5 more times without holding. The remaining 5 reps will be done consecutively and that will complete 1 set. Do 3 sets and rest for one minute between each one.

Concluding Thoughts

It’s important to do these exercises regardless of where you are; starting is always half the battle. Be patient and try not to push yourself or let yourself get frustrated for not doing it correctly the first time. Gradually, you will see improvement in strength, targeted muscles and overall mobility. You can find more fitness and health inspired gymnastics information on our website!

READ MORE:

• Use This Gymnastics-Inspired Workout to Build Relative Strength
• Full-Body Training: 4 Dumbbell Ring Training Exercises
• Core Training With U.S. Gymnast Brandon Wynn

Man, I’ve been hearing this question so much lately.

My answer most of the time is, “Try the Toes to Bar move and incorporate it in your workouts 2-3 days/week.”

Then I get the response of “How the hell do I do the Toes to Bar?”

The Toes to Bar move is indeed a great move for getting ripped abs. It engages the rectus abdominis (front abs) and it gives you that “ab burn” very quickly. But I get it. Not everybody can just jump up to a bar and knock these out. Just like most exercises, there is always a progression and regression system you can use so that you can master certain movements.

In this video, I’ll show you different forms of the Toes to Bar movements and how you can start slowly to build yourself up to the move.

The Toes to Bar

This is ultimately a gymnastic move. If you’ve ever seen a great gymnast then you’ve seen some really ripped abs. When I do the Toes to Bar I really try to keep my legs as straight as possible and I try to prevent any swinging motions.

Bring your legs up straight, fold your body and lightly hit the toes to the bar. The trick to this is really on the way down. You don’t want to just let your legs go limp and flop them down. Contract your abs on the way down and bring your legs down in a controlled manner.

Kipping

I learned this at a CrossFit gym and I found that this made the movement much easier. At the bottom of the movement, dip your head forward and use your momentum to push your body back while you bring your legs up. The kipping definitely helps make this easier, but you have to be careful. If your shoulders are beat up or if you feel more pain while doing this, don’t do it. Slow down and do the next regression which is….

Hanging Knee Tucks

Start in the hanging position, bring your knees to your chest and again slowly bring your legs down. This is the easier form but it will for sure give you the same benefits of getting ripped abs.

Hanging Windshield Washers

Yeah, I’ll admit it. I pretty much just added these in because they look cool as hell. I’m not sure if these will help you with doing the Toes to Bar, but I know for sure that this move will light up your obliques (side abs)! The hardest part of this might be the grip. Keep your abs up high, and windshield wash the sky moving your feet side to side.

Chase It!

For more ab workouts, follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

READ MORE:

• The Perfect Core Exercise for Every Major Sport
• 5 Core Exercises for Advanced Athletes
• This Ridiculously Simple Exercise Builds a Rock Solid Core

If you can easily fold your body in half or slide into splits like a gymnast, there’s no doubt your level of flexibility is impressive. But it can cause some problems in the weight room if you’re not careful.

First and foremost, we need to establish that a high level of flexibilty isn’t a good thing. Athletes need to be able to move through the ranges of motion required by the movements they perform in their sport and workouts. A hockey goalie needs to be able to go into a split, but this isn’t necessary for a forward or defenseman.

RELATED: The Role of Flexibility and How It Affects Your Game

And a football player shouldn’t have the flexibility of a gymnast. Football players need to be mobile, but they need stiffness around their joints (provided by muscle) to protect their body and maximize power transfer.

But if you happen to be a hyper-flexible athlete—whether because it’s something you worked toward or you were simply born that way—there are some things you can do to protect your body in the weight room and improve your performance on the field.

Appreciate That Flexibility Doesn’t Equal Control

Just because you are able to move through large ranges of motion doesn’t mean that you’re clear to do whatever exercises you want. You must show that you can control those ranges with strong muscular contractions before you begin adding large external loads. Having more flexibility means that you have more range you must learn to stabilize, compared to your less flexible peers.

RELATED: Flexibility Isn’t the Problem With Your Hamstrings

An easy way to know that you have control is learning to feel the right muscles working during a particular lift. For example, if you’re doing a good job controlling your hips and spine during a Deadlift, you’re likely to feel your abs, hamstrings, glutes and quads working.

Add Isometrics to Your Training Program

Isometric training is a simple and safe way for flexible athletes to increase stability and joint control, especially at end ranges of motion where muscular contraction isn’t as strong and joints are more susceptible to injury. Not only do these exercises increase strength near end-ranges of motion, but they also help athletes develop better awareness of where their body is in space.

RELATED: Stability Training Can Improve Your Agility and Range of Motion

Don’t Hyperextend Your Joints When Finishing Lifts

Having excessive movement in your joints due to laxity of your muscles, ligaments and joint capsules can leave you prone to unstable positions when you lift weights. An easy way to ensure you’re getting the most out of your lifts, while keeping your joints healthy, is to monitor the position of your joints when locking out a lift. Check out the three examples above

Use External References to Develop Better Spatial Awareness

It’s common for hypermobile athletes to have trouble orienting their bodies in space. This is partly because their muscles and nervous system haven’t developed stability throughout their ranges of motion. Though isometrics will greatly enhance stability and spatial awareness, it will not yield the same training results for strength and power as weightlifting. Therefore, it’s wise to alter common exercises to make them more beneficial for hypermobile athletes. The best way to do this is by adding external references, allowing athletes to develop better awareness of their bodies in space.

Even if they never plan on spinning around on a pommel horse, athletes can turn to gymnasts for moves to get them in shape to dominate their sports.

Gymnasts have high levels of relative body strength, coordination and body control. These are all attributes that are desirable in any sport.

RELATED: Build Gymnast-Caliber Core Strength With the Front Lever

Try incorporating these aspects of gymnastic training into your routine:

Relative Body Strength

Gymnast training programs seek to maximize strength levels relative to body weight. For gymnasts to be at their most effective, they have to stay very lean. Athletes in other sports have similar goals of maximizing their strength levels relative to the weight ranges at which they’re most effective.

Gymnasts build up their strength levels primarily with bodyweight exercise progressions. This typically involves progressions altering the center of gravity to increase the level of difficulty and the intensity. As an example, think of how Bodyweight Handstand Push-Ups are much harder than regular Push-Ups despite the fact that the load for both moves is the same.

RELATED: Core Training With U.S. Gymnast Brandon Wynn

Flexibility and Body Control

Gymnasts display great levels of flexibility and body control, as they’re required to move their bodies across large ranges of motion in the air and must stay in alignment throughout their routine if they want to achieve a good score. Athletes of all sports can benefit from improved coordination and body control. Sports are chaotic in nature, and one of the defining factors of elite-level athletes is their ability to react, adapt and adjust to whatever is happening on the field.

The best way to prepare for this is to train your body across full ranges of motion so that you know how to react if your body gets caught in an awkward position. This can be done by placing an emphasis on training the core, since core strength is crucial for stability through any type of movement.

How can you incorporate gymnastic-inspired training elements into your program?

1. Bodyweight training. Bodyweight training is one of the most excellent ways to develop and measure relative body strength. Even the biggest and strongest athletes can reap benefits from bodyweight movements like Pull-Ups.

2. Use greater ranges of motions. Moving your body across a larger range of motion forces you to recruit more muscle fibers, resulting in more strength in angles you might overlook. In addition, increasing the range of motion leads to improvements in flexibility and mobility.

3. Suspension training. Using tools like gym rings and suspension straps is beneficial for training strength and stability.

4. Isometric holds. Isometrics offer an alternative and challenging way to train strength compared to the traditional concentric/eccentric movements required by most exercises.

RELATED: Carl Paoli Outlines 4 Crucial Bodyweight Movements for Athletes

Workout

Perform these exercises as a finisher during your normal training days or as a standalone workout on “active recovery” days.

• Spider Man Push-Ups x 10 reps
• Suspension Strap-Assisted Pistol Squats x 8 reps each leg
• 3-Point Plank x as many seconds as possible
• Dips x 8 reps
• Pull-Ups x 10 reps
• L-Sit hold x as many seconds as possible
• Narrow Squat Stance x 12 reps
• Hanging Leg Raise x 8 reps

U.S. Olympic Gymnast Madison Kocian has had a great Rio Olympics. She has a team gold in the Gymnastics All Around and a silver in the Uneven Bars.

Flexibility is one of the most important success factors for any athlete, but especially gymnasts. Before an event, Kocian showed off how flexible she really is.

RELATED: The Role of Flexibility and How It Affects Your Game

The benefits of flexibility include injury prevention, shorter recovery time and increased circulation. Flexibility increases a joint’s range of motion, relaxes muscles, increases mobility, decreases stiffness and reduces soreness—all of which are necessary for gymnasts to succeed.

But the 19-year-old from Texas took stretching to the next level. Before one of her events, Kocian laid in the splits position and had her trainer sit on her back while lifting her legs straight into the air. If I attempted this stretch, all of the ligaments in my legs would snap.

Check out the crazy stretch in the video below.