Master The Muscle-Up In 3 Steps

I'll never forget the first time I saw a muscle-up. Though it was almost 10 years ago, it's still fresh in my mind. I was already a successful personal trainer at the time, but it never occurred to me to even try pulling my whole torso up and over a pull-up bar until that fateful day.

I was intrigued and impressed by this new move, and due to my experience with pull-ups and dips, I assumed it would be within my capabilities. Turns out I was mistaken! In spite of my ability to pull and push my body weight for many reps, my initial muscle-up attempts ended in failure. I did not let this deter me, however. I was determined to get my muscle-up! A couple of weeks later, I finally experienced the thrill of getting up and over the bar for the first time. The view from the top is good!

Since then, the muscle-up has become one of my favorite exercises. It's a lot of fun, and it works the entire upper body in a way that no other single exercise can, combining a push and pull along with that notoriously difficult transition phase.

Al Kavadlo Top Muscle-up Tips
Watch the video - 1:21

Though my first muscle-up wasn't pretty, I've spent a lot of time improving my technique. I've also had the unique experience of teaching calisthenics to people all over the world since becoming lead instructor for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification in 2013. Since then, I've personally helped hundreds of individuals achieve their first muscle-up, which is a pretty satisfying feeling in its own right.

While there are many different muscle-up strategies, I like to keep things simple. The following three techniques are the most essential to help you achieve your first muscle-up on a straight bar. If you put in the time and effort, the path to the muscle-up kingdom is right there in front of you. Are you up for it?

First things first: you need to be able to do at least 10 strict pull-ups before you are ready to practice toward the muscle-up. Once you've got that covered, the next step is to start making your pull-ups faster and more explosive.

When I teach beginners to do their first pull-up, I'm pretty strict about the amount of control that I expect to see. It's essential to focus on form and learn how to engage your abs, glutes, and other musculature to perform clean pull-ups. Once you're strong enough to comfortably bust out 10 clean reps in a row, you've earned the privilege of having fun with the rules and using momentum to pull on the bar explosively.

When newcomers try this, it can be overly taxing on the joints, but if you can do those 10 strict pull-ups, you've likely built enough strength and stability to perform explosive pull-ups with substantially less risk of injury.

To perform an explosive pull-up, yank down hard on the bar as fast and powerfully as you can, using your entire body to generate force. Once you get a feel for this, experiment with letting go of the bar for a second at the top of your pull-up, then start working toward a clapping pull-up. When you've gotten comfortable with clapping pull-ups, you can use that same explosive technique to aggressively pull the bar farther down your body instead of taking your hands away.

Eventually you will be able to pull yourself fast enough and with enough force to get your elbows to wrist height or higher. Once this happens, it's just a matter of leaning your chest over the bar and getting the timing right before you can call the muscle-up yours.

Just like pull-ups, you need to be really good at dips before you begin working on the muscle-up. Standard parallel-bar dips are not enough, however. You need to practice doing dips on a straight bar if you want to perform a muscle-up on one. If you are accustomed to only performing dips on parallel bars, dipping on a straight bar will likely require some practice to get comfortable with.

First, you'll need to find a way to get above the bar to begin the movement. I suggest using a step to get yourself in position or using a low bar (a barbell placed in a squat rack at chest height works, too). Regardless of which setup is better suited to your environment, once you get above the bar, the idea is to lower yourself down as far as possible, while reaching your legs forward for counterbalance. Aim to touch the bar to the top of your abdomen at first, then begin increasing your range of motion. It might feel strange at the beginning if you are accustomed only to dipping on parallel bars, so go slowly and focus on clean form. Make sure to engage your abs, legs, and glutes to prevent losing control.

In addition to building a great deal of explosive upper-body strength on the bar, it's also helpful to learn the muscle-up from a neurological standpoint. This is where the negative muscle-up comes into play. Practicing the negative (eccentric) phase can help you get a feel for the movement pattern.

Get above the bar the same way you would for a straight-bar dip, then carefully lower yourself to the bottom of your dip position. From here, continue lowering yourself down as slowly as you can while you extend your legs forward, bracing your entire body and squeezing the bar as hard as possible. At first, you may drop very quickly, but you'll gain control of the descent with practice. Eventually, that control will transfer into reversing the movement.

Get Over It!

After spending some time practicing these methods, I recommend giving the muscle-up a shot. I suggest only attempting it when you are warmed up but still energized.

Don't worry too much about sets or reps at this point. Instead, just try for one rep at a time with as much rest as you need between efforts. Think of the muscle-up as skill training, so keep your volume low to prevent from burning yourself out. In order to get over the bar, you need to be operating at full capacity, so once you start to fatigue, move on to something else.

Don't be discouraged if it takes a long time. The harder you work toward the muscle-up, the more satisfaction you will feel when you get there.