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In today’s not so epic blog post. I wanted to share a story about my Muscle Up progression. And what you can learn from my not so successful transition from pull-up lord to muscle up god.
Now, up until a few years ago, I’d never give the muscle-up much thought.
I’ve always been pretty good at pullups and dips. But the Muscle Up wasn’t even something I’d ever attempted.
This was mainly because the ceiling where I workout in my house is way too low. And propelling myself above my little $50 pullup station with maximum force would likely give me a concussion.
But given a chance, I never thought the Muscle Up wouldn’t give me too much trouble.
Anyway…
In mid-July 2019. I was outside in the not so British sunshine soaking up some heat by the local lake.
And as I was walking around the lake with my two kids, we eventually came across a little calisthenics park.
Now being curious about my ability to do a muscle-up, I seized the opportunity to attempt one while my kids played on the swings nearby.
So I grabbed the bar, exploded up with maximum effort…
…FAIL.
To be honest, I barely got by chest above with the bar. And what’s worse, when I attempted some straight bar dips a few minutes later. I only managed two quality reps.
And this is coming from a guy who (at the time) could hammer out 25-30 parallel bar dips with pretty decent form.
That’s when I realized how weak I was.
Fast forward to today, and things have changed a little.
And while not king of the castle when it comes to performing strict muscle-ups with perfect form.
I finally discovered why I couldn’t do a muscle-up in the park that day.
And it wasn’t because I wasn’t strong enough…
…Far from it.
It was merely the fact that my form, body positioning, and more importantly, my timing wasn’t anywhere near where it should have been that day.
And it threw everything off.
Table of Contents
Muscle Up Progression – The Requirements
Now before you attempt a muscle up, there are a few requirements that you need to have dialed in before you give it a go.
Pullup Requirements
Firstly, you should be able to do at least 12 strict pullups (preferably wide grip) with good form. Half reps won’t cut it here either. It has to be a full pull-up from a dead-hang position.
Anything less, and you probably won’t have the strength to get your chest over the bar.
See my post about pullup progressions if you need help with this.
Straight Bar Dips Requirements
Second, you should be able to do 10 straight bar dips.
Now if you’re already pretty good at parallel bar dips then you’re already halfway there.
Straight bar dips (although slightly more awkward) don’t really need much more strength to pull off.
It just takes a little time to get your form in check. Because you’re now dipping from behind the bar as opposed to over the bar as you would with parallel bar dips.
This requires you to shift your center of gravity to accommodate.
But give it a week or two of practice, and you shouldn’t have too much trouble hammering out 10 quality reps.
L-Sit Requirements
Next up, you should be able to hold an l-sit for at least 30 seconds.
Preferably you should be able to hold an l-sit from a lower position such as parallettes. This is because the lower you are, the harder your core has to work to keep your feet elevated from the floor.
This doesn’t happen from a higher position like parallel bars.
Why?
Because generally, you’ll tend to let your feet drop a little which eases the stress on your core muscles.
If you find it too hard, start from a tucked l-sit position until you feel comfortable.
Or better still, take a look at the Bar Brothers 12-Week Transformation Program.
It’ll give you every single detailed progression you need to perform a strict l-sit, muscle-up, and plenty of other awesome calisthenics moves.
Check out their video below…
WATCH VIDEO: How To QUICKLY Master The Planche, Muscle-Up, Human Flag, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
(Video Will Open In A New Window)
Hollow Body Requirements
And last but not least you should be able to hold a hollow body position for at least 30 seconds.
The reason this is important is that it helps keep your legs straight and your core engaged rather than bending at the knees as you pull yourself up.
This helps counterbalance the weight in your midsection which helps pull your body around the bar instead of up to it.
Muscle Up Progression & Technique
Now, before I show you the muscle-up progression, I feel it’s important to give you a basic outline of the technique involved.
Some will have more of an effect on your technique than others. But if you get them ALL right. Then it’s going to be a lot easier to transition yourself up to and over the bar.
False Grip
This is only a small change but the difference it will make to your muscle up progression will be almost immediate.
Now, normally when you grab the bar to do a pullup you don’t really tend to think about your grip too much (at least I didn’t anyway).
I used to just grab the bar with an overhand grip and start doing pullups until I could no longer get my head above the bar.
But with the muscle-up, it becomes a whole different ball game.
So what you want to do instead is adopt what gymnasts call a false grip.
All this means is that you’re holding the bar so that your wrists are as far over the bar as possible.
Why is this important?
Because it’s physically impossible to hold yourself above the bar while your wrists are still underneath it.
And in the unlikely event that you’re able to change your grip midway through the pulling part of the muscle-up. It’s still going to be a lot harder than starting from a false grip position.
Performing The Perfect Muscle Up
Now, there’s a lot of debate about this. And it mainly comes down to the execution of the muscle-up.
Some people (not all) will preach that the only way to perform a muscle-up is by using strict form.
This means no swinging, no kicking your legs, and definitely no kipping.
To be honest, I do agree that you should practice calisthenics with as near perfect form as possible.
But when it comes to muscle up progression. It’s almost impossible to go from zero muscle ups to your first successful muscle up without a little swing action to propel yourself above the bar.
At least in the beginning anyway.
And as for kipping. Personally, I hate it.
To me, it’s the equivalent of a wet fish flapping around on a pullup bar while gasping for breath.
So here’s what I recommend.
Using a false grip, swing your body gently while maintaining a hollow body position. This position needs to be maintained you transition your chest above the bar.
Don’t go crazy here either. And don’t swing any more than 12 inches forward.
Any more it’ll become uncontrollable and possibly dangerous.
When you’ve got a good rhythm going, next you need to pull yourself up at the exact moment you start to descend from the forward swing. Making sure you use a strong smooth transition until your shoulders are above your hands and your chest is above the bar.
Remember it’s all about timing. If you’re slightly off then it makes it a lot harder to execute.
Now there are a few people that actually have the strength to perform a muscle-up, but they still struggle to get above the bar.
The number one reason for this is shoulder mobility. So if you’re having issues in this department then hit the link below…
Shoulder Routine To Improve Strength & Mobility
Once you’re above the bar, then it’s simply a case of performing a straight bar dip. But you’ve practiced these so it shouldn’t be too complicated.
Quick tip…
As you pull yourself up, try not to bend your knees because it breaks down your form.
It might get you over the bar. But you won’t be engaging the right muscles and it won’t look pretty.
Muscle Up Progressions
Now, I’ve already covered the requirements earlier in this post but just in case you forget, here’s a quick reminder.
Before attempting a muscle up you should be able to do…
…12 strict wide grip pullups from a dead-hang position.
…10 straight bar dips
…30-second L-sit on the floor or using parallettes
…30-second hollow body hold.
So if you can do all the above…
…your technique is on point.
But you’re still not getting above the bar.
Try these additional muscles up progressions…
WATCH VIDEO: How To QUICKLY Master The Planche, Muscle-Up, Human Flag, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
(Video Will Open In A New Window)
Band Assisted Muscle Up
This one’s pretty straight forward. Get a resistance band and tie it around the center off the pullup bar.
Place both your feet on the band, grab the bar and perform a single muscle-up.
The reason this works so well is that the tension in the resistance band at the start of the muscle-up is quite strong. This helps massively with the initial pull towards the bar.
Another advantage is that it’s harder to swing into the muscle-up. This lets you bypass the original swinging technique by forcing you to use a stricter (non-swinging) movement when you pull yourself up.
Jumping Muscle Up
Another thing you can try is a jumping muscle-up.
Again this is going to give you a little extra boost during the initial pulling movement to get your chest over the bar.
The trick with this one is timing. I found when practicing this that it was better to pull up a split second after performing the jump.
But that’s just me.
You might find it easier to execute the jump and pull simultaneously. So have a play around and see what works for you.
Rope Climbs
If you have access to one. Rope climbs are awesome for increasing your pulling and grip strength. Just make sure to climb the rope using just your arms.
If you use your legs then it won’t have any extra benefit or carryover into your muscle up progression.
So leave your legs out of the equation or better still, climb with one leg either side of the rope in a kind of straddled L-sit position.
And keep the movement as slow and controlled as possible.
Baby Muscle Up
Another muscle up progression is the baby muscle-up.
Basically, you start performing the exercise with the bar further down towards your body.
To pull this off, you can either find a lower bar that sits around chest height…
…or stand on a plyometric box to move closer to a standard pullup bar.
To perform a baby muscle up, grab the bar but make sure you’re taking as much weight as possible from your feet.
Ideally, you want to get on your tiptoes as this takes away some of the support from your legs when pulling yourself up.
What To Do If You Get Stuck
If you’re still struggling to do a muscle-up. It’ might be an idea to invest in a structured calisthenics program to help move things along.
If this is something you need, I’d recommend getting the Official Bar Brothers 12-Week Transformation Program.
It’ll remove all the stress and frustration of getting your first full muscle-up.
Also, you’ll learn dozens of supporting muscle-up techniques and exercises…
…Other advanced calisthenics moves such as the planche, human flag, and handstand.
…Plus you’ll get access to a private community of likeminded calisthenics enthusiasts. Who each share their own tips and tricks on how to effectively progress with the muscle-up.
Not only that. If you buy the Bar Brother 12-Week Transformation Program using THIS LINK or any other link on this page.
I’ll also throw in my own personal collection of functional training guides worth over $100.
These include…
…HIIT to Fit
…Functional Strength
…And Kettlebell Transformation
Here’s what they look like…
So here’s the deal…
As you can see, each one of these guides sells for between $27 – $47. But they’re yours free when you join Bar Brothers.
All you have to do to get them is send me proof (receipt or screenshot) that you brought the program via the contact form on my website…
…or by emailing me directly at Dan@Un-Ripped.Com
And I’ll send you ALL 3 training guides as a sincere thank you.
Final Thoughts On The Muscle Up
Hopefully, these muscle up progressions should get you a lot closer to achieving your first successful muscle up.
So if you take anything away from this blog post let it be this. Hard work and consistency are the only things that will pay off long term. And it’s no different when it comes to mastering advanced calisthenics progressions like the muscle-up.
Think about it like this…
If it was easy then everybody could do it. But if you’re one of the lucky ones who have the drive and determination to succeed with calisthenics, fitness, or just life in general. Then with practice, you will get to where you want to be.
You’ve just got to give it time.
Any thoughts on this post? Let me know in the comments below?
