Not only is toes-to-bar (T2B) an excellent core exercise, but it also improves grip, shoulder, and back strength. Although it may look easy, you should know (if you have ever performed/attempted the movement) that T2B is actually pretty challenging to master. Whether you are new to functional fitness and want to up your gymnast skills or you have been working on T2B for a while and want cues that will help things click, we think you’ll find these six tips helpful for improving your toes-to-bar skills.
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6 Tips for Improving Your Toes-to-Bar
1. Master the Basics
Before you even start T2B, there are a few different things you can master to make it easier in the long run. Hollow and arch holds on the ground are a great way to drill kipping. While in the hollow position, focus on pushing your belly button to the floor to create a tight core and keeping your legs together and your toes pointed.
In the arch, focus on squeezing your glutes and back, again keeping those legs together and toes pointed.
Knees-to-elbow is a great way to strengthen your core and grip as well as practice kipping if you are not quite ready for T2B yet. Don’t shy away from these drills. Even if you already have T2B, it never hurts to go back to the basics every once in a while.
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2. Engage Your Lats and Push Away From the Bar
If you want to get better at T2B, activate your lats. As you start to move into your hollow position of the kip before kicking the bar, focus on engaging those lats. It should feel as though you are pushing down on the bar as your feet rise. Pushing down on the bar allows you to create a stronger kip. The stronger your kip is, the higher your body will travel, and the distance your toes have to travel to touch the bar will be shorter.
If you struggle with this, it may be time to hop off the bar for a bit and strengthen your lats.
3. Keep Your Core Tight
A tight and engaged core is the key to stringing T2B together. Without a tight core, your kip will become a sloppy mess. A strong core will create a solid base so that you have total control of your body and can move through your T2B seamlessly. Make sure that you’re squeezing your abs like you mean it.
4. Work on Grip Strength
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If it’s a common occurrence for you to feel like you’re slipping off the bar after only a few reps, you may need to strengthen your grip. Add exercises like farmer walks and fat-bar barbell work into your training, or simply just spend more time hanging from the bar and building up stamina in your grip.
5. Keep Your Kipping Snappy and Controlled
As you may already know, the kipping movement is initiated with your shoulders and continues as your body moves through the arch and hollow positions. It’s when your body reaches the hollow position that your toes will kick up to the bar, and snapping back down to the arch provides you with the momentum needed to keep your T2B going.
If you’re not being aggressive in your snap from the hollow to the arch position, you will most likely lose all the momentum as well as the control of your kipping. As your feet fall down, control them by engaging your core and snapping them back forcefully, keep your lats and shoulders activated, and think about pushing your head through the window.
From there, push back down on the bar and use a strong core to achieve a hollow position, finishing off the movement by lifting your toes to the bar.
6. Look at the Bar
As if you don’t have enough to remember when trying to perfect T2B, last but not least, make sure that you’re looking at the bar as your toes make contact. Simply tilting your head to look up will make sure that your body is in the right position, so your toes touch and the rep is good.
There are many other factors that go into this movement. For instance, if you are super strong but still struggling, you may lack mobility in your shoulders, hamstrings, or hip flexors, which is needed for T2B.
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Remember, you can get better at T2B without doing T2B. Spend just as much time off the rig that you spend on doing drills and exercises to strengthen your core, lats, grip, and arc and hollow positions.
By simply following these tips and putting in the work, you will be cranking out huge sets of toes-to-bar in no time with ease.
