Jan ’26 Gymnastics Skill Work: Kip Drill

by Coach Jackie

One of the most important factors in all of your gymnastics movements is lat strength — and your ability to fire those muscles when it counts.

So often, when someone is struggling to get a toes-to-bar, link pull-ups, or hit their first muscle-up, it’s because they’re not engaging one of their biggest assets: their lats.

Many athletes end up doing whatever they can just to get the rep. But if we can focus on what actually helps with these skills, we’ll start to see real progress.

So this month, let’s put the focus on the lats.

Prescription

• 2x per week
• 3 sets of 10 reps

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Variations & Scales

Rx’d Version:
Hang from a bar with knuckles on top. Use a box that’s flush with the bar you’re hanging from. Make sure the bar is tall enough that your feet don’t touch the ground while standing on the box.

Think about pressing your toes up the side of the box (toes should be pointed), while also pressing down into the bar with straight arms to activate your lats.

Maintain a hollow body position throughout — don’t allow your hips to “break.”

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