Do Your First Muscle Up

The Six Step How To Guide

Imagine yourself pulling yourself over the bar

Feeling like the silverback king of the jungle. I know what it feels like. And soon you will too!

This is the exercise every Bar Brother wants to learn. But guess what, it’s not easy to learn.
It’s pretty damn hard (Even for a gorilla). But I have some good news.
In this blog I will give you a step by step explanation of how you can learn the muscle up.
Does that sound like a plan or not?

I’m not hearing you…So I guess that’s a yes.No actually I assume that’s a yes, because everyone wants to do the muscle up!

Want to know why?

Well…Because it is probably the best upperbody compound exercise (meaning you train muscle groups) that is known to men. The pure power, coordination and technique it requires, make it a must have in your BEAST MODE arsenal.
But what does it look like?

Looks cool, doesn’t it.

Most beginners want to do a muscle up immediately, but fail to realize that doing a muscle up is not something which is ‘just done’, you have to train for it.

Step 1: Start Doing Pull-Ups
Far before you are able to do a muscle up, you have to master your pull ups and feel comfortable with doing them.
Do as many reps as you can do and controlled as you can do.
There is no precise number, make sure you max out.
What really helps is having a number in your mind and to keep going until you reached that number.
Do not think you can do a muscle up before you can do a pull up.
It is like trying to do a marathon before you can walk. Learn to walk first.



Step 2: Make explosive moves
Because a muscle up has an exaggerated range of motion, this is what you should exactly practice.
Don’t stop when the bar is below your chin, push through and make sure it goes all the way towards your chest.
Make this movement as explosive as possible. Pull yourself up as fast as possible and then go down slowly.
Focus on an object in the distance, explode, hold it and then let go.
Explode and let go, repeat this until you master it.


Step 3: Jump yourself into the movement
Modifying your muscle up a little can help a lot in training the motion.
Remember that a muscle up is just as much technique as it is strength.
One easy way to do this is by jumping yourself into your muscle up.
– Hold the bar with both hands
– Pull yourself up
– Jump while you are pulling yourself up
– While you are pulling yourself up transition into a muscle up
As you keep practicing this movement, decrease your jumping power until you are able to do it without jumping.

Step 4: Use your motion
Especially when you do your first muscle up, using your legs an hips to generate an extra swing can be really useful.
Make sure you time your movement.
– Swing forward
– Swing backwards
– When you are in the backwards motion halfway, do a pull up full force to transition yourself into a muscle up
The more comfortable you get the less you can move your leg motion and master a straight muscle up.

Step 5: Do negatives
Negatives are really useful in learning pull-ups and muscle ups. They require less strength and are easy to apply.
Combine them with the above mentioned exercises.

Step 6: Be patient
No body was built in one day, it will take more than a day to learn a clean muscle up.
Make sure you focus on the technique instead of forcing your body above the bar.
This will only cause injuries and as a result will take you longer to master your muscle up.

 This six step how to guide, if followed in a disciplined manner will surely help you get your first muscle up. There are a lot of online tutorials, make sure you watch them, keep practicing your skill to unleash the Bar Brother Beast.

Source http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/
Rich Andoh