Stretching on a daily basis is a necessity for gains in mobility and injury prevention. Please note that the stretches listed below are to be utilized as often as possible even though they aren’t necessarily a part of your daily programming. Additionally, a low-impact and light warm-up is always recommended before stretching, e.g. Assault Bike, a light jog, Bear Crawls, Wall Ball Shots, etc.
Please take a look at the recommended stretches and try to include them in your daily warm-up if at all possible. The stretches/warm-ups are listed in what we would consider order of importance, yet depending on the skills you are working on for the day and your own personal needs the list may (and should) change.
Banded Scarecrow (Upper Anterior Chain Opener)
Rocking Box Bridges (Thoracic Mobility)
OR
*Overhead Barbell Underarm Stretch + Wall Bridge
Straddle and Pike Stretch (Adductor and Hamstring Mobility)
Band-Assisted Lat and Hip Flexor Stretch
Single Arm Hang from Bar (Lat and Pec Stretch)
Over the Shoulder Barbell Stretch
Calf and Hamstring Combo Stretch
Banded-Assisted Cross-Pull Scap Retraction
If you are not familiar with tempo and how to read it in your programming, watch this VIDEO. If you would like more in-depth information regarding tempo and it’s benefits, read this great ARTICLE written by Head Coach and Founder of Invictus, C.J. Martin.
Session One
A.
One set of:
Kettlebell Ankle Pulse x 20 reps
Followed by. . .
Option 1 (If you have trouble balancing at the bottom of the pistol squat) –
Every 30 seconds, for 3 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Front Weighted Pistol Squat Negative x 4 reps @ 41A1 (right leg)
Interval 2 – Front Weighted Pistol Squat Negative x 4 reps @ 41A1 (left leg)
Option 2 (If you can balance at the bottom of your pistol squat but cannot yet press up out of the squat unassisted) –
Every 30 seeconds, for 3 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Pistol Squat Negative x 4 reps @ 41A1 (right leg)
Interval 2 – Pistol Squat Negative x 4 reps @ 41A1 (left leg)
Option 3 (If you can complete full pistol squat reps but have trouble with volume) –
Every 30 seconds, for 3 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Pistol Squat x 2-4 reps (right leg)
*Rest 5 seconds between reps
Interval 2 – Pistol Squat x 2-4 reps (left leg
*Rest 5 seconds between reps
B.
Option 1 –
Every 30 seconds, for 8 minutes (4 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Chest-To-Bar Pull-Ups with Scaling Option x 8 reps
Interval 2 – Bar Hang x 20 seconds (no video, just hang from a bar without your feet)
Interval 3 – Elbow Drops
x 10 reps
Interval 4 – Lat Insertion Pull-Ups x 10 reps
*Keep your elbows pulling to the sides and away from your body (laterally).
Option 2 –
Every 30 seconds, for 8 minutes (4 sets) of:
Interval 1 –Â Chest-To-Bar Pull-Ups with Scaling Option x 15 reps
Interval 2 – Lat Insertion Pull-Ups x 10 reps
*Keep your elbows pulling to the sides and away from your body (laterally).
Interval 3 – Elbow Drops x 10 reps
Interval 4 – Chest-To-Bar Pull-Up Negative x 5 reps @ 40A0
C.
Every 30 seconds, for 6 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – L-Sit Flutter Kicks from Box (high or low) x 15 seconds
Interval 2 – Straight Leg Bottom Balance x 15 seconds
Interval 3 – Hand Plank Cross Knee-To-Elbow x 16 reps
Interval 4 – Backward Straddled Scoots x 8 reps
Followed by. . .
One set of:
Banded Triceps Extension x 30 reps (each arm) @ 1010
Session Two
A.
Every minute, on the minute, for 3 minutes (3 sets) of complex:
Wall Climb x 1 rep + Hand Plank x 20 seconds
Followed by. . .
Every 30 seconds, for 4 minutes (4 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Hand Plank Shoulder Taps x 16-20 reps
Interval 2 – Donkey Kick x 10 reps
Followed by. . .
Option 1 –
Every 30 seconds,for 3 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Single Leg Thigh Taps on Box x 12 reps
Interval 2 – Wall Slide x 8 reps @ 1011
Option 2 –
Every 30 seconds, for 3 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Single Leg Thigh Taps on Wall x 10 reps
Interval 2 – Kick to Handstand on Wall x 6-8 reps
Followed by. . .
Option 1 –
Every minute, on the minute, for 4 minutes (2 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Three Quarter Handstand Hold on Wall x 45 seconds
Interval 2 – Tuck Rocks x 25 reps
Option 2 –
Every minute, on the minute, for 4 minutes (2 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Wall-Facing Handstand Marching x 20-30 reps
Interval 2 – Tuck Rocks x 25 reps
B.
Every 30 seconds, for 6 minutes (3 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Half Burpee x 10 reps
Interval 2 – Hand Plank x 25 seconds
Interval 3 – Incline Push-Ups on 30″ Box x 12-15 reps
Session Three
A.
If you are not familiar with the Rope Foot Hold technique, please watch this VIDEO.
Option One (If you do not yet know how to climb a rope) –
Every 30 seconds for 5 minutes (5 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Rope Hang Hold x 20 seconds (10 seconds each hand on top)
Interval 2 – Rope Pull-Ups with Scaling Options x 4 reps
Option Two (If you can already climb rope but you get fatigued easily) –
Every minute, on the minute, for 5 minutes (five sets) of complex:
Three Quarter Rope Climb x 1 rep + Rope Pull-Ups x 6-8 reps
Followed by. . .
Option One –
Every 30 seconds, for 4 minutes (4 sets)Â of:
Interval 1 – Hanging Knee-To-Chest Rope Pinch x 3-4 reps (make sure you are alternating hands with spacing at equal distances between them every time)
Interval 2 – Tuck-Up x 8-10 reps
Option Two –
Every 30 seconds, for 4 minutes (4 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Rope Pinch to Stand x 4-6 reps (make sure you are alternating hands at equal distances every time)
Interval 2 – Tuck-Up x 8-10 reps
B.
Every 10 seconds, for 60 seconds (6 sets) of:
Target Reach Swing x 1 rep
Followed by. . .
Option 1 –
Every 10 seconds, for 2 minutes (12 sets) of complex:
Target Reach Swing + Kipping Half Toes-To-Bar x 1 rep
Option 2 –
Every 10 seconds, for 2 minutes (12 sets) of complex:
Target Reach Swing + Toes-To-Bar x 1 rep
Followed by. . .
Every 30 seconds, for 2 minutes (2 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Kipping Swing x 15 reps
Interval 2 – Air Chair Swing x 3 reps (rest 5 seconds between reps)
**Optional**
Spend 60 seconds attempting your first Bar Muscle-Up!
Followed by. . .
Option 1 –
Every minute, on the minute, for 6 minutes (2 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Strict Knees-To-Chest x 20 reps
Interval 2 – Bar Jump-Up to Full Support x 12 reps
Interval 3 – Supine Overhead Plate Lifts (15#/25#) x 20 reps
Option 2 –
Every minute, on the minute, for 6 minutes (4 sets) of:
Interval 1 – Kipping Knees-To-Chest x 20 reps
Interval 2 – Arch Under Bar Jump to Support x 12 reps
Interval 3 – Supine Overhead Plate Lifts (15#/25#) x 20 reps
Wanted to ask- on the two minute handstand holds, I find that the longer I am up there, the more help I recruit from my lats. By the end of the two minutes, I am pushing super hard to stay up. Should I be putting that kind of energy into the handstand holds all the time?
Second question- I am not sure what muscle groups the elbow drops from level one were meant to work, but they were surprisingly difficult for me. Purpose of those and where should I feel it?
Hi Marissa! Handstands break down over time. Your lats start to engage when your shoulders and positioning begin to fail. No, you should not be putting THAT much effort into the handstand the whole time, but when your body can’t stay in that position any longer it defaults to its next best option. It’s great that happened because it means that you put the rest of your body to the test and it reached its limits, but you stayed up by defaulting to the next best option. Over time your shoulders and lower trap will strengthen (along with everything else… Read more »
Awesome!!! Thank you so much for the reply!!! That explains a lot!!!
And yes, we do skull crushers a lot actually so I’m glad that will apply to my gymnastics skills!