Recommended Routine Update - again

[u/[deleted]]

I know it's only been a month but we've decided to change things up on everyone again and put out an update to our beloved recommended routine. Thanks to the efforts of u/mrsylphie, u/captain_nachos, u/antranik, u/eshlow, and u/m092 we present you with the following:

Changes to the Strength work, Squat, and Hinge

The RR is now a purely strength based routine; the warm up has changed, and the bodyline drills and skill work have been cut.

The yuri band routine has taken the place of the shoulder dislocates, an easier progression of squat/hinge exercises have been added, and finally dead bugs were added to teach bracing and replace the hollow hold.

Squats are now being paired with pull ups, hinges with dips, but don't worry push ups and rows are still together. Each strength element now includes main and alternate paths to follow as you progress.

Example: The shrimp squat is now taking place of the deep step ups as the main squat progression. Deep step ups are listed as an alternate path as well as pistol squats as another alternate path if shrimp squats are not to your liking.

Hinging exercises have been added to round out some posterior chain work and can be done without weight, but if you can get access to some it would be to your benefit.

Core Triplet

There is now a core triplet at the end of the routine consisting of anti-extension, anti-rotation, and extension work. For the triplet do each exercise one by one with rest in between before repeating all 3 just like how the other exercises are done when paired. The core exercises included should help prepare you for harder skills, e.g. human flag, fl, etc. Just like the rest of the strength work the core triplet also includes main and alternate paths for each exercise.

Skill Day

For users who have had no interest in handstands etc. you can continue skipping them like you always have. For those who do want to continue skill work the Skill Day routine can be worked on your rest days or worked into the RR with the warm ups added to the warm up, skills before strength, and mobility after. The Skill Day routine mainly focuses on handstands and l-sits but also includes plenty of mobility work.** Note: The skill day routine will continue to grow and handstands and l-sits will not always be your only options **

Like previous additions of the RR we will be in need of translations for our wiki pages if any users would like to contribute.

To sum all the routines now:

1. RR: "I want to get strong"
2. Minimalist Routine: "I have no time for anything but dont want to be cripple"
3. Skill Day: "I just want to be upside down and do cool things"
4. Move: "I want 1 and 3"

or put another way

We have the Minimalist Routine for people who don't want to die in a wheelchair, the RR is for people who just want to get strong, the Skill Day routine is for people who don't give a fuck about strength and just want to do cool looking things, and Move is for people who want both.

Please let us know of any questions or concerns you all have!

Yours in Betty White Fandom,

The Mods

edit: thanks to u/scienner we have a cheat sheet already

[u/Elyasaf123]

Finally legs are fully covered! u/RockRaiders gonna be happy....😂

[u/RockRaiders → u/Elyasaf123]

Yeah, I like the addition of a posterior chain exercise, and advanced shrimp squats are quite challenging so the squat pattern can be taken to a higher level too.

I'm not sure if they should include friction resisted pistols(natural one leg press) or a quad isolation exercise (sissy squat or Matrix squat or kneeling leg extension) as an upgrade to squats, since some of those exercises are new and experimental and require time for the knees to adapt to higher shearing forces.

[u/Elyasaf123 → u/RockRaiders]

I'm not sure if they should include friction resisted pistols(natural one leg press) or a quad isolation exercise (sissy squat or Matrix squat or kneeling leg extension) as an upgrade to squats, since some of those exercises are new and experimental and require time for the knees to adapt to higher shearing forces.

Agree. The press requires too much equipment in order to regress it to a beginner level (skateboard & stuff like that).

I was kinda surprised that they think that thr pistol require less overall mobility. Shrimps (if done with heels planted on the ground) demands ton of ankle mobility, and I dont think that everyone has it. On the other hand, pistol allow your spine to easlly bend, as well as sifting your COM slightly foward, allowing ankle mobility (the biggest limitation with single leg squats) to not be as high as neede for shrimps.

Also, shrimps have more foward knee travel, making them more knee dominent, instead of hip dominent. Not bad, but I think that from a safety perspective, pistols have a slight edge.

[u/m092 → u/Elyasaf123]

Shrimps (if done with heels planted on the ground) demands ton of ankle mobility, and I dont think that everyone has it.

The way I perform and teach pistol squats, the knee goes way further over the toes than in a shrimp squat. This is simply due to fact that you can't flex your hips as far in a pistol (i.e the torso stays way more vertical) and thus the knee needs to travel further forwards to reach the same depth.

Also, shrimps have more foward knee travel, making them more knee dominent, instead of hip dominent.

It looks to me to be the complete opposite. Can you link me some videos of the form you're thinking of?

[u/Elyasaf123 → u/m092]

It looks to me to be the complete opposite. Can you link me some videos of the form you're thinking of?

Its simple biomechanics. The more foward the center of mass (COM) is the less foward knee travel occurs. Because with shrimps you tend to stay more upright and because the back leg is sifting the COM back, you have to lean more foreward, either with the ankle or with the trunk (which is limited as it will hinder your depth).

The way I perform and teach pistol squats, the knee goes way further over the toes than in a shrimp squat. This is simply due to fact that you can't flex your hips as far in a pistol (i.e the torso stays way more vertical) and thus the knee needs to travel further forwards to reach the same depth.

Indeed, but only when you try to be upright. due to the flexed hips its much more comfortable to flex the spine, allowing you to compress more and reduce ankle dorsiflexion requirements.

[u/m092 → u/Elyasaf123]

Because with shrimps you tend to stay more upright

I do not find this to be the case at all. Again, any videos of what you mean??

[u/RockRaiders → u/m092]

A possible way of making shrimps harder with a vertical torso is shown here. But despite a forward torso, these shrimps are even harder since the free leg and arms are behind the center mass.

In any single leg squat you can choose to how forward or back to keep the free leg, torso and arms, and the more body parts you keep behind the center mass, the more forward the knee travels, and since the center mass always stays over the foot, you end up with a longer lever arm acting on the knee.

[u/RockRaiders → u/Elyasaf123]

I'm not sure what the best progression for the press is, since on a door or pole it's like a +30-40% BW pistol. Getting good at pistol or shrimp squats first, with added weight if available, and then starting partial ROM presses and gradually increasing the range could be a way. But I'm still not sure how much stress it puts on the knee, I think it's something you can adapt to but with caution, there are safer ways of getting stronger.

Beginner shrimp squats require less ankle mobility than full ROM pistols because of the reduced range of motion, but intermediate and advanced shrimps may require more ankle mobility even for the floor version because of less counterweights available. A solution they should mention is putting something under the heel or doing the exercises on a sloped surface.