Inconsistent kips - strength/drills?

[fishchimes]

I got my kip like 5 months ago and they are STILL giving me crap! When I make them my arms are usually straight, but I have so much trouble making them. I hardly ever make my high bar and my low bar is somewhat consistent some days and not at all on others. I've been working really hard trying to improve my bar skills and I feel like I'm getting absolutely nowhere!! I don't have a very strong upper body, and I've been working on that too, but it's not really getting a lot better.

Here's my limit on strength skills (in a row) :

Chinups: 5
Leg lifts: 10
Chinup pullovers: 0
V-ups: 20, 30 on a good day
Pushups: most I ever managed was something like 30, usually it's 25
L-hold: 15 seconds, sometimes more
Hollow hold: 1 minute

As you can see, I'm really weak compared to other level 5s. I have naturally strong legs but the rest of my body is not very strong...

Does anyone have any good strength exercises I could do in my spare time to try and get better at kipping? Or drills or whatever? Or just plain advice!! I'm desperate!!!

 

[MdGymMom01]

A great drill that you can do for kips can be done in the pool (considering summertime is coming you should have lots of opportunities for this drill). Stand in water that is about chest-high. And with your arms out in front of you, push down through the water (simulating the 2nd part of the kip). Do this several times in sets of 8-10. The water creates a great resistance that will build up your arm strength used in the kip. My dd's coach told me about this drill--it has really helped Dani.

If you don't have access to a pool, you can also use those resistance bands and put it over an open door and do the same arm motion holding onto the resistance band.

Hope this helps!!

 

[BlairBob]

You need to work on more upper body strength as to pushing and pulling. Your abdominal strength is enough but it would be preferable to be stronger.

The leglifts are toes to bar, right?

What days do you workout, and which ones do you have off? What do you currently for strength&conditioning at gym?

Basically you need to work more pullups and dips. Simple solution is 5 sets of each. Rest between, preferably 3 minutes. Find something else to do in between, just so long as it doesn't wind you.

Another good one is a seated straight arm lift with a medicine ball or barbell. Sit and lift the arms in front and overhead and lower down at the same speed. Find a challenging weight, if you can do it more than 10x, it's way too easy. 5 would be better.

 

[Stretchsportguy]

Drop kips are good lead ups to more serious kips. Do three sets of 10 everyday.

...Go out and buy a wheel with handles on the sides. Do roll outs in a hollow position from your knees. And from your feet when you get good at this.

Put a dumbbell in each hand and lay on your back with your arms extended against the floor over your head. Sit up lifting your legs to a pike and touch the weights to your feet then go back down and repeat. V-ups are a variation. Increase the weight as you improve.

A fun skill is the worm face down on the floor...you squirm similar to a body wave starting from pushing the floor with your hands and travel backward on each wave.

Piked and laid out press downs are good. Press back up if you can.

Another fun skill is roll back and shoot up to a neck stand arms straight and press the floor with your hands to hold it.

Another fun skill is kips on the floor. You spring up off your neck laying on your back from an inverted pike hands next to your ears on the floor land on your feet and stand up.

From laying on your stomach (prone) snap up to a pike trying to land your feet between your hands.

Using a stretch strap lay on your back and hook your feet with the strap in your hands. Put as much tension as you can muster into it and simulate the kip...bring your legs up and your arms and touch your feet to your hands then extend back out as if you kipped on a bar.

 

[fishchimes]

What days do you workout, and which ones do you have off? What do you currently for strength&conditioning at gym?

I do Monday, Thursday and Saturday, 3 hour practices. Strength+Conditioning varies a lot, but we often do V-ups/N-ups (3 sets of 30) and roll back jump ups (25+), frog jumps (25-50 or down a lane and back twice), calf raisers (at least 50 on both feet and at least 20 on each foot, varies), alligator pushups/worm pushups/handstand walks (down a lane and back twice), hollow/arch/side rockers (25+), pushups (25+), and some days chin ups/chin up pullovers (sets of 5) and leg lifts (8+).

 

[Stretchsportguy]

YouTube - Kip Drills

 

[BlairBob]

High reps do not equate to high strength intensity.

You cannot build strength unless something is in that 1 rep to 5 rep range. 1-3 reps are generally too hard and demanding to do many of while 3-5 repetitions are demanding yet not so over-the top demanding as the 1-3 rep phase.

Your chinups and L-hold need to get stronger.

Try doing 6 holds of 10s of the L-hold. I would rest 20-40 seconds in between each hold if not 45-90 seconds if necessary.

Work 5 sets of 3 chinups. Rest 3 minutes between each set.

But anyways, I would add in a conditioning day on Tuesday since you have Wednesday off to recover for Thursday. Do this for a month.

Perhaps in 2-3 months, you can add the next conditioning day on Saturday evenings/nights since I'm going to guess practice is in the morning or early afternoon. This gives you plenty of time to rest up between practices.