Iron cross unlocked after 5 years of struggle

[isop777]

Guys, today I achieved the iron cross- something I’ve been training ever since I started gymnastics as an adult 5 years ago. After I did it I felt almost sick with the emotion that rode over me and I cried a little. I’m just so proud and I wanted to share my excitement with all of you. Moments like these don’t come around too often and I’m glad that there is a community like this to help inspire others to do the same!!

You can check out the video here iron cross

edit: Some people have asked for me to share how I achieved it. Here is a breif synopsis of my training methods. Note that I wasn't so regimented with training for the first 3.5 years, and probably would have got the cross sooner had I been more knowledgeable from the start.

Training methods:

1. First you have to be comfortable locking out your elbows. Start with pushups on your knees turning the rings out at the top. Progress to your feet when you are ready. Make sure elbows are locked at the top such that the weight is going through the elbow joint. This is super important to develop the tendon strength
2. Next, develop a very, very solid rings support. RTO, arms locked, being able to hold it while swinging your feet etc. The pressure should be felt in the elbows. The rings support will further develop elbow strength and shoulder strength.
3. After you have rings support, develop and work back lever. This will further engage elbows and shoulders.
4. Finally, start to scale iron cross. Do little cross "pumps" where you go out 10 degrees and back again for 5-10 reps
5. Iron cross block pulls are great- these can be scaled the closer the block is to your hips.
6. HEAPS of work using the cross traininers and dream machine. I used the dream machine with 20-40 kg of weight strapped to my belt and held for time (5 seconds or so). With the lower weight (10-20 kg) I did iron cross pulls.
7. When you are ready, attempt the iron cross at regular intervals (once every month or so).

While doing the above, do plenty of shoulder and chest stuff. Ring dips, bulgarian dips, regular dips, bench press.

Timing and sets:

In general, i think that higher volume at lower intensity is better than lower volume at higher intensity, especially when doing iron cross. So i would do lots and lots of reps of pushups, lots of rings supports and heaps of iron cross pulls on the dream machine with 0-20 kg. Reps would be 5-10, sets would be 5-6 sets per session. I would have probably 1-2 irons cross sessions per week.

There are times when you have a session where the intensity is higher, say every month or so, but I really liked the idea of progressing slowly and getting used to a certain level by doing lots of reps. I think that's the safest thing to do.

Edit 2:

In terms of weight/height I am 172 cm and 72 kg.

In terms of starting strength I would say I started at almost nothing - I.e I couldn’t do a muscle up and couldn’t support myself with locked arms. And for reference, When i started I was 172 cm and 72 kg hahaha

 

[dawn16]

@isop777 Fuckin’ A!

 

[ayeesha]

@isop777 Awesome!!! Congrats!! What were your sticking points? I’ve only ever done it in a harness. Not even going to put that skill on my lifetime list! There are two things I have been working on that I know I’ll cry when I finally get lol.

 

[isop777]

@ayeesha Sticking point was definitely my weak elbows that hyper extend an awefully long way. Had to progress very slowly and it took years for the elbows to be able to withstand the pressure of the full cross. Even now it’s quite uncomfortable. going slow and being smart are the defining the keys to building tendon strength.

Mate I’m sure you will achieve your body weight goals and can’t wait to hear about it on reddit!

 

[thomaslowrens]

@isop777 Can you edit in some context about your height, weight, starting age and level in the post? It's important since these significantly affect the progress rate.

Not to take away anything from the achievement, which requires plenty of dedication at any height for everyone except the extraordinarily gifted like maybe the supposed "5 months iron cross" guy that talked shit about your accomplishment.

 

[isop777]

@thomaslowrens Sure thing mate, body info incoming

 

[thomaslowrens]

@isop777 Thanks.

 

[ayeesha]

@isop777 I’ve always wondered about that! My elbows hyper extend too.

Thank you! Will definitely post about it! Good luck on an injury-free path to your next goal!

 

[dawn16]

@isop777 Dude that's insanely difficult. Can't imagine how strong some guys are to make that look easy.

 

[donttakesixes]

@isop777 That's awesome!

Quick question. Where are your elbows pointing when you are doing it? It looks like you are 'supinating' (if I use the term correctly) where the inside of your elbow points towards the floor.

When I see other gymnasts do it the inside of the elbow seems to point a bit more forwards. I'm certainly no expert but it might help eliminate the forward lean you mentioned if you mess around with your elbow angle a bit.

I am still pretty far off doing this (can only lift about 50% bodyweight in the full IC position), so you've done an amazing job!

 

[isop777]

@donttakesixes Yup so I’ve exhaustively studied this topic due to my hyper flexible elbows. I’ve come to the conclusion that the safest thing for me to do is to point the elbow out down towards the ground so the force is bending the elbow back ( is that makes sense). In my opinion I don’t think it’s safe to have the elbows forward since you are putting a huge shearing force through the joint which cannot be stabilised by muscle ( although this is my body it might be different for others). Imho i think my forward lean is fairly independent of my elbow positioning ( could be wrong). But I’ll take on your advice and have a play with different positions. Thanks for your input and support !

 

[donttakesixes]

@isop777 Definitely listen to your own body first above my advice; it was just an observation from looking at others do it. And you could be right above the shear force too.

Thinking about it a bit more, I imagine having the shoulders rolled forward probably influences both the elbow position and also the forward lean. It might be that once you get more comfortable with the move and remove the shoulder roll, you will naturally alter both lean and elbow position. I guess only time can tell...

 

[ponmolid]

@donttakesixes I, too, would like to know more about elbow positioning. I've been trying to slowly progress into it and I have to point them slightly down, but maybe there is a better way

 

[deborah123]

@ponmolid Elbows forward puts more stress on the common flexor tendons (which can lead to medial epicondylitis/golfer's elbow). Pointing it down biases the stress more onto the biceps with less on the medial epicondyle area.

 

[ponmolid]

@deborah123 Whenever I do it I feel it mainly in the shoulder joint and a little bit in the bicep. That sound about right?

 

[deborah123]

@ponmolid Yeah, that sounds good

 

[godswill414]

@donttakesixes I’ve worked with a gymnastics coach and he told me the goal was to have the ”elbow pit” point forwards, as this would cause less stress both on the elbow joint and the bicep.

 

[deborah123]

@godswill414 That's not exactly true.

Elbows forward puts more stress on the common flexor tendons (which can lead to medial epicondylitis/golfer's elbow). Pointing it down biases the stress more onto the biceps with less on the medial epicondyle area.

 

[godswill414]

@deborah123 Good to know, I was simply repeating what I remember being told by the coach.

 

[deborah123]

@godswill414 All good