Tips for improving your Toes-to-Bar
A lot of the workout exercises mainly focus on the upper body in terms of abs while neglecting the lower regions.
Many ab exercises focus and benefit the upper body without realizing lower abs could get weaker and result in painful and risky injuries. Working out and supplying the body with proper proportionate workouts will help your body to be more durable as well as reduce the risk of common injuries.
One such exercise which covers practically all regions of the body is the "toes-to-bar," which allows you to flex most body muscles and focuses on lower ab movements.
Why Toes-to-Bar is entirely gymnastics movement
Toes-to-Bar is a full-body workout exercise that captures the strength and flexibility of most of the body's muscles.
As such, many people consider it to be a full-body gymnastics movement. When you engage in Toes-to-Bar, all body flexors go into action as your muscles are pushed to keep your hands and body firm, your muscles can flex without causing major discomforts and injuries (once the movements are done right.)
Gymnastics takes a lot of flexibility and focus, which is what Toes-to-Bar emphasizes as you manage to position your body in the right rhythm to workout easily.
Tips for improving Toes-to-Bar
Toes-to-Bar is not a complicated movement once you understand the nature of the exercise. There are numerous tips you could implement to manage your way around reducing injuries and improving your workout techniques. To improve your skills at doing this movement, here are few tips to consider.
Bar Hangs
Bar Hangs are one of the most important aspects of Toes-to-Bar as your hands help you to accomplish the mission seamlessly. Grip strength is critical, and if you are unable to produce compelling gripping, you won't be able to push past two successful reps.
If your hands are not equipped to handle your body weight, this could spell disaster as during the "pull-up" phase of the exercise, and your hands could lose its stability. Bar hangs help to build your arms and shoulders as the stretches tend to firm your muscles.
However, be mindful to keep your shoulders flexible during the process as having your shoulders under pressure from your hands hanging can result in pain and injuries. A simple "up and down movement" of your shoulders go a far way with your arm sockets.
Point your toes
Leave your toes pointing whether you are on the ground or balance - a tip most gymnasts would give you from their workout regime.
During Toes-to-Bar, leaving your toes pointing will give that full-body extension or what is known as a completely hollow body position. Pointing toes help to provide a better balance and improve flexibility when it comes to allowing the body to do seamless flick and other movements.
If you are to watch the movements of a gymnast, you will realize they are always on a tip-toe as this reduces the time they need to position the body upward to move off.
Works on grip strength
Before you can be successful in Toes-to-Bar, you need to understand that grips are critical and must be focused on before you venture into the exercise routine. A weak grip will not allow you to do as many reps as you may like, and this can seriously defeat your workout plan.
Improving your grip strength may not be as complicated as one may think, as hanging from the pull-up bar a few seconds before flexing can strengthen your grip on the bar and improve the areas you realize may be weak.
Hanging and flexing your shoulders will give you an idea of where you need to focus on to get the results you need. You can also substitute with weights to help you build firm grip strength (hang the weights down while holding them.)
Works on knees to elbow
The focus to get your knees to a great height from the get-go is a good start in this process. A lot of people see Toes-to-Bar as merely raising the knees to the elbows then flicking.
As soon as one masters the skill of knees-to-chest, the flicking process can be tackled. As the knees rise to the elbow, the arm and lower back will be pushed into motion to strengthen the knees in lifting higher.
Your arm-work is critical to helping your legs lift higher while they remain together. The earlier one starts to master this movement, the better they will be able to understand which movements are best to achieve the target.
Hollow holds/Superman
Gymnastics takes on a whole lot of exercises, and one of the first phases is to master the Hollow Hold, which is one of the most basic steps of gymnasts' workout regime. Also, it is one of the first phases of most workout plans.
Toes-to-Bar takes on a complex strategy that involves the body's strength and flexibility all at once. Perfecting these steps will help your body to prepare for the movements of Toes-to-Bar.
The hollow holds require lowering the arms and legs to the ground (without touching the ground) while leaving the lower back firmly on the ground. The reverse of this movement is Superman, which involves maximum flexibility and stability. These workouts mainly focus on building the lower abs and improving your back, hamstrings, and glutes.
Use a callus trimmer & salve to strengthen your hands
While you are doing your Toes-to-Bar workout, you have to take care of your hands in the process by trimming your calluses down with the best hand callus trimmer. You want to ensure they are in the best shape to support firm grips and strength.
The more you hold on to the bars, the more pressure is placed on your hands, and before long, you will develop calluses that need to be taken care of. Callus Performance callus healing salve is efficient in repairing any damages your hand may incur during exercise.
Rips, tears, and blisters are imminent, and the salve is designed with amazing ingredients suitable for protecting and soothing your hands. With ingredients such as shea butter, tea tree oil, and coconut oil, your hands will feel great post-workout treatment sessions.
Conclusion
You want to be at your best when it comes to working out, and Toes-to-Bar is a gymnastics-based exercise that involves the use of your hands and shoulders a lot.
These tips will help you to achieve the desired results while helping you to work out much more relaxed and reduce the chances of pain and injuries.
In addition to these tips, applying our healing salve will help you to protect your hands against damages that may be incurred during your sessions.