Mastering the Muscle Up for CrossFit

Many athletes struggle greater to do the muscle up, than they do just about any other technique in CrossFit. While technique is the most valuable tool an athlete has at his disposal, the development of the muscles used in this workout will assist the athlete in exploding above the rings, and having the kinesthetic muscle awareness to maintain proper technique. Many workout regimens I have seen are ineffective while others are dangerous. Today we are going to break down some vital workouts that, when used effectively, can help you achieve a perfect muscle up.

#1: Strict Pull ups

In CrossFit, I feel we focus a little too much on our kipping pull-ups and butterfly pull-up and forget the pull-up we all did in P.E. in elementary school. The strict pull-up is foundational for the bar muscle up. This movement develops your latissimus dorsi, traps, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis which is vital for your strength and support for your rotator cuff. If you are unable to do a strict pull up, there are a number of exercises you can play with to develop this critical movement.

• Negative pull-ups (start at the top and lower yourself slowly)
• Ring Rows
• Pendlay Rows
• Isometric Pull up hold
• Gymnastic Rings Archers

# 2: Develop your Core Strength

In addition to isometric lifts and explosive power, a strong core is vital to this. Abdominal isometric holds, like L-holds and hollow holds accompanied with explosive core work like pike-ups and GHD situps will strengthen the explosive muscles needed in the abdomen that you will need to get the pop your hips need for a muscle up.

#3: Chest to Bar

The next drill you should perfect in your quest to mastering the muscle up, is developing a strong chest-to-bar. For this drill I want you to focus less on stringing chest-to-bar pull-ups together, while instead trying to bring your hips and legs parallel to the floor and pulling the bar to your rectus abdominus. This will involve a dramatic back swing followed by an explosive kip.

If you can master this skill and can learn to pull that bar to your abs, you are just one step away from flicking your elbows to the air, and finishing your muscle-up.

You will also need to develop a strong hollow and a strong arch on the ground which will develop kinesthetic muscle memory.

#4: Learning the transition from False Grip to Ring Dip Position.

As stated earlier, technique drills are vital to this workout. While this articles scope is more focused on the muscle development needed to do a muscle up, there is one particular technique that simply must be practiced before one should try a ring dip from below.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Philip_Gephardt/1703787

Three Exercises to Get a Flat Stomach Fast

Getting a flat stomach has become the latest obsession of people who want to look good since there are many celebrities who have already shown the way. A flat stomach is no longer very unusual. It is possible for you to get a flat stomach fast if you do the correct exercises.

Basic crunch

The first exercise you need to do in order to get a flat stomach fast is a Basic Crunch. You can do this by lying on your back on the floor with your hands to the side of your head. If you wish, you could keep your arms crossed on your chest. Your knees have to be bent precisely at a right angle, with your feet flat on the floor. You have to lift your shoulder blades off the ground without moving your legs, using your stomach muscles to do the lifting. Once you have raised yourself up a few inches you should slowly go back to the starting position and repeat.




Reverse Crunch

The Reverse Crunch is a great exercise for the lower abs. You start by lying on the floor with your hands behind your head. Keep your knees bent slightly and your feet at least six inches off the ground. You have to slowly bring your knees towards your chest, taking care to lift your buttocks off the ground. Lower your legs to starting position and repeat, making sure that you do the exercise slowly and without swinging your legs.

Oblique Crunch

The third exercise works your oblique and it is known as the Oblique Crunch. You have to do this exercise by lying on the floor with your right foot resting flat on the floor with the knee bent. The left foot needs to be placed across this knee. At the same time, your right hand needs to be at the side of your head while your left hand needs to be on the right side of the abdominals. If this is not possible, then you could place your left hand on the floor. You do this exercise by curling your body up in order to bring your right shoulder to meet your left knee. Bring your body to the starting position and repeat.

There is more to doing these exercises in order to get a flat stomach fast. You have to do them correctly and in the correct combination. Beginners have to do at least 10 repeats of each exercise, but you have to increase it to at least 25 later on.

Lots of people do not get the right results even though they exercise to the point of exhaustion. One reason could be because they are doing the exercise in the wrong manner, thereby putting pressure on the wrong muscles. For instance, if stomach crunches are done incorrectly, you will strain your back and neck muscles rather than your abdominals. Another reason could be that they are not doing sufficient amounts of cardio, thereby leaving too many fat deposits on their midriff which hides the toned stomach muscles underneath.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Penny_J_Brown/808257

Supercharge Your Workout With Short Intense Kettlebell Workouts!

First let's take a look at a sample workout:

Start with 2 sets of each:

Chinups, 10 reps
Military Presses, 10 reps

Then perform the following as a circuit:
Kettlebell Row, 3 reps;
Kettlebell Snatch, 3 reps:
Mountain Climbers, 8 reps,
Kettlebell Row, 3 reps.
Kettlebell Snatch, 3 reps;
Mountain Climbers, 8 reps:
Military Presses, 5 reps,
Kettlebell Row, 3 reps.
Kettlebell Snatch, 3 reps..
Mountain Climbers, 8 reps:




So what exactly are the benefits of a short but intense kettlebell workout like the one above?

A ten to fifteen short workout like the one above provide similar benefits than that of interval training in that it will raise your metabolism for upto 48 hours after the workout. This means that you will continue to burn calories hours after you have completed the workout.

The intense nature of this workout will also help to increase muscle mass and help tone those muscles.

It is this reason that people with a lot of commitments opt for these intense routines as they are able to keep their ripped physique whilst not performing long drawn out workouts
What are the drawbacks of Intense Kettlebell Workouts?

The main drawback of these short intense kettlebell workouts are that it will take a lot of getting used to. Even if you are an avid trainer switching to short intense workouts will really drain you of energy (as they are intended to do) to start off with.

If you are unable to perform the whole workout then obviously you can downgrade to a lighter weight kettlebell. Also if you are still having trouble completing the required workout then you can increase the rest time between sets until you can successfully perform the next amount of reps. Soon you will be able to perform the whole workout without any rests at all!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Andreas_Y_James/45433