Muscle Up: Tips & Tricks
Muscle ups: the Ferrari of pull ups. This unique exercise is not easily learned and takes time to perfect. There is no secret to making them any easier, however, I have found a few things over time that have helped me.
1. Grip
False grip is the name given to the type of grip where the wrist is positioned above the line of the bar instead of below.
If you are hanging from the bar without false grip and do a pull up, the angle of your wrist will not allow you to continue in any direction but down. We don't want to go down. We want to turn ourselves into HUMAN ELEVATORS.
To demonstrate how false grip should look and feel, I want you to stick your arms out in front of you with fingers pointing straight out. While your arms are still in full zombie mode, flex your wrists downward so that your fingertips are pointing at the ground. Hold that position and raise your arms up like this is your first time on the Tower of Terror. Grab your bar with fingers on one side and thumb on the other. Nailed it.
2. Pull Up Strength
Muscle ups are hard. If someone tells you they're easy, walk away. Don't punch them in the face. Building strength is the foundation of all skills learned in calisthenics. The pull up is the first motion performed in a muscle up and is necessary to complete the skill. If your pull ups are looking a little more like a hernia waiting to happen, it's time to work solely on them before tackling the muscle up.
Two of my favorite exercises to build pull up strength are reverse pull ups and assisted pull ups.
Reverse pull ups start at a chin hang on the bar. Slowly lower yourself down over a count of seven to ten seconds. Do three sets of five. This number should increase over time.
The assisted pull up requires a partner so go grab one. Make them be your friend. Hang from a bar that is chest high. Have your partner hold your legs out straight in front of you while you do three sets of ten pull ups. The assisted leg hold will take weight off of you while still allowing you to perform the entire motion.
3. Dip Strength
The dip is the second action performed during a muscle up. While pull ups work mainly your biceps, the dip works your chest and triceps. Most of you are familiar with doing dips on the floor or even on parallel bars but the straight bar dip will feel somewhat different.
To build dip strength I like to do support dips, reverse dips, and push ups.
Support dips begin in a support with arms locked and legs hanging straight down. Hips should be at the level of the bar. Bend your arms and lower down to your rib cage and push back up. For added bonus, keep pushing down on the bar until the level of the bar is approximately four to six inches above the knee. Do three sets of ten and FEEL THE BURN.
Reverse dips are similar to the reverse pull up. Start in a support with arms locked and legs hanging straight down. Slowly lower down until your chin is at the level of the bar. Be aware of the placement of your wrists. If your wrists slip below the bar, try again keeping the wrists above. Do three sets of five. If both the reverse pull up and the reverse dip are easy, combine the two you little fitness freak.
Push ups. They suck. Do them until you can no longer push up or your arms break in half. Whichever comes first.
4. Chicken Wing
Chicken wings, not the food, are a good boost to get up to the bar when first learning a muscle up. This may be dangerous if the steps listed above have not been taken. Be aware that this is to be a controlled motion without kipping. The action is performed as you complete your pull up. At chin level with wrists positioned above the bar, shift one elbow up to the ceiling. It should look similar to an actual chicken wing. Once the elbow is pointing at the ceiling you should feel the ability to use that arm to push down on the bar. Once the bar is at chest level, shift the other arm above the bar and push to a support.
When first learning a muscle up it is okay to be sloppy and mess up. If your first muscle up involves a chicken wing or two, GREAT JOB. That is exactly what mine looked like. As you progress it is important to focus on form so that habits are not created and injuries are avoided.
5. Leverage
In the video above, you can see my legs are lifted straight out in front of me in a pike position. This is extremely helpful when learning a muscle up. Your legs will act as leverage making it easier to bring your chest above the bar. As you progress, legs should be lifted less and less until you are able to hang straight down.
I hope these tips and tricks will help you on your journey to muscle up success!
