A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream. Making a plan is essential. Giving this plan a deadline is what will bring you closer towards reality.

Step 1 – Analyze and visualize

First we need to explore our deepest desires. We have to see what lies beyond the surface. The mission is to strip ourselves of all outside noise and distraction to find out what we actually want. 

Find the goal that inspires you the most. No matter what it is, no matter how far it might seem. It does not matter what is the source of your inspiration as long as it is strong enough to fuel you for a long time and not just for a week or a month. 

For this example let’s say the move you want is the Handstand Push Up. It is embatius enough that it is worth talking about yet not too complexe so planning is somewhat simple. 

Looking at the Handstand Push Up we realize we need 2 things: Overhead pushing power and handstand control. We therefore have 2 separate categories of things to work on. 

Step 2 – create the outline

To make this example even simpler we are going to take the balancing component out of the equation and just focus on overhead pushing power. 

Grab a blank sheet of paper. Write your final goal, the Handstand Push Up on the bottom line of the paper. Write your current progression, let’s say the Pike Push Up on the top line of the paper. We now have a clear starting point and a clear destination. 

Next let’s see what is approximately the halfway point between these two. You have not gone this road before so you can not know for sure. I would recommend asking other athletes for advice here but as this halfway point does not need to be exact science, let’s use the L HSPU with elevated hands as a good mid way goal.

Step 3 – research & fill in the gaps

For me personally this is always my favorite part. We now want to find drills to bridge the gap and we want to do this as often as possible. For example halfway between the L HSPU with elevated hands and the Pike Push Up is for example the L HSPU bottom hold with alternating leg lifts. Dividing this again in half and we might get to the Dead Pike Push Up with Elevated Hands. 

For this part I recommend to see this list more as a working document. Pay attention to your regular social media channels. Keep this list forever handy and every time you find a new progression add it to this list. The more halfway points you can find the better. Always make sure you place this mid way goal princely at the middle between the two surrounding goals. This will help you identify possible gaps in your master plan. If you see that there is a lot of space between 2 goals you can already know that you will be stuck there for a while. If you can not think of any more progressions you will have to start to think a bit outside the box. Training aids such as ankle weights, rubber bands for assistance, elevated hands, drop sets or even an external spot can all be valid solutions to bridge the gap.

Step 4 – create your workout routine, respect your body

You now have your progressions and a clear plan of all the checkpoints you want to pass through. It is time to move on and actually create your workout routine. Keep all the regular rules of training in mind. Do not train the same movements or muscles 2 days in a row for conditioning. You can do technical work like hand balancing every day but the overhead pushing power for the Handstand Push Up should not be trained more than 3 times per week. 

Keeping recovery times, meal planning and mental health in mind, craft your first 3 month of workouts. Make sure not to only train your particular goal. While it might be your main focus you still have to work your entire body. Only a well balanced body is a healthy body. And only a healthy body can get stronger and make significant gains!

Step 5 – believe in your plan and stay consistent

Changes usually do not come overnight and a certain amount of stubbornness is going to be required here. Getting help from a coach and adjusting your technique can make massive changes to your progress and things like hand balance can improve very quickly. 

The overhead pushing power for the HSPU on the other hand can not improve very quickly. It’s science. Muscles take time to grow. There is no way around it. Stay consistent and believe in yourself and your plan. As long as you are training hard and regularly, gains will come. Again, it is science. There is no way around it!

When making the jump to the next progression it is important to keep in mind that you never want to do your 1 rep max. What I mean is if you are only able to do 1 single rep of your next midway goal and the form of this 1 rep is far off then you are not ready for this goal yet. Instead train at your previous goal a bit longer or find a different, smaller step to take. You never want to do your 1 rep max. You wouldn’t squat, bench or deadlift either. Why would you attempt it with bodyweight drills? It is not healthy and the risk for injuries is enormous. 

The last thing to mention here when creating long term routines are deload weeks. Everyone loves talking about them and loves promoting them as absolutely necessary. Deload weeks are necessary but probably not for you. Let me explain why:

A professional athlete lets nothing get in between them and their training. A professional athlete literally lives to train and compete. Do you live to train? Or is it possible that you train in order to stay alive? Here is the big difference. Be honest with yourself. Have you done every single one of your workouts for the past 12 weeks to 100% as planned or did things like your mothers birthday, your child school’s snow day or possibly the release of the 11th Star Wars movie make you miss a couple sessions? Did you possibly have a naturally created deload week every now and then? If your answer is no, then you absolutely need a deload week every 12 weeks but to be completely honest with you: I am a professional performer and there isn’t much I love more than consistent training but I have not 1 single time in my entire life gotten the chance to actually schedule a deload week. 

Make adjustments when needed 

Chances are high you have not worked through this line of progressions before and you have not accompanied another athlete when learning any of these drills which means there will be plenty of surprises. You can not know what is the true midpoint between two progressions and you can not know where you will get stuck and where you might be able to use less progressions. That is fine. That is what keeps training and the journey exciting. Don’t want to experiment?! Get a coach like myself who has walked this road with countless athletes and knows all the little roadblocks that will be along your way.

Otherwise experiment and be open to make adjustments on the fly. As mentioned above this list is a living and breathing piece of work. Your mid way goals should constantly be updated. The further you are into this journey the more you will get to know your body and the better you will understand what you truly need to succeed. 

You might have realized by now that my approach to learning skills is slow and long. I’ve done this my entire life. I’ve learned pretty much all skills there are in plenty of different disciplines from handstands, over artistic gymnastics to power tumbling. I’ve trained and coached it all. Trust me when I tell you. Not the early but the slow and consistent bird catches the worm. Taking baby steps and slowly working towards your goals comes with a wide variety of advantages.

Avoid plateaus

The smaller the step to the next progression the less likely it is to get stuck. If the difference in difficulty is too big you won’t be able to make the jump to the next step. Keeping steps small and goals close to each other might let you achieve a goal every single week.

Constant wins reduce burn outs

If you get stuck and don’t reach your next progression you will get frustrated and stop all together. Less progressions might take you to your final destination faster but if you give up due to plateaus you won’t make it there at all. It’s the cycle of doom that every athlete needs to try to avoid at all times: No gains means bad mood during training. Bad mood during training means: no gains. 

Break out of this by using small progressions and wind every single day!

Decrease risk of injuries

By taking small steps and maybe even working each progression for a bit longer than needed you can be sure only to do things you are actually ready for. Over time you will develop specific coordination and understanding for the movements. You will not only develop the main muscles needed for the movement but especially all the small surrounding muscles. While they say pain is gain, injuries are definitely not a part of training. If you get injured you did not train smart enough. 

Progressive overload and constant muscle building

Creating a plan like this forces you to put quite a bit of thought into your workouts. After spending this much time planning and scheduling chances are high you will actually stick to your workouts. This means you can be pretty sure to systematically overload your body for consistent muscle gain.

There is nothing better than being sure to succeed. Once you’ve created your plan and fixed small miscalculations all you will have to do is sit back and watch you grow towards your goals.