When Jacked Gymnastics Dropped Into CrossFit Colchester

On Sunday 7th January, CrossFit Colchester had the pleasure of Jacked Gymnastics’ company at the box, when Matt James, Owner and Head Coach, delivered a Gymnastics Seminar to a handful of The Athlete Program athletes.

09:00 – 10:30 Ring Work

The day began with a quick introduction (and a delicious cup of coffee from CFC’s Fresh Cafe) and then it was into the gym to warm up for the first session: Ring work.

Ring muscle ups are one of those tricky gymnastic moves that stump many a CrossFitter. There are few things more impressive than watching someone jump up, grab the rings, and bang out a few of these babies!

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Matt explained how our athletes could fine-tune and perfect their RMU technique, demonstrating how to make the move more efficient, and talked about how to increase volume by improving lactate clearance rate. Our athletes felt the burn coupling ME ring muscle ups with steady STOH with a PVC pipe to help flush the lactic acid from the working muscles.

11:00 – 12:30 Handstands and HSPU

After a short break, Matt turned the seminar on its head (#sorrynotsorry) and took our athletes through some handstand drills. As well as building confidence for those less proficient at being upside down at all, Matt helped the more advanced athletes with their kick up, tumble, and walking techniques. From having straight legs, a bend at the knees, or kicking as the hands “step”, the athletes raced one another, testing which method worked best for them – more shoulder burn, and a great core workout from laughing with one another!


When it came to the handstand push ups, Matt provided more lactate flushing drills between ME strict handstand push ups – cue more laughter!

13:30 – 15:00 Bar Work

After lunch, and a gruelling morning, Matt dropped the volume for the work on the bar. Up first: kipping bar muscle ups.

Another impressive gymnastic move, that many CrossFitters struggle with, Matt broke down the bar muscle up and helped our athletes tweak their techniques for better, more efficient reps. With the group being of mixed ability in this department, Matt split athletes into two, letting the more proficient share one area of the rig to work on stringing together multiple reps, offering more of a boost (both physically and mentally!) in a separate area to those who needed it. As well as being very, very knowledgeable, Matt is also very, very patient!


Toes To Bar took up the second half of the third session, and again, a straight-leg-vs-bent-leg debate was first on the agenda. Under the guidance of Matt, the athletes tried both versions, using a lift and kick for a strong kip, or a straight leg for anyone with hamstrings that could cope.

15:15 – 16:45 Foundational Development & Mobility

The final session in the Jacked Gymnastics seminar focused on our athletes’ mobility. A lot of emphasis is put on the importance of mobility in CrossFit, and it’s an area that almost all of us would do well to make more time for. It benefits recovery, it benefits performance, and with so many variants, it’s fun too.

Matt wrote up a full body complex for the group to take on, explaining the reasoning behind static, ballistic, dynamic, active, passive, isometric, and assisted stretching.

While the group had a go at everything Matt threw their way, in practice, the athletes will be using the movements to target certain areas of the body for longer stretching session, or for more repetitions, rather than going for the full body every time.

Perfect preparation for The European Championships

With The European Championships just round the corner, the Jacked Gymnastics seminar could not have come at a better time for the athletes competing. Matt’s knowledge and patience through the whole day, as well as the drills he passed on, gave everyone who attended something to take away, and something to work on.

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The Athlete Program

Launched in February 2017, The Athlete Program is taking the world of CrossFit training programs by storm.  

Scott Panchik - The Athletr Program - CrossFit Colchester

Designed by CrossFit Games Athlete, Scott Panchik, the program is designed to improve all aspects of fitness disciplines including strength, weightlifting, gymnastics, skill, and endurance work.

Despite its relatively short shelf life, so far there are already over 150 CrossFitters signed up with more joining each day.  These are people who want to progress and excel at high-level competitions such as The CrossFit Open or The European Championships and want a CrossFit Training Program that will get them there.  

A Flexible CrossFit Training Program

The Athlete Program offers single and double session options for different abilities, as well as scaling options. This flexibility means that it works for all levels, and with the addition of The Athlete Program – Affiliate, box owners and coaches can use it in classes too.

More than just CrossFit training, The Athlete Program is also a community of people wanting to develop and progress as athletes. There is a private Facebook group for members to share tips and advice, and to compare results, and to indulge in a little friendly competition – the group offers support in both training and in competition – and most of all, it’s FUN!

Key Benefits of The Athlete Program’s Membership

On top of receiving the actual program itself, which is designed by 6x CrossFit Games athlete Scott Panchik, there are a number of Key Program Benefits that come with membership:


1: Video analysis on your sessions and lifts
2: Performance tracking software on your sessions
3: Being part of a community of athletes
4: Weekly training tips and advice
5: See progression videos and demo links in the program

Getting Results

To date, members of The Athlete Program can boast some fantastic results:

Madz Harris took 5th place in the 63kg category of the British Weightlifting Championships.

Llara Munn & Chris Quinney made 1st place in the Cheltenham Throwdown after delivering a consistent performance throughout, picking up 3x 1st place finishes out of the 4 workouts!

Raúl Cubero qualified in 16th place at this year’s French Throwdown in the 35+ category

Emelye Dwyer & Charlie Wells took 1st place at this year’s ‘Double Impact’ event.