Muscle-Up Progression: 6 Steps to Master the Move

Unless you are already more trained TurnerBar muscle ups are among the most demanding Bodyweight movements You can try it. In addition to the requirements for significant core and Upper body strengthMuscle-ups require excellent results mobility, Body awarenessCoordination and timing.

If you’re determined to add muscle building to your training repertoire, know that there’s a right way and a wrong way to develop this skill.

• The wrong way: Repeatedly swinging and slamming your body against the bar until you become tired, frustrated, and possibly injured.
• The right way: A muscle building progression.

A muscle building progression is a series of increasingly difficult movements that gradually develop your muscle building technique while building your strength. Each level of progression includes benchmarks that indicate your readiness to move on to the next exercise within the progression.

The final stage is of course muscle building, done safely, with confidence and impeccable form.

6-stage muscle-up progression on the bar

Dr. AS John Gallucci, Jr., MS, ATC, PT, DPT, CEO of I do physical therapyexplains that building muscle is actually a series of smaller movements strung together:

1. Kip swing
2. Knee raises
3. Leg raises
4. From chest to bar pull up
5. Triceps dip

To perform muscle building, you must be able to perform each of these movements repeatedly. This is where muscle building progression comes into play.

Developed with support from Gallucci and Jeff Waters, registered US boxing trainer and owner of Watter’s performancethe following muscle building progression begins at a beginner level. Depending on your gymnastics experience and current strength level, you may be able to continue.

Step 1: Hanging Knee/Leg Raises

• Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Hang at arm’s length with your arms extended (a position called a dead hang) and your legs straight and together.
• Bend your knees 90 degrees and raise them to hip height. Hold for one second and then return to the starting position.
• Once you’re able to do three sets of 10 reps, perform the same movement while keeping your legs straight so your body forms an L shape. Once you are able to perform three sets of 10 reps with your legs straight, move on to the next step.

Tip: “Make sure you don’t swing and use the momentum to lift your legs up, and that all the work comes from the hip flexors and core muscles,” says Gallucci.

Step 2: Assisted Chest-to-Bar Pull-up

• Loop one end of a large resistance band around the pull-up bar. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder width and place one foot on the other end of the resistance band.
• Hang at arm’s length with your legs extended core And Gluteal muscles stressed.
• Tighten your lats and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull your chest toward the bar without swinging or tilting (using the momentum to propel yourself upward).
• Pause and then lower yourself back into a dead slope.

Tip: “Start with a thicker band,” says Watters. “If you can do 10 full Pull-upsuse a thinner band. Over time, work your way down until you can do 10 strict pull-ups with the thinnest band. Then carry on.”

Step 3: Strict chest-to-bar pull-up

• Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip that extends slightly beyond shoulder width.
• Hang at arm’s length with your arms extended and your ankles crossed behind you.
• Engage your core, glutes, and lats without swinging or tilting as you squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your chest toward the bar.
• Pause and then lower yourself back into a dead slope.
• Once you can do three sets of 10 reps, move on. But continue to practice chest-to-bar pull-ups as you work on new skills.

Tip: “In this phase it is important to also take part in thepress“Function that you use when building muscle,” says Watters.

He proposes incorporation Push-ups Incorporate lever pushups into your workout routine, where you lower yourself all the way to the floor and temporarily raise your arms before leaning into the plank to eliminate any momentum from the movement.

“Start from the floor position to halfway up and then lower yourself back to the floor. This is the most difficult part of the push, so we place special emphasis on it,” he says.

Step 4: Triceps dip

• Grab the handles of a diving station and jump or climb to the starting position: feet off the ground, arms extended and ankles crossed. (To make movement easier, you can place a large resistance band over the handles and place your knees on top.)
• Keeping your forearms vertical and elbows bent (not locked), allow your torso to bend forward as you lower your body until your elbows form an angle of about 90 degrees.
• Reverse the movement and return to the starting position. Once you can do three sets of 10 reps, move on.

Step 5: Tilt swing

• Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Hang at arm’s length, arms straight and legs straight and together.
• Assume a hollow body position: Engage your core and lats to flex (round) your spine and tilt your pelvis back (tuck your tailbone).
• Use your shoulders to push your chest forward and arch your spine, allowing your legs to swing behind you.
• Use your shoulders, lats, and core to return to a hollow-body position and begin pulling up the same way you do chest-to-bar pull-ups.
• Once you’re able to complete three sets of 10 reps of kip swings where your chest reaches the height of the bar, you can move on to a full muscle build.

Tip: Make sure you use your shoulders and not your hips to create the momentum.

Step 6: Building muscle

• Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Hang with your arms extended and your core and buttocks tight.
• Start a kip swing: Starting from a hollow body position, use your shoulders to push your chest forward and arch your spine. Then use your shoulders, lats, and core to return to a hollow body position. (Once behind the bar, lean back and pull the bar down to get as high as possible.)
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your hips toward the bar. Once your stomach makes contact with the bar, rotate your wrists forward, bend forward, and extend your elbows so your torso is over the bar.
• Hold it and then lower it to a dead hang position.