Sam Perkins Academy

Sam Perkins Academy Helping the aspiring functional fitness athlete to level up in the sport

01/05/2026

If you can do these 3 things then you can link toes to bar together under fatigue

In order to link together toes to bar you only need the following 2 things
1. Strength
2. To understand the timing of the kip
3. Know how to execute the ‘jump to hollow’ correctly

Thats it

And if you can’t link them together the you’re missing one or 2 of those ingredients

So if you’re struggling then give this post a save ready to test next time you’re in the gym.

And make sure you’re following for daily help with getting your gymnastics from intermediate to RX

28/04/2026

How to get over a mental block on muscle ups

Or any skill / lift for that matter

Mental blocks are something that everyone faces at some point and at times can feel feel like you’re banging your head against a wall

And unfortunately most people’s approaches of just white knuckling their way through them often makes them worse, and harder to undo further down the line

Old habits die hard

Here’s how I do it with clients

1- break down the movement, making sense of the issue during the whole movement is a big ask.

By breaking it down we simplify it allowing the athlete to change their technique more easily which allows them to feel the effects of the improvements which helps mentally build their confidence

For stu he felt like he was struggling with feeling like he had enough power to transition over the rings so we taught him how to execute a proper start to the RMU

We demo’d, cued and corrected on repeat until we had what we were looking for

Longer pendulum and more patience before going into arch giving him much more power

And as a result he hit 10 singles in an EMOM after being stuck unable to do any for the last weeks

If you have a skill that you’re struggling to learn and want help them DM me the words ‘COACHING’ for in person & o line options

Annual ‘get really scared and try keep going’ trip ✅What started as a one off boys trip to hang out with a local mate ha...
26/04/2026

Annual ‘get really scared and try keep going’ trip ✅

What started as a one off boys trip to hang out with a local mate has turned into a yearly occurrence that we’ll hopefully keep going for as long as we can keep tolerating each others awful chat (and post mountain snack farts)

Each year this trip has reminded me of how important it is to get scared, experience what real fear is and then having to figure out how to keep going

Serves as a gentle reminder and life reset as to what’s actually scary and important in life vs what we just think or make up is scary or important

Hoping next year isn’t quite as eventful as this one, 12 hours of climbing up (and down) a mountain is pretty brutal but if I was going to do it with anyone it would be these two

One for the books

The tasks of this week now seem a walk in a park after wedging myself up a chasm 800m up a mountain and barely wide enough for a body

23/04/2026

If you’re struggling to link toes to bar together then try these 3 changes to your technique

Most people struggle with either one or numerous of the following..
- not having enough strength
- incorrect timing
- incorrect set up
- misunderstanding how to generate power

Your strength work will generally come from accessory work and exposure to the skill with some of my favourites being
- seated pike leg lifts
- v-ups
- Banded ice cream makers
- GHD sit ups

And with these 3 fixes you’ll be able to load yourself like being shot out of a cannon, understand the correct tempo of the movement & know how to actually keep tension in the kip so that you can finally link toes to bar together

And if you’re struggling with learning how to go from scald to RX then make sure you’re following for more help with your gymnastics training

3/30/300 challenge - what a full of week of training looks like to try and run a 75 minute marathon PB and hit a 17kg CJ...
22/04/2026

3/30/300 challenge - what a full of week of training looks like to try and run a 75 minute marathon PB and hit a 17kg CJ PB on the same weekend that I turn 30

We’re currently 27 weeks to go until race day and should find out this week if I’ve got a place for the 2026 race to represent project purple raising money for pancreatic cancer

Currently aiming for 2-3 classes when they compliment the strength work I’ve got & work schedule

3 lower body strength sessions to help build legs strong enough to squat 137kg and keep going through 42kms @ 4:15km pace

2 upper body strength sessions to help support 300lbs overhead

1 track session to keep building the speed necessary to make 6:51 min mile pace feel relatively comfortable

1 longer easier run to build joint tolerance

And enough food to continue steadily putting on a little bit of weight each week. Started , currently 88, will stop around 90-91kg

Follow and I’ll see you next week for another status report.

21/04/2026

Get a BMU in 2026 by using this post

Chances are if you have the prerequisites for the muscle up

(8+ strict pull ups, 15+ kipping + 15 TTB unbroken)

Then the only reason you can’t do them is due to a technical fault either through not enough exposure to the skill, or just needing to adjust what you’re currently doing.

And if that’s you then hit save on this post

Not enough power? Start half a step behind

Chicken wing? Patience is key

Can’t link them? Stay in hollow & skin your nose

Can’t pop your hips? ‘Knees up, squeeze up’

Stuck in intermediate and want to progress into RX? Hit the follow button

20/04/2026

If you find yourself consistently missing heavy snatches out in front of you then try this cue

Think about getting up with it

A lot of people (myself included) when they first get into lifting think that as soon as they make contact with the bar they should immediately drop under it

Otherwise known as a ‘pull and pray’ lift

Instead of

Contact —> Drop under

try this

Contact —> pull elbows into ears - punch

This small difference is one that’s hard to see in a lift but makes a massive difference to your timing of the catch and efficiency at top end percentages.

And never finish a session on a miss

If you want help going from scaled to RX then make sure you’re following for daily help in your gymnastics and weightlifting

17/04/2026

If you want to get your fix your chicken wing in 2026 then avoid making these 3 mistakes

1. Starting directly under neath the bar

Half a step / a full step behind and jumping into hollow is the easiest and quickest fixes to get more power from the start

2. Understand its different to a pull up or chest to bar

The kip of a BMU is more similar to that of a TTB - the ability to be patient and create space behind the bar is key

Back and around. Not up and over

3. Make sure you’re following for help with taking you from scaled to RX

16/04/2026

It’s been 17 weeks since we last spoke about the 3/30/300

Week 22 done - aka the first week of phase 3

Nutrition wise over the next 12 weeks the goal is to gain 0.25kg a week, taking me up from low 86s up to mid to high 88s - 4K cals, 10g creatine, 600g carbs.

Training wise we’re hitting 3 lifting sessions, 2 upper body, 2 runs - 1 track & 1 tempo and finally 3 CrossFit sessions at the Mecca

Goals for this block are to CJ 125kg, run a 4:44 mile & a sub 18 minute 5k

Stay tuned for weekly updates

15/04/2026

If you always go out too hot and end up doing singles in workouts then watch this video

Knowing how to approach a workout based on your own strengths & weaknesses is a skill that so many people get wrong

They either start out way too hot (or big), end up resting too long between sets and more often then not their last round looks totally different pacing wise to their first

That’s not to say that the first and last round need to look the same

But it shouldn’t be night and day difference

And it doesn’t have to be

If you follow these steps

1. Know your numbers

Top end capacity when fresh is a really good place to start with then predicting how many you might be able to hold in a workout

Generally I go off a 30-60% rule

So if your max set is 10

You could look to sustain 3-6 reps per round or breaking down a bigger set into those numbers

Round 1 might be 60%, round 5 might be 30% but shorter rest

There’s no right or wrong answers and it is all dependent on the workout

But it’s a starting point, one which I know many will benefit from

2. Go negative sets

If it’s a set of 12, don’t go 6/6, go 7/5

Asking yourself to do the same volume whilst under more fatigue is a tall ask. Start slightly bigger, then mentally that second set becomes easier

3. Make sure you’re following for more daily help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

14/04/2026

If I woke up tomorrow and realised I’d lost the ability to do a muscle up then here’s exactly what I’d do

1. Make sure I had the prerequisite strict strength

5 strict pull ups minimum, ideally 8+

2 sessions per week of 20-30 mins added onto class focusing on training a few exercises within 0-2 reps from failure.

Banded pull ups, eccentric ones, plenty of single arm db rows, isometric chin over bar holds, hammer curls, banded Ice cream makers are some of my favourites

2. Start learning the basics, and do it well

Tight is light

Long is strong

Relax into a passive hang to start the kip, find the balance between being relaxed but tight.

3. Get your first kipping pull ups & toes to bar

4. Use EMOMS until you had 15+ of both unbroken when fresh

5. Get a bit of help, you don’t have to pay for it.

There’s lots of good creators out there that put out insightful, useful and unique content on the topic. & are some of my personal favourites

6. Focus heavily on the details and practice frequent and often. Not for long spells every few weeks. Details will pay off in the long run. Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

7. Build confidence then throw caution to the wind

Do your thinking in your drills, once you’re ready for the real thing, no thinking, just go

And bonus one

make sure you’re following for daily help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

13/04/2026

How to get your first strict ring muscle up in 60 seconds

As demo’d during a visit from one of my online clients Stu who travelled down for the day to get some extra coaching alongside his online program

If you’re struggling with a gymnastics skill that’s holding you back from RXing more workouts then I have both online and in person options available in the Cardiff area.

Just DM me the words ‘COACHING’ and we can see what might be best for you

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Bristol
Cardiff

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