Today we are going to talk a little bit about a movement that probably looks like one of the simpler movements we do. In actual practice it is one of the key separation factors between intermediate and advanced athletes.

Toes to bar!

Many people have a hard time with toes to bar in a one rep situation. Let alone trying to string together multiple reps. This simple looking gymnastic movement proves to be a hurdle for many people. Let’s go over what exactly goes into toes to bar and make sure that we understand what it is we need to do to complete them efficiently.

When you break down toes to bar there is three main actions that happen across the body to perform just one successful rep. Depending on your strength and flexibility your toes to bar experience may be entirely different than the person next to you.

The legs/hips are responsible for pulling the legs up as high as possible. The hip flexors are responsible for this, the raising of the legs. If you are someone with good hamstring flexibility this portion is easy for you. If you have bad hamstring flexibility you will probably have a hard time being able to properly raise the legs without having to really swing to overcome the lack of hamstring stretch.

The second part of the body we will talk about is going to be the abs. The abs actually have a much smaller role in toes to bar then most people think. The amount of space covered by crunching and tightening the abdomen is fairly small. Someone with good hamstring flexibility may not use much abdomen flexion at all. The role of the abs are to really help connect the contractions of the upper body and the lower body.  

The next part which is really the main power house for the movement is the lats. The lats are responsible for creating the pull on the bar that pulls the torso and the legs up to the bar. Incase you didn’t know, the lats stretch from the top of the arms all the way down to the low back. Being able to keep tension in the lats is what people that can connect toes to bar have figured out.

Having good toes to bar is being able to make all three of these actions all match up and fire at the same time. Hip flexors raise the legs, the abs tighten (bring the hips closer to the ribs) and the lats pulling the bottom of the torso upward against gravity. Remember that it isn’t just an ab movement it’s a grand full body movement. If you are having a hard time figuring out which aspect is your trouble spot. Ask a coach to watch you and figure out what it is you need to build to become more proficient in this movement!
Coach P

If lat strength is an issue for you, check out this weeks tutorial video to get some simple drills that will help you dial in those toes!