The Definitive Muscle-Up Tutorial

[Christopher Morris]

I wanted to combine in one place useful instructions for developing muscle-up skills. To make this truly "definitive" and helpful to all, please add your tips and other video links.

Be patient and practice, practice, practice. It takes time to develop strength in these movements.

1) Develop the skills of chest-to-bar pull-ups (or even hips-to-bar pull-ups)
video (mostly WFS)
and ring dips. "Armpits to pockets."
Chris Spealler (wfs)
variation / assistance (wfs, but noisy music)

2) Develop false grip (wrist (wfs) and shoulder flexibility required). Knuckles in and elbows in.
video (wfs)
original CF gym (wfs, noisy music again)

3) Practice turn-over shoulder strength. "Put on a tight t-shirt."
video (wfs)
6 months of development to strict muscle-up (wfs)
For me, shoulder turn-over was the key to getting the muscle-up, and the part that took the longest to develop.

4) Transfer skill of hip drive to shoulder shoot-through.
Band assistance? (wfs)
on rings (wfs)
on a bar (wfs, a little chatty, but good info)

Connecting these skills together should now get you the skill of muscle-up.

5) Kipping?
video (wfs)
kipping ring dip (wfs)

6) Efficiency tips
Chris Spealler and Matt Chan (wfs)

What are your favorite muscle-up videos and tips?

[Craig Horstman]

i'm about to hang some rings in my garage and give this a shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKHjMmJbLY (wfs)

[Beau Davis]

Those are great vids. I think I need to really work on my progressions. I got my first MU last Thursday and did about 10 or 11 between then and Sunday and haven't been able to do one since. I guess my technique needs work.

[Andrew Wiemken]

Nice compilation, for sure.

Kipped muscle-ups especially are all about technique. If you're kipping both the pull and the dip, it's not a strength move anymore, it's about timing and form. Therefore most reasonably fit men and women are plenty strong enough to pull off a KMU. (I don't think a KMU is a legitimate progression to a real MU btw)

Matter of fact, they're all about technique. The Bar has a different technique than the Rings. I would argue the bar is harder. And this is concerning strict ones, not kipped. A lot of people have more than enough strength, but just don't know how to 'row' the bar/rings to the chest and turn the shoulders over efficiently. All about technique.

Here's me, arguing that a BMU is harder and that KMU's are BS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moFohVmCLn0

[Andrew Wiemken]

Originally Posted by Beau Davis

Those are great vids. I think I need to really work on my progressions. I got my first MU last Thursday and did about 10 or 11 between then and Sunday and haven't been able to do one since. I guess my technique needs work.

Muscle ups are *very* sensitive to freshness. The same thing happened to me when I first got mine. I got all hype that I had pulled it off, and wanted to grease the hell out of that groove. So I burned myself out and then was disappointed when the move was 'gone'.

I find that if I take a few days off of any vertical pulling, deliberately or not, I'm surprisingly strong getting over the bar.

Heavy, explosive rows, for low low low volume are very helpful for the MU. It's all about scapular control during the turnover. But yeah dude, keep working at it, you got it. Just don't burn yourself out, you have to be fresh when you're first locking it down!

[Christopher Morris]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wiemken

Muscle ups are *very* sensitive to freshness.

Ha! I can't help thinking of doing Karen + 90 DUs before hitting some muscle-ups.

Originally Posted by Andrew Wiemken

Heavy, explosive rows, for low low low volume are very helpful for the MU. It's all about scapular control during the turnover.

Great tip! Thanks. I'm thinking barbell or dumbbell rows - heavy, low reps.

[Christopher Morris]

Shawn Wilson posted this link on another thread. It's a great side-by-side video of muscle-ups with pointers on efficient form and technique. I thought it was worth adding to this tutorial thread. Thanks, Shawn!

It gets at the differences between pushing through sloppy form because you're strong enough to do it vs. efficient form and technique that requires less brute strength.

http://theoutlawway.com/2014/01/08/140109/ (not wfs, language)

[Christopher Morris]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wiemken

Heavy, explosive rows, for low low low volume are very helpful for the MU.

I recently learned about doing rows like this (wfs), lying chest down on an elevated bench, lifting the barbell from the ground to bottom of the bench. Developing the lats and traps will help with the portion of the muscle up where you pull the rings to the ribs or waist (especially the way the guy in this video does them - pulling the barbell to his bellybutton, and returning it to chest level).

Also, I really liked this video (wfs) that Blair linked in another thread, and I wanted to add it here. It's a progression video on STRICT muscle ups, and breaks it down into component exercises and negatives. Really a great tutorial.

He says he simplifies the instructions by demonstrating everything at bodyweight, but these individual exercises could all be further developed with a weight vest or other weight variants.

...and his garage wall looks a lot like mine.

[Christopher Morris]

Here is a muscle up progression from The Outlaw Way (wfs). It's a little wordy, but I like it. The progression is simplified into three simple drills:
- kip on rings with appropriate tension,
- hanging-V hip extension, and
- band-assisted strict muscle up.

[Darryl Shaw]

My favourite bar muscle-up tutorial - Muscle Up With Mango. (wfs)

And the sequel - Muscle Up 2? (mostly wfs - some swearing)