These workouts are great for those who are interested in gaining strength, body awareness, and body control in the gymnastics movements. These workouts were created by Street Parking Coach / former National Level Gymnast - Kati Breazeal. Add this in wherever makes sense for your schedule.
If you find the drills in this workout to be too advanced - don't worry they are a progression! We started this specific cycle 15 weeks ago and you can go all of the way back to the beginning and follow along from there if you like!
2 Rounds:
10 Banded Pass Throughs
30 Seconds Low Tuck to Standing Pike Extensions
1:00 Box Pigeon (Right + Left)
Banded Pass Through:
1. Begin standing with your feet together, quads squeezed, and glutes engaged. Round your hips under (think of yourself as a dog with its tail between its legs) to ‘turn on’ your core. Practicing this total body tension from your warm-up is going to transfer into higher level skills.
2. Grip your band (any thickness) in a wide set up for the first few reps. Usually near the ends.
3. Using straight arms, lift the band overhead and backwards, until it hits the back of your glutes.
4. Hold to maximize the stretch.
5. Return to your front starting position by repeating the same motion forward.
6. As you get comfortable, begin walking your hands in to a more narrow grip for increased difficulty.
Low Tuck to Standing Pike:
1. Begin in a low, tucked position on the ground: Feet together, glutes to heels, hands on the floor near your toes for support. Only your fingers and the balls of your feet will be in contact with the floor.
2. Press your heels to the ground to intensify the stretch through the achilles and calves.
3. Slowly, lift the glutes into the air, beginning to straighten out the legs.
4. Continue rising until you reach straight legs. The goal is to keep your hands on the floor for the entire set, but, if they need to come off in order to lock the knees out, that is fine.
5. Allow the chest to hang towards the floor as much as possible.
6. Hold at the top to maximize the stretch.
7. Return to your low tuck starting position.
Box Pigeon:
1. Begin standing in front of your box, toes face forward. The height of the box may vary— The taller the box, the more challenging the stretch.
2. Lift your right foot, and set it flat on top of the box.
3. Shift your right foot to the left, until it sits even with your left hip.
4. Allow your right knee to gently fall to the right, pressing towards the box.
5. Use your right hand to apply more pressure to the right knee, if a greater stretch is desired.
6. Make sure to keep the bottom (left) leg straight, and hips open. Your chest may fold forward, over the right leg, in order to increase the stretch.
7. Repeat on the opposite side.
EMOM 12 Min
Every Minute on the Minute - Move at a continuous pace for the entire minute:
Min 1: Rebounding Straight Jumps
Min 2: Hollow Leg Lifts with Dumbbell
Min 3: Candlestick Roll + Alternating Pistols
Score: Total number of candlestick roll + pistol or sub.
Quality over quantity guys!
Subs and Modifications:
Single jumps with pause between reps (no rebound)
No weight
Stand up with both feet (no pistol)
Rebounding Straight Jumps:
1. Begin standing with your feet together, arms bent to 90 degrees and close to your sides.
2. As you jump, make sure to only push from the balls of your feet. Do not let your heels touch the ground.
3. The goal is to be explosive off the floor, fully pointing your toes in the air, while keeping the entire body tight.
4. You want to spend as little time on the floor as possible— Be quick and bouncy.
Hollow Leg Lifts with Dumbbell:
1. Begin laying with your back on the floor, holding your dumbbell with two hands and straight arms.
2. Press your lower back into the floor to engage the core, and bring the dumbbell backwards towards your ears, behind your head as far as possible. The farther backwards you can hold it, the more challenging the drill will be.
3. Keeping the legs tight, lift them until your toes point straight towards the ceiling.
4. Keeping the lower back pressed into the ground, control your legs back towards the floor, but do not let your feet touch the floor at the bottom of the rep. The heels should only come to approximately 2-3 inches above the ground.
5. Lift the legs back up to vertical.
Candlestick Roll + Alternating Pistols:
1. Begin standing with both feet together, arms by your sides.
2. Sit back to the floor, getting your glutes close to your heels.
3. As you roll backwards, extend your arms overhead, pressing them into the floor behind you, and lift your toes to the ceiling. Legs are straight and glutes squeezed (make sure your hips are fully open).
4. Using the momentum from the roll forward, pull your right heel as close to your glute as possible, and shift your arms and chest forward over your right foot. Left leg should be extended straight out in front, off the floor.
5. Stand up on your right leg.
6. Once fully standing, you can set your left foot down, and move into the next candlestick roll.
7. Continue alternating sides used to stand up.
3 Rounds for Quality:
10 Headstand + Pike Extensions
10 Box Handstand + Forward Rocks
5 Cartwheels
Score: No Score
Subs and Modifications:
Headstand Hold / Tuck Extensions / Crow Pose
Box Handstand + Forward Rocks Progression
Cartwheel Progression Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced
Headstand + Pike Extensions:
1. Begin in a Headstand Hold.
2. Keeping the legs together and straight, carefully lower the toes to the floor until they make light contact.
3. As soon as the toes touch the floor, use your core to lift your straight legs back to your starting Headstand Hold.
Box Handstand + Forward Rocks:
1. Set up in your Box Handstand Hold.
2. Moving VERY slowly, press your toes into the box, allowing your shoulders to shift forward over your finger tips. Or, as far as possible.
3. Really use your fingers to grip the floor and keep you from falling forward.
4. Return to your starting handstand position by pushing your hands into the floor, shifting your bodyweight back towards the box.
5. Only shift forward as far as you feel comfortable, and work your way into it. Do not try to go too far on your first attempt.
Cartwheels:
1. Begin in the universal gymnastics starting position: Stand with your full weight on your non-dominant (“bad”) leg, with your dominant leg extended forward, quad squeezed with toes pointed and in contact with the ground. Set arms overhead, shoulder-width apart, and extend the shoulders into the ears (there should be no space between the two). Squeeze your glutes and round your hips under to engage the core and flatten out the lower back. You should be completely tight from head to toe in this position.
2. Carefully shift your weight forward, into your dominant leg. Your front knee will dramatically bend, as your bodyweight travels forward, over the front of the toes. You want a big bend in the front leg in order to better control your speed as you approach the floor.
3. Keeping your arms shoulder-width apart, continue reaching your hands towards the floor. Here, your body will act similarly to a teeter-totter. As your hands approach the floor, your back leg (non-dominant) will rise off the floor, preparing for the “kick” to generate the full rotation over your hands.
4. When your hands are within 1-2 inches of the floor, externally rotate your fingers to 45 degrees, and drive your back heel (non-dominant leg) vertical.
5. Your back leg will initiate the the full rotation of your body in the cartwheel. You need an explosive kick-up that generates enough power to help you fully rotate in the movement.
6. As your first hand (dominant hand) reaches the floor, your first foot (non-dominant foot) will drive over the top. As your second hand (non-dominant hand) reaches the floor, your second foot (dominant foot) will push off the floor, and drive over the top. At this point, your body should be in an upside down “X” position.
7. Maintaining this X-position, pull your first foot (non-dominant foot) to the floor, and lift your first hand (dominant hand) off the floor. When your second foot (dominant foot) reaches the floor, lift your second hand (non-dominant hand) off the floor.
8. Control your landing, and make sure you are fully balanced before moving on.