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Challenging Toes to Bar Abs Workouts for Athletes

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Toes to Bar Abs Workouts 5

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Step 5: Toes to bar

It’s time to Rx TTB! Keeping everything in mind from the previous four steps, the only thing that is going to change is finally getting your toes up to that bar.

Try not to overthink it; a good cue to keep in mind is ‘flicking’ your feet up towards the bar. Don’t lose your strong, engaged kip, and from knees to chest, flick up both of your feet (at the same time) to touch the bar.

Something worth mentioning about this final step is that once again, the timing of your kip will change as you add more movement. Keep this in mind, and if necessary tweak your timing. This is going to be achieved through simply practicing the movement.

Let’s take a quick look at the different cues we’ve mentioned for learning TTB.

  • Arch to hollow kip
  • Pull down on bar & get shoulders up, tuck Knees high
  • At the apex, flick toes to the  bar
  • Repeat

Kipping Toes to Bar: The Missing Piece

More often than not, if I’m working with an athlete who can’t seem to get it to ‘click’ when stringing together toes to bar, it’s because they’re missing a crucial part of the movement:

Pulling through the bar.

This cue is absolutely crucial when entering the arch position of toes to bar (explained in step one). As your body moves back under the pull-up bar to begin another rep, think about pulling your head and torso through (almost as if your arms are creating a window). Simultaneously, your feet should pushed back behind your body. This will help to build for a strong arch, setting yourself up beautifully for the next rep.

CrossFit toes-to-bar gymnastics abs workout
Attack every WOD!

By the way, pulling through the bar into a strong arch is a movement that’s important for a bunch of CrossFit® gymnastics movements, including pull-ups and bar muscle ups. So next time you find yourself struggling to string together reps, and nare losing your kip, keep this cute in mind:

Pull through.

Toes to Bar Progression: Conclusion

If you’re working on toes to bar and find yourself with extra time before or after your next WOD, try working through the toes to bar progression laid out above. It might help you find what that missing piece of the movement is, and before you know it, you might just be stringing together toes to bar with ease!

Check out the next page to find out why you might be struggling with toes to bar.

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