Toes to Bars – they do suck. But they are great at developing a strong core and really hammer your Lats! The grip part sucks – we will go over that briefly at the end.
We need a few things to happen for Toes to Bar or Knees to Chest to Happen.
- Active Shoulders
- Keep your head out of your shell.
- Tight Lats
- Think about pulling the bar towards the ground at all times.
- To make room for you knees to come straight up
- Your head and body must move behind the bar, all due to #2.
The part that people forget about the most is to keep tight AFTER they touch their Toes or their Chest – they think ‘Rep done, I can relax’ — Wrong! You must stay tight and active at all times. This is a fairly aggressive movement!
Progressions (Easiest to Hardest)
- Laying down Knees to Chest
- Hanging Leg Raises (Bring knees to parallel)
- Knees to Chest
- Knees to Elbows
- Toes to Bar
Your hands! Take care of them!
This movement is very well known for ripping you a new one – take care of your hands!
- Use gymnastic grips or gloves when doing reps. We do offer a limited amount of pairs at the gym for you to use.
- Use LIGHT chalk – more chalk actually can lead to tearing.
- If you feel a tear coming on, stop and modify or grab grips. That will ruin your next 7 days to repair.
- If you have calluses, make sure you keep an eye on them and keep them under control.
- Excessive swinging will do this as well – if you can perfect your rhythm it isn’t too bad!