WORKOUT OF THE WEEK # 016
Gymnastic Skill + metcon
wednesday 12th January 2021
Strict Ring Muscle-up Skill
Intent: This section of the session is intended as a skill + strength development piece. This will be thoroughly coach led and will be mainly working on strength + positional drills that are key for the Strict RMU. There will be an emphasis on the turnover/transition phase which is usually the toughest part of the movement.
Approach: Use this time in the session as a way to understand what is required for achieving strict ring muscle ups and look to see what ability level you are. Look at where in the movement you need to work on, this is most likely going to come down to strict pulling and pressing strength or practicing/strengthening the low ring transition.
Beginners, follow the coaches instructions and carefully watch the movement demos provided, at this stage strength may be the key issue, if you don’t have multiple strict pull ups and ring dips then the RMU may feel a million miles away. First of all, identify if there is a strength issue, this should be looking at not only bent arm strength but also your isometrics, i.e the ring top support hold. Secondly, understand that even if you are not there yet with strength, it is still important to learn the principles and positions of a good transition and the ability to control key positions on the rings.
Intermediate and advanced athletes, use this time to really dial in the technical aspects of the Strict RMU, specifically the transition if you already have a good level of strength. Ensure you also nail the eccentric phase of the movement (the way down) this is only going to make you stronger and more resilient on the rings. Finally, use this a warm up for part 2, you are of course warming up your upper body, but you're also conditioning your connective tissue in the same movement pattern to deal with stress which is required when on the long rings.
Scaling: Due to this skill section of the session being coach run this should be relatively easy to do, the coach will demo each movement and you will repeat, this will continue until you get to a stage in which you can’t complete the certain progression. When you get to this stage, identify where the issue comes from i.e strength vs technique. Take a small step back and try to work on and nail that specific drill (this will come in the format of Part 2 below).
Demo Video: Low ring Transition
Part 2
Every 2:30 X 4 (Choose an option from below)
Option 1 - 3-5 Low Ring Transition + 10s Ring Top Support into 10s Ring Bottom Support
Option 2 - 2-4 Low RMU (Variation)
Option 3 - 2-4 Box assisted Strict RMU/ Negative RMU
Option 4 - 3-5 Strict RMU
Intent: This section is to really dial in your ring work on whatever progression is most suited to you. Here we want to cater for all ability levels whether you’ve got Strict RMU already, all the way down to those that are yet to get their first pull up.
Approach:
Beginners, at this point the coach has already taken you through a step by step process of each option listed above. Pick the option where you can consistently hit the rep range desired, don’t rush the progressions here, try and nail the basics and you will reap the benefits later!
Intermediate & Advanced, use this time to nail some Strict RMU work, there are a plethora of scaling options that could potentially suit your ability level if you are close to a full Strict RMU. This is considered one of the highest skills in CrossFit so see if you can get your first one ever! If you already have them, work on building up your volume. See how repeatable you can be in relation to your max unbroken set. If you can nail 4 sets of 5 reps than we would love to see it, and you’d sure be ready to take it to the next level!
Scaling: In terms of scaling this section there is not much to delve into, the options listed above are varied and cover most ability levels. If you need a more scaled option we can look at just spending some time working on some basic ring positions. The coach as always will be on hand to assist further.
Demo Video: Low Ring Muscle Up (Self Assisted)
Part 3
12 Min AMRAP
2 Kipping RMU*
6 Burpee Devils Press (2x 22.5/15kg)
12/10 Cal Machine
* 2 Pull Up + 2 Ring Dip or 4 Ring Row + 4 Press Up
Intent: This section of todays workout is where we bring the intensity to the session, via a short Met-con. The muscle up has gone from a strict focus to now a kipping focus. *This is not a kipping skill piece so if you know you have them, use them. If you do not, we are not trying to grind out bad looking reps to get a better score so go for a scaled option.
Approach:
Beginners, in this workout there is no dedicated rest, so the idea is to move nice and smooth. We are going to scale the kipping RMU for a strict pulling/pressing substitute, this will not be a huge amount of volume as we want you to be able to complete the desired work relatively easily and not be standing around staring at the bar. The brief scaling can be seen in the workout brief above or in more detail in the scaling section below.
Intermediate & Advanced, for intermediate athletes, this could be a similar approach to above, just a slightly harder option. For advanced, 2 RMU should feel relatively easy, especially to start with. Therefore, try and push the pace on the devils press and machine work, see if you can get 6+ rounds on this! This is a good workout for maintaining short numbers on the muscle ups but you don’t want to be waiting about underneath the rings.
Scaling: as previously stated we want to work on some strict pulling options such as, Ring Rows, Strict Pull Ups. In addition, combine this with some strict pressing options such as, box dips, fixed bar dips or ring dips. For intermediate athletes we could potentially look at a jumping RMU if the coach feels it is a suitable option and you have adequate strict pulling strength already. In terms of the Burpee devils press, this is a tough movement, scale this by choosing a lighter pair of DBs. With the machine, stick to the designated rep scheme, unless you are on the Echo bike, go for 10/8 cals instead.
Demo Video: Burpee Devils Press
