Unleash Your Inner Athlete: The Ultimate Toes To Bar Progression Revealed!
Are you ready to unleash your inner athlete and take your workout routine to the next level? Well, you’re in luck because today I’ve got something truly exciting to share with you. You are about to dive into the world of toes to bar progression, the ultimate secret to superhuman core strength!
If you’re ready to unleash your inner athlete and embark on this exciting fitness adventure, grab your favorite workout gear, and let’s dive into the world of toes to bar progression. Get ready to surprise yourself with what your body is capable of.
Level Of Difficulty
Toes to bar progression is a progression that targets your hip flexors and abs. It’s most suitable for:
- Advancing beginners
- Intermediate
- Advanced
This progression starts with hanging knee raises which is an exercise suitable for advancing beginners. Exercises that follow are more suited for intermediate athletes. The last two exercises are more on the advanced side of the spectrum.
Toes To Bar Progression: Muscles Worked
Toes to bar progression will require you to build strong abs, triceps, deltoids, and back muscles. Without benefits from this progression, you will lack the important strength needed for other progressions.
Toes to bar progression muscles worked:
Primary
- Abs
- Obliques
- Triceps
- Rear deltoids
Secondary
- Latissimus dorsi
- Rhomboids
- Teres minor
- Pec major and minor
- Forearm muscles
- Quads
- Glutes
Toes To Bar Progression: Equipment
Toes to bar progression is done on a pull up bar. It should be a bar that is high enough, so you can hang from it without your feet touching the ground.
Equipment:
Toes To Bar Progression: Exercises
The easiest exercise in toes to bar progression is hanging knee raises. You will progress through various hanging leg raise exercises all the way up to hanging windshield wipers.
When starting out you can easily determine your starting point. In most cases, you will try to find an exercise that you can do in 3 sets for 5-8 reps. This is your starting point. You will then start from the exercise you are able to do and work yourself up the progression.
You can combine this exercise with easier exercises in toes to bar progression. Those easier exercises will help you increase time under tension.
So, your muscles will be loaded more. This will lead to faster muscle growth. This is what will help you improve faster.
Here are the exercises in toes to bar progression:
- hanging knee raises
- hanging knee side raises
- hanging leg raises
- toes to bar
- hanging windshield wipers
Prerequisites
Toes to bar progression is building upon strength acquired in a leg raise progression.
STRENGTH TEST:
To test if you have enough strength to start this progression do the hollow hold exercise. Aim for 3 sets with 20 second hold in each set. If you can do this, you are ready to start with hanging knee raises.
Hanging Knee Raises
The easiest variant of a core exercise on a pull up bar is the hanging knee raise.
Equipment:
How to perform hanging knee raises
Positioning:
Grab a pull up bar a bit wider than shoulder width. Your palms should be facing away from you. You will be using the same grip as in pull ups.
You should be hanging freely from a bar with your feet pointed towards the floor and without touching the ground.
Upward movement:
Lift your knees towards your chest. Keep on lifting as much as you can. At the end of the move lift your butt a bit to engage your abs.
Downward movement:
Slowly lower your legs by letting them straighten. Keep on lowering your legs until you are hanging freely from the bar. You should be back in the starting position.
Be careful not to swing during the movement. You should lift and lower your knees slowly and with control.
Prerequisite for next exercise:
- 3×10 hanging knee raises
Hanging Knee Side Raises
Hanging knee side raises is the hanging leg raise variant that will help you work your obliques. You will be lifting your knees to your sides now.
Equipment:
How to perform hanging knee side raises
Positioning:
To perform a hanging knee side raise you should hold on to a pull up bar. Your hands would be placed a bit wider than your shoulders with your palms away from you.
Hang from a bar with toes pointed down and without touching the ground.
Upward movement:
Raise your knees up to the left and your right side alternating on each rep. Raise your knees to the side as much as you can without feeling any discomfort or pain.
Downward movement:
Lower down your legs slowly and with control. Keep lowering your legs until they are completely straight and in starting position again.
Try to minimize swinging.
One rep is when you lift and lower your knees on the left and right sides.
Prerequisite for next exercise:
- 3×4 hanging knee side raises
Hanging Leg Raises
Now it’s time for a regular leg raise with your legs straight. This will be more challenging than a knee raise variants. It’s because you will be lifting the entire weight of your legs.
Equipment:
How to perform hanging leg raises
Positioning:
Position yourself so that your hands are grabbing pull up bar slightly wider than your shoulders. Use a pronated grip (palms facing away from you).
Point your toes down while you hang from the bar. If you can find a high enough bar, your feet should not touch the ground.
Upward movement:
Raise your legs straight in front of you. Keep on raising your legs until they are parallel to the ground. At the end of the upward movement lift your butt up. This will help you engage your abs.
Downward movement:
Lower down your legs slowly until they are completely straight.
When performing this exercise concentrate on performing it slowly and with minimized swinging.
Prerequisite for next exercise:
- 3×5 hanging leg raises
Toes To Bar
Toes to a bar are like hanging leg raises exercise on steroids. Once you are able to do toes to bar, you will feel like hanging leg raise is a toe to bar with a limited range of motion.
This exercise will challenge both your strength and flexibility.
Equipment:
How to perform toes to bar
Positioning:
To perform toes to bar you should be hanging from a pull up bar. Your hands will be grabbing the bar a little wider than shoulder width and your palms away from you.
Your toes should not touch the ground if you are able to find a high enough pull up bar.
Upward movement:
Lift your legs straight in front of you. Keep on lifting until your legs touch the bar that you are holding.
Downward movement:
Lower your legs down slowly and with control. Try to minimize swinging as much as possible.
Prerequisite for next exercise:
- 3×5 toes to bar
Hanging Windshield Wipers
Hanging windshield wipers is similar to knee side raises. The difference is in the position of your legs. In windshield wipers, your legs will be straight while in knee side raises they are bent in your knees.
This exercise is very demanding to both your strength and flexibility at the same time.
Equipment:
How to perform hanging windshield wipers
Positioning:
To do this exercise hang from a bar with your palms looking away from you and with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. If you have access to a high bar you should be hanging without your toes touching the ground.
When starting out, lift your legs up to your left or your right shoulder (whichever you prefer). You can twist your body even more to the left or right if you can.
Performing:
Move your legs from your left to your right shoulder (or even further to the left and right if you can).
One rep is when you move your legs on the left and right side once.
Conclusion
You’ve reached the end of our exciting journey through the world of toes to bar progression. Give yourself a pat on the back because you’re well on your way to becoming an absolute rockstar at your local workout park!
Mastering toes to bar is not just about physical strength and coordination, it’s about pushing yourself beyond your limits and embracing the mindset of an athlete. It’s about that determination and resilience that make you unstoppable. So keep pushing, and never underestimate your own potential.
Completing a toes to bar progression is an excellent achievement. But, there is always something harder you can try. If you are up for a challenge, there are two gravity defying progressions waiting for you to explore:
