If I had a dollar for every time a novice athlete had asked me to “teach them how to do a muscle up” then I’d probably have enough for a gluten free doughnut – maybe 2..
In terms of true gymnastics movements the muscle up isn’t all that complex. In terms of CrossFit movements the muscle up is one of the more advanced gymnastic movements that is likely to be performed by non elite level athletes.
A journey from first walking into the gym to landing that first muscle up varies greatly depending on athletic history, ability and desires. A common trend is athletes wanting to do a muscle up before they have earned the right via building strength and body control.
As a new crossfitter, you may start with banded strict pull ups and ring rows until you develop some upper body strength. From here over a period of months you will probably down in band resistance and may start to develop a kipping pull up or two. Next time muscle ups are programmed in the workout you may look in awe and think to yourself: “geez – that looks badass… I should ask coach to teach me”.
If you were to approach me at this stage of your journey then I would happily give you a list of exercises and drills to work on and practice over the next few months (all depending on your current strength and ability) however more often than not – this is not the response you’d be hoping for.
You may decide that it all sounds too hard and you keep progressing with the usual scaling and progressions, working towards accumulating more pull ups and getting a few muscle up transitions in during class progressions – until one day you decide its time for a muscle up.
From here, what I might see is, a semi false grip, kipping swing follow by several hundred attempts to turn over into a muscle up – usually all unsuccessful. Perhaps you manage to fluke it and catch in the bottom of the dip – maybe the ring flies out to the side but you manage to land on the ground safely, maybe you don’t. My point is that a lot of athletes who want to learn a muscle up simply don’t have the strength to perform the movement safely
This a very pessimistic view however, I have seen this kind of thing happen again and again.
So why do some Crossfitters struggle so much with the muscle up, when in gymnastics a muscle up is simply a means to get to the top of the rings? What should you do if you want to work towards a muscle up the right way?
The answer is found in the CrossFit level 1 guide or any gymnastics class and can be easily overlooked in the hunt for glory. The answer is progression.
Gymnastics is about body position and body control. Core strength, strict pulling strength and strict pushing strength along with a level of body awareness all need to be developed before a muscle up should even be considered.
If an athlete manages to get themselves to the top of the rings with a violent kip, before they have put in the time working strict pull ups and strict ring dips- building the strength around the shoulder then they are putting themselves at high risk of injury. How many times have you seen a ring slip out to the side in a muscle up attempt? The individual putting themselves in a position that would score well in a jiu jistu competition (google kimura jiu jitsu if you have no idea what I am talking about).
Imagine if that was the first time the athletes body had ever been in that position… how well do the think the shoulder would cope in that scenario?
Ok Ash- so what do I need to do so I can safely land a muscle up?
The solution depends on your current strengths and abilities, but as a general rule the progressions and movements that need to be trained should look something like this:
Ring rows > Banded pull ups > Strict pull ups > Strict chest to bar > Strict chest to rings.
(Practice these with false grip too!).
Front support > Push ups > Box/Bar dips > Ring dips and ring support.
Tuck hold > Hollow hold > Hollow rocks.
Assisted muscle up transitions.
Once you are proficient at all the above, now we are ready to work the strict muscle up!
If you have done all your preparation and can perform each of the above – you can bet it will be a fairly quick process to nail your first muscle up.
I believe a strict muscle up is a prerequisiste before kipping is to be attempted. We have already spoken about the injury risk, but there is also a phycological aspect to this. If you have the strength and knowledge to do a strict muscle up – then you should always be able to perform the muscle up – it’s a pull, a turn over and a press. If you don’t possess the strength to perform the movement strict however, and have been able to land a kipping muscle up by a combination of luck and magic then there will be times where the muscle up won’t be there which can cause massive amounts of frustration and progressing from here can be very difficult.
Build your foundations first then we can worry about getting fancy!
If you have any questions about this article or would like to find out more about training for muscle ups then get in touch via Facebook, Instagram (both @Fit_AshF) or email info@fitashf.com .
