How to Get Your Kip on Bars: The Strength-Centered Drills You’re Missing
- raisethebargymnast
- Nov 24, 2025
- 3 min read
The kip is one of the most commonly trained skills in gymnastics, yet also one that athletes frequently can struggle with. Coaches know the shapes. Athletes know the drills. But even with consistent practice, some gymnasts still can’t make the kip happen.
The reason isn’t usually lack of motivation or effort. More often, I have found the athlete simply does not have the specific strength needed to perform what the kip requires. And when we understand the true strength demands of the kip, training can become much more effective.
Stay to the end to check out the strength based program we built out to help work on these muscle groups for those working to improve or acquire a kip!
1. Technique Matters — But Technique Alone Doesn’t Create a Kip
We all teach the same foundational drills:
Stem rises
Glide Swings in a Row
Drop Kips
Spotted Kips
Technique is absolutely part of the equation. However, the kip, in my opinion, is a strength-based skill and a timing skill. An athlete may know every drill, but if they cannot generate the required force at the right moment, the skill breaks down.
Remember there are multiple muscle groups working to create a fully extended glide shape from the athlete, and pulling the toes to the bar in enough time to create the sit-up action. Also in USAG if you do not achieve full extension in the Glide prior to the Kip it is a deduction.
Many athletes who are “so close” to getting their kip are not lacking understanding, they are lacking strength in very specific muscle groups.
2. Core Strength: Dynamic Control, Not Just Sit-ups
When we talk about kip strength, most people jump immediately to “core”. But the core needed for a kip isn’t just crunches.
The kip requires dynamic core control, meaning the ability to maintain tension through motion, especially during:
The glide
The closing/compression phase
The lift into the front support
This includes deep core stabilizers, the lower abdominals, and the entire anterior chain.
Hollow holds are helpful, but they don’t fully prepare an athlete for the moving, loaded core control required for the skill. Exercises that combine tension + motion translate to kip mechanics.
3. Hip Flexors: The Most Undertrained Part of the Kip
Hip flexor strength can be overlooked kip training, yet it plays a major role in:
Maintaining a strong glide
Closing hip angle quickly
Lifting the legs efficiently
Creating the strong compression needed to transition upward
If the hip flexors are weak, athletes may appear to have good technique, but the “closing” phase will always be slow or incomplete. They simply cannot lift fast or sharp enough to convert swing into upward motion.
Athletes who struggle to bring their feet up in time or consistently “just miss” the bar often need targeted hip flexor strengthening.
4. Lat Strength: Essential for the Pull Into Support
The upward part of the kip is partially proper timing coupled with momentum — but that can not happen with a controlled pull down driven by the lats and supporting muscles of the upper back.
The lats are responsible for:
Pressing down on the bar
Pulling the athlete upward and toward the bar
Guiding the transition into front support
Lacking the straight-arm lat strength to create the necessary upward lift could present a challenge in acquiring the kip, focusing on this will help build the strength required for the final phase of the kip.
5. The Missing Link: Strength Before Skill
The most common issue with kip progress isn’t that the athlete needs “more drills.”It’s that they need more targeted strength in the areas the kip relies on.
When strength improves, drills suddenly become more effective. Timing becomes easier. Shapes hold longer. Movements tighten naturally.
The formula is simple:
Strength → Technique → Repetitions
Skipping the strength phase makes the skill unpredictable and often leads to frustration for both athlete and coach.
The Bottom Line: Building Kip Strength Before Skill Work
The kip is not just a timing skill.It is a strength-dependent skill that requires:
Dynamic core control
Strong hip flexors
Adequate lat strength
Proper technique layered on top of that strength
When training includes all of these components, athletes learn the kip faster, with better form, and with far more consistency.
That’s why I created a full Kip Conditioning Program designed to strengthen the exact muscle groups needed for a successful kip and help athletes make real, measurable progress toward finally achieving it.
Comments