This video is for everyone who celebrates fitness and athletic accomplishment (and the pure fun of being a kid) I hope you’ll share in my Joy!
Seriously…
Can you imagine how strengthening your Abs positively affects every aspect of your life?
Aesthetics (six-pack abs)
Posture
Relative Strength
Body weight Strength
Pre-hab
Pain free life
And more…
Ab Strength is always a factor in our tough metabolic circuits and your core strength should automatically improve by doing them.
However, sometimes, it’s OK to not have a gut-busting metabolic workout and instead have a Skill day, sub-maximal GPP day, pre-hab day or simply an active recovery day…
(Can you believe Mr. “Rest Later” is saying this?)
On these alternative days we turn off the stopwatch (but don’t slow to a crawl either) we do work on the full range of motion of the movement; it is a good day to concentrate on Ab strength!
After a particularly tough barbell strength day (Max efforts or moderately heavy couplets) it is good to throw in some active recovery (AR). Barbell lifts load the spine and take its toll on the body so some AR involving the Abs is a great prescription!
Now, there are plenty of AR circuits I like, plenty!
One of the more advanced is L-sit rope pullups and light overhead squats.
(I’ll give you a simpler version also)
I like to perform 7-10 reps of each alternating between movements.
I like to work at a moderate pace and get 6-10 rounds (60-80 reps of each)
So…for me it might look like this;
10 L-sit rope pullups
10 Overhead squats
7 rounds
I push the intensity on the L-sit pullups and keep the overhead squats moderate.
During this circuit you’ll:
Make your abs stronger
Increase your recovery ability
Help bullet proof your abs and protect your back from injury
Now I realize L-sit pullups can be challenging!
Instead you can substitute Abmat situps, skin the cats on gymnastic rings, or hollow rocks on the mat.
Another one of my favorite extra workouts is;
5 rounds
20 abmat situps
10 burpees
Keep the movement going but not frantic.
If you can’t keep pace then scale the reps but increase the rounds.
Perform 5-10 rounds
12 abmat
6 burpees
Make sense?
I realize I covered a lot and left some open windows. This is a topic that has many layers and depths.
I have had some of you ask me about this recently so I thought I’d post and see…
Is this something you’d like to hear more about?
Also…
I shot a quick video showing L-sit rope pullups and Overhead squats from a few different angles, I hope it helps;
Bullet proof your abs and protect your back from injury from Jerry Hill on Vimeo.
Can you believe Chriss is 42?
He keeps challenging himself and pushing the limits!
Chriss’s “41 plus 364 workout”
5 rounds for time
12 Modified Deadlifts 225lb
9 Ring Dips
6 Burpees
Video of the movements:
Katie has been at CrossFit Oldtown for 1 year!
She took the archived pictures of her over the past year and put it in an inspiring video!
(Ya gotta love documented and observable progress!)
How AWESOME is this video?!?!
Are you utilizing ring dips as a part of your upper body strength training?
We use band assisted ring dips, regular ring dips, and on occasion to really ramp up strength; off the strap ring dips.
Riding the straps on ring dips is fine, but if you want that top-end strength turn the rings out and get off the straps.
I paused to emphasize this in the video:
Jerry Hill’s CrossFit Oldtown; Gymnastic rings from Jerry Hill on Vimeo.
Yesterday was a skill/play day at CrossFit Oldtown; we work so hard toward our fitness goals, its good to remember to play! We turned off the stopwatch and simply had some fun exploring movement!
This time we pulled down the gymnastic rings and worked our Knees-2-elbows, skin the cats, front and back levers.
We pulled out the mats and challenged our “hops”…
We continued our gymnastic work by perfecting our handstands and handstand pushups.
You’ll see a lot of bloopers, a lot of success, and a whole lot of fun…
We are in an invisible location but our strong message has been heard…
This Fall our location becomes more visible and our message louder with each new team member…
10 messages CrossFit Oldtown wants you to hear:
1. No one ever plans to get out of shape.
2. You don’t really have to start/stop/start/stop for the next 3 years.
3. You don’t have to pay $80 a session for a personal trainer to reach your goal.
4. When you’re ready to take action; email, call, or walk through the door.
5. Our vision is to help you unleash your full potential.
6. Our mission is to deliver an environment where you’re destined for success.
7. We’ll give you a 16 day trial while we’re repairing your underused yet often abused body.
8. We’ll quickly notify your emergency contact; “all is well, this is normal, we’re simply working him/her real hard”
9. We’ll help you remember where your abs are (so what if it hurts when you laugh!)
10. You’ll get back a body that’s better than it was 10 years ago.
CrossFit Oldtown, LLC - Alexandria VA
My jaw drops every time I see these medal winners in the Olympics perform, how absolutely amazing are they? I gotta say…they’re also in some pretty darn good shape!
Using the same principles Olympians use to get in top shape is not out of your reach.
Track, Gymnasts, Weightlifters…did you see the abs and arms on these athletes?!
I could go on…
But here is a Olympic Style workout; first pick a short running distance depending on your level. It could be 100 meters, 200m, 400m, or even 800m.
Next pick a gymnastics move – Keep it simple. It could be a pull-up, dip, pushup, squat, sit-up, or any of the advanced moves gymnasts do! (I guarantee they didn’t start advanced!)
Finally pick a weightlifting movement. If you haven’t been coached on the advanced lifts then pick something you know; a lunge, press, squat…
Now lets randomly pick a movement from each category and put it all together;
For Example run 200 meters – 25 situps – run 200 meters – 15 presses
Perform 4 rounds but before you do hit your stopwatch and remember to record your final time; like the Olympians!
3…2…1…GO!
Look, interval training is hands down the best way to lose fat, challenge your inner athlete, (and end up looking like one too!)
If you are in the Alexandria, VA area be sure to take advantage of the 16-day CrossFit Oldtown Olympic trial.
Or, check out a CrossFit affiliate in your area and tell ‘em Jerry sent you!
Finally, a lot of you have been emailing me about a specific program to do on your own, especially involving abs – my friend Mike Geary has an incredible trial offer of his own and; THE #1 RATED ABS PROGRAM ON THE INTERNET
Have fun, good luck!
In Strength,
Jerry
Want to hit a tough little circuit that will work your gut pretty darn hard?
In this workout we included 2 often overlooked movements in the development of six-pack abs: Turkish Get-ups and L-sit rope pullups (look for them in our next infomercial) the burpees, abmat situps and 400 yard run were icing on the cake…
Workout: "One Piece"
Cash In (one time) 50 Abmat Situps
5 rounds for time 400 yard run 10 Turkish Get-ups (35lb Men, 25lb Women) 10 L-sit Rope Pullups 10 Burpees
Cash Out (second time) 50 Abmat Situps
10 rep Turkish Get-ups are tough, check out this video:
Remember to take advantage of our CrossFit Oldtown 16 day Olympic trial
Have you been inspired by the athletes in the Olympics?
Amazing performances, incredible drive and determination!
And we all know they don’t do it alone…
They have coaches, teammates, and a solid community of support.
You have celebrated with the Olympians; watching them jump for joy, scream at the top of their lungs, and even shed a tear…
Think you’re ready to take some action of your own?
Most of you know me by now…I love to celebrate!
I also love to make things happen…so here is what the Olympics have inspired me to do…
Test trial CrossFit Oldtown for 16 days (the length of the Olympics) for only $16.
I guarantee this; your approach towards fitness will never be the same again.
This is an online offer only – Click here to get started
Did you know we really do train like Olympians? See the excerpt below
Boxing: Larry Nicholson
USA Boxing’s developmental coach of the year in 2003 and current assistant coach for USA Boxing
Develop full-body strengthUnfortunately, most guys do body-weight exercises incorrectly. They focus on reps when they should really be concentrating on time. Rather than shoot for, say, three sets of 10 push-ups, do as many as you can in 30 seconds. Employ the same strategy with pull-ups, dips, and single-leg squats…
Olympic Lifting: Mike Burgener
Father and coach of Casey Burgener, the top-ranked U.S. power lifter in Beijing
Achieve perfect balance
"Along with flexibility and body control, balance is an essential component of weight lifting. The best way to bolster it is with an overhead squat. You’ll strengthen your core, hips, and shoulders. You’ll also find it challenging to get out of bed the next morning."
Swimming: Bob Bowman
Head coach for the University of Michigan swim team and personal coach to six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps
Armor-plate your core
"In order to slice through water with deftness and speed, you have to be strong in multiple planes of motion. I have Michael do medicine-ball exercises to achieve that end.
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