The Unique New Workout Style That Combines Gymnastics and Weight Training
In this special two-part series, I’m going to outline an approach to getting a strong and shredded body using these hybrid gymnastics training techniques, along with my own addition of some high intensity intervals for athletes and exercisers who a bit more of a cardio component.
Ben Greenfield
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The Unique New Workout Style That Combines Gymnastics and Weight Training
If 
you read my article “How To Get a Strong & Shredded Body With Just Two Gymnastics-Style Workouts Per Week.” or you saw my Get-Fit Guy article “How To Get The Body Of A Gymnast” then you know that for most of this past winter and “off-season” I’ve been implementing a unique mash-up of gymnastics and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to unlock a potent combination of strength, cardio, bulging biceps, rippling abs and beyond.
So, based on my work with gymnast Stephen McCain, I now, two times a week, throw into my routine the exact program I’m about to highlight below: a hybrid combination of HIIT, gymnastics and—to put the puke-inducing icing on the cake—the weight training complexes introduced to me by yet another friend, Rob Shoecraft in my article last week entitled “The Most Potent Training Method On The Face Of The Planet For Supercharging Conditioning, Melting Fat, Busting Through Strength Plateaus & Banishing Long Drawn-Out Warm-Ups Forever.”
With Stephen’s help, in this special two-part series, I’m going to outline an approach to getting a strong and shredded body using these hybrid gymnastics training techniques, along with my own addition of some high intensity intervals for athletes and exercisers who a bit more of a cardio component. Here’s Stephen’s unique workout recommendation:
Almost every gymnast I have ever met got started in gymnastics because they were climbing the walls as a kid. You have never seen a happier kid than I was while sprinting to the monkey bars during recess in elementary school. And, it didn’t stop at school. When I yanked the chandelier out of the ceiling at home, my mom decided it was time to put me in gymnastics.
The sport and practice of gymnastics is really just one giant obstacle course.
After 2 decades of hard work, I perfected those “monkey bars.” So when Ben Greenfield asked me to help him put together a Spartan Race training plan that incorporated body weight and the type of high intensity gymnastic training I introduced to him in the article “How To Get A Strong and Shredded Body With Just Two Gymnastics-Style Workouts Per Week“, I was excited to help.
This makes perfect sense because the sport and practice of gymnastics is really just one giant obstacle course. The only caveat is this: gymnasts have to make it look really easy and artistic. I believe using an obstacle course training program that includes gymnastics strength elements will prepare you for the rigours of the many types of obstacles you will encounter during a Spartan Race. Armed with the conditioning these gymnastics exercises will give, you can navigate your Spartan Race obstacles with greater ease, and dare I say…artistically. And, let’s face it: it’s a great change-up from the ho-hum, standard obstacle course training you might currently be doing.
Core
My recommended gymnastics core exercises will strengthen your torso, connect the muscles of your upper and lower body, and allow you to coordinate your obstacle course movements with more precision, balance, and stability. You will be able to pull with an arm and push with a leg as one cohesive unit. You will also be able to extend your body to reach without collapsing in your midsection. With a strong core, all of your movements will improve, and you’ll look a whole heckuva lot less like Bambi on ice during your obstacle course training.
Straight Body Hold Between Mats
V-Ups
Olga Crunch
L Sit Drills
Inversions
Using this training, you will spend time doing inversion exercises where you are bearing most of your weight on your hands. This is where gymnastics training really opens up new possibilities for manipulating your weight. You will be able to lever your feet from one point to another while holding your weight with your upper body. You will also be able to crawl more efficiently and hurl your body over objects. Being comfortable and strong on your hands will give you another gear in the race. Can you say “barb wire crawl” like Flash the superhero? Yeah, I thought so. This will do that for you.
Planch Walk with Sliders (or with paper plates)
Crab Walk with Sliders (or with paper plates)
10 Press First Half Drills – Press Compression slider assist (1 min to end of video)
Press Ball Assist
Max Time Wall Handstand
Pulling
Without question, you must have the ability to pull yourself up and over certain obstacles. In my opinion, there is no better exercise for this than mastering the ring Muscle Up. You might already know this, but the Muscle Up is a combination of a pull up and a dip exercise. What it really gives you is the ability to pull up and distribute your weight onto your hands so you can push down…just like pulling yourself out of the water on the edge of a swimming pool, or pulling yourself over an 8, 10 or 12 foot wall. If you can master that tricky part of manipulating your weight from pulling up to pushing down, you can really gain an advantage to climbing over just about anything.
Muscle Up Thera Band Assist
Pulling Shoulder Exercise
Grip Strength Exercise
“Russian” Climb Technique & Demo from Andrea Murray, a professional Aerialist. You can check out her work on Instagram @andre_amichelle.
A close-up breakdown of the “Russian” Climb
Bonus: A Combination climb showcasing efficiency & energy conservation capacity at work!
Full Extension Eccentric Rope Exercise
How to Use Weight Training Complexes to the Routine
In addition to gymnastics training, my desire with this program was to still expose my body to “lifting heavy stuff”: not only for the anti-aging and aesthetic benefits, but to also ensure I’m able to handle elements I may experience during my obstacle course racing, such as heavy bucket carries, sandbag carries, log carries, tire flips, etc.
Enter complexes: a form of lifting in which one strings together three to up to a dozen different exercises – exercises that usually multi-joint and usually performed with an unwieldy object like a barbell, kettlebell and sandbag. For example, the Crossfit Bear complex is comprised of 7 total sets of 1 repetition each of power clean, front squat, push press, back squat and push press (you finish that last push press and go straight back into power cleans.
Why complexes?
As Rob says on his excellent complex database page, they are “an efficient and aggressive method of performance enhancement that saves time…”
These words, originally written by Istvan Javorek (who is a strength coach acclaimed for making complexes very well known) sum up these exercises in one sentence.
Rob goes on to say…
…”In case you’re not familiar with complexes as they’re defined in the fitness space, they’re an array of exercises designed to be completed in one continuous set. That, I know, is a very general description, but that’s part of their beauty; they leave much to the sadistic trainer’s imagination.
Complexes can fit neatly into just about any exercise program, and there’s no fitness goal they can’t help you tackle; whether it be conditioning, fat loss, muscle growth, strength or masochism.”
Rob describes the benefits of complexes as:
“…Efficient and aggressive: If massive amounts of volume packed into a minute or two of work is efficient, then he’s on the money here. Javorek’s original barbell complex, for instance, demands 30 reps across five compound exercises in one set.
And aggressive? Yeh, complexes are pretty freakin’ aggressive. I told one of my clients just last night, as he geared up for his third set of Ben Bruno’s Brutal Trap Bar Complex (10 split squats, 10 RDLs, and 10 deadlifts) that he was about to go to war. Five minutes after the set, while he was still lying on his back, he knew exactly what I was talking about. Complexes force you to be aggressive. They’re an amazing tool for sewing toughness, and insist that you to drive past your breaking point without looking back.
….“performance enhancement: I can’t help but think of Smiling Bob from those stupid Enzyte commercials anytime someone says “performance enhancements” (that’s just my cross to bear), but I don’t think that’s what Javorek had in mind (unless he’s copping Arnold’s style). No, what he’s referring to are the indisputable gains athletes experience when they add complexes to their programming.
“…in addition to muscular endurance, complex practitioners also quickly notice the increase in strength and hypertrophy. Dan John often refers to hypertrophy as “armor building”, and in his book Mass Made Simple he includes a routine that will drop you in a suit of plate mail (you get to do up to 80 reps of bent rows, hang cleans, front squats, overhead presses, back squats and good mornings without putting the bar down).
“…makes the program more enjoyable: I just adore puking on the floor and spontaneously crapping my pants…it’s just so darn “enjoyable”. Javorek, you crazy Romanian!I’m just joshing ya, buddy. I know what you’re talking about. Complexes are synonymous with variety, which staves off a stale time at the gym, and in some cases, might just foster an enjoyable experience. Not to mention the sheer feeling of accomplishment, knowing that you just slayed an exercise that would literally have killed 50% of American couch potatoes. Completing complexes feels good (then again, so does crapping in your pants…for just a second…but I wouldn’t know…more than once…ok, twice…).”
That about sums it up, but if you want to take a deeper dive into the nitty gritty of complexes, then you should check out Rob’s full article from last week published right here on my site:”The Most Potent Training Method On The Face Of The Planet For Supercharging Conditioning, Melting Fat, Busting Through Strength Plateaus & Banishing Long Drawn-Out Warm-Ups Forever.”
As you’ll see in the program that will come in Part 2 of this series, I also have a certain section of the workout in which I perform a few basic weight training complexes.
Menwhile, if you have questions, comments or feedback about this episode, you can join the conversation at Facebook getfitguy.
About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.