Iron Cross Breakdown

Oh my, the Cross. Arguably the most symbolic skill in gymnastics. One of the hardest exercises to perform using your body weight.

Today we fully breakdown the Iron Cross for you. Exercises, reps, sets, frequency and so on.

Prerequisites

Exercises you MUST have before training the Cross:

1. Full supinated back lever isometric hold for 15 seconds. Makes sure elbows are resilient enough.
2. Bulgarian Ring Dips for 10 reps. Makes sure shoulders have proper mobility.

Exercises you SHOULD have before training the Cross:

1. Full Front Lever Hold for 10 seconds.
2. Straddle Planche Hold on p-bars for 10 seconds.

Why 'should have' and not 'must have'? Because technically you can achieve the cross without planching but I wouldn't advise that for general strength, muscle and personal development. Whereas he 'must have' exercises will determine whether your body will get destroyed in attempt of achieving the Cross or not.

What you CAN do if you still don't have the exercises aforementioned:

1. Train the cross using lever reduction - looped rings, forearm on straps.
2. Train the Pelican Curls and Ring Flies variations that will eventually transfer over.

Once you have the prerequisites and general strength down, you can start training the Cross directly.

Muscle Groups Worked

The Cross is a funny exercise, considered a pull movement but also works all the pushing muscle groups. Basically, a full upper body exercise.

The muscle groups that are primarily targeted, listed in chronological order:

1. Biceps Brachii
2. Latissimus Dorsi
3. Teres Major
4. Pectoralis Major
5. Triceps
6. Front Deltoid

Exercise Selection

You have a few effective options training the Cross, all of which work well, depends on preferences:

1. The bodyweight-only way, using bodyweight progressions/regressions.
2. Using band-assistance to manipulate the load.
3. Using a pulley-system to manipulate the load.
4. A combination of both/all.

As long as you are choosing between those options, tracking and making progress objectively, then you're good.

Iron Cross Technique

Regardless of the way you choose to train the Cross, the same cues would be applied:

1. Elbows remain locked, arms completely straight at all times. Don't fuck with me. It's either 100% locked or it is completely not straight, there's no in between. Film yourself and be honest.
2. Scapula remain depressed and neutral. Do not protract them nor retract them too much. A slight protraction is fine. 

Exercise Selection

You only need 1 cross exercise. The more = the NOT better.

I suggest you start with a dynamic exercise the utilizes big range of motion. We will use isometric holds eventually. 

Using the band assisted or pulley assisted way, you can provide as much support as you need to start the cross journey and you won't need to change exercises at any point in time - perform the Assisted  Iron Cross Pullouts. Once you reach 90%BW Cross Pullouts, you will train the Iron Cross Isometric Hold and attempt a full bodyweight hold.

If you are doing it the bodyweight-only way, the progressions to follow are:

Standing Ring Flies --> Ring Flies on Knees --> Ring Flies --> High Box Assisted Cross Pullouts --> Low Box Assisted Cross Pullouts --> Isometric Cross Holds

The Box Assisted Cross Pullouts is the elephant in the room. It stands between you and actually achieving the Cross. By box I mean leg assistance that is being applied on a box in front of you. The box should be about 20 cm in front of the rings. The lower the box is (in relation to the rings) - the less assistance it will give. 

Specific cues for the Box Assistance exercise:

1. Pull arms besides your body, not behind your body. They will have a tendency to go back.
2. Legs are kept straight throughout the movement and should move naturally to allow the upper body to set in Cross mechanics. 

Training Frequency

The Cross is a skill that is extremely hard to recover from. It stresses the elbows significantly, demanding more rest between sessions.

The optimal training frequency for the Cross is 1.5-2 times per week. A ‘0.5’ time being a lighter workout or simply a shorter than 7-day training cycle.

More than twice a week will be difficult to manage recovery-wise, increase your risk for injury and simply unnecessary.

Reps and Sets

Training for relative strength, using a lower repetition range would be a wise recommendation. It promotes higher quality of execution and average force production.

Use sets of 1-5 repetitions per set. 

Since you use a lower repetition range, perform 5-12 sets per workout. Aim for a total of 15-25 repetitions. Sets and reps are in inverse relation. The less reps you can perform in a single set, the more sets you will perform.

Don’t reach failure at any point, always at least 1 rep shy of failure. Never miss a repetition. This is practice, you want to promote the right technique and training adaptation.

Progression Method

Start training the Cross with the variation/assistance you need to successfully complete the first workout within the 1-5 repetitions range throughout all sets.

From session to session, work your way to complete 5 sets of 5 repetitions. You should be able to add at least 1 rep (total) every workout. Once you complete 5x5, move on to the next variation or lower the assistance by 5% of your bodyweight. You will naturally drop to a lower rep range and have to build your way back up to 5x5. Rinse and repeat.

Example:

Session 1: 2,2,3,3,3,2,2 Cross Pullouts with 20 kg band assistance.

Session 2: 3,3,3,3,3,2,2 Cross Pullouts with 20 kg band assistance.

Session 3: 4,4,4,3,3 Cross Pullouts with 20 kg band assistance.

Fast forward…

Session 8: 5,5,5,5,5 Cross Pullouts with 20 kg band assistance.

Session 9: 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 Cross Pullouts with 15 kg band assistance

Accessory Exercises

All exercises that don’t train the Cross directly but are helpful for progress.

We choose exercises that work certain muscle groups in the relevant strength curve for the Cross.

Bulgarian Ring Dips, Wide Grip Pull Ups, Gironda Dips - They work the chest and back muscles but do so in the frontal plane, pulling/pushing arms to the side of the body. They are more relevant than exercises which train the chest or back in the sagittal (back and forth) plane.

Preacher DB Curls, Pelican Curls, Tricep Pushdowns - Isolate the specific heads of the biceps brachii/triceps muscle groups, going one step further - loading these muscles in the part of the strength curve most relevant for the Cross. 

Wide Grip Ring Push-Ups, Wide Grip Bodyweight Rows - still work the chest and back in a productive manner, but not as specific as the first tier of accessory exercises.

Train the accessories in a higher repetition range, save the heavy training for the actual cross. Use an 8-15 repetition range and a similar progression method to the Cross exercise. Perform 2-5 sets of your chosen 2-4 accessory exercises.

Building The Cross Workout

Warm-Up - scapula stabilization routine, rotator cuff routine

Specific Warm-Up - 30 seconds Ring Support Hold, 1x5 Cross pullouts with 30 kilos assistance.

1. Iron Cross Pullouts - 5x3-5@ 20 kilos assistance. 5 minutes rest intervals.
2. Bulgarian Ring Dips - 4x10. 3 minutes rest intervals.
3. Wide Grip Bar Pull-Ups - 4x10. 3 minutes rest intervals.

Here’s the full workout. No BS, no magic. Repeated twice a week, progressed gradually and consistently each and every workout over a period of 12 months. Boom. Results guaranteed.

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