3 things I learnt | From 0 to 8 strict muscle ups in 12 months (continued)

E

east81

New member
You may remember from this post where I shared my 1 year journey from not doing one muscle up to doing 8 of them in a row. I made a video a while ago on how I learnt the muscle up and why I think it is effective to follow the method I proposed. You can read on if you prefer the word version. If you like this piece, you can follow me on instagram (@jme_cal) where I regularly post calisthenics-related content.

Tl;dr - don't bother training the transition, do EMOM to get to 10 pull ups, after that train for power and not endurance.
Click to expand...

1. Don't bother the transition

Most beginners think they can't do a muscle up because they can't handle the transition. But the reality is that only advanced trainees who are looking to clean up their muscle or learn slow muscle up would train specifically for the transition. For beginners, your first muscle up must be one with kipping (unless you can already do oac or other advanced pulling moves). And kipping means you pull and kip so high that you skip the transition entirely. So don't bother the transition, focus on training high pull ups and kipping.

2. Getting to 10 pull ups

Most people say 10 pull ups is your entry ticket to a muscle up and I certainly agree. For myself, that's the most pull up I can do when I did my first muscle up, and those pull ups aren't even that strict. I used the every minute on the minute method (EMOM) to get to ten pull ups. The method is like this:

A. Do 2 pull ups at the start of a minute

B. Then rest

C. Do another 2 pull ups at the start of another minute

D. Repeat A to C until you get 30 pull ups

The above parameters are set on the assumption that your max pull up is 5. You can adjust the intensity (number of reps per min; rest interval; target reps) according to your max reps. For progressive overload, either adjust your target reps, e.g 40 pull ups, or adjust your rest period, e.g. 2 pull ups per 50 seconds or even 40 seconds.

3. Do low reps high pull ups for power

Once you get to 10 pull ups, your max repetitions become less of a concern. There's little point training for 15 or even 20 pull ups cos you would be training more endurance than strength that way. Muscle up is a power/strength movement. Instead, you should be training high pull ups (at least chest to bar). The rep range for training power/strength should be kept to 2 to 3 reps per set as your explosiveness will usually drop drastically after 2 to 3 reps. Do more sets (7 to 8 sets) per workout and less reps per set.

Thanks a lot for the long read/watch. Please let me know if you have any feedback.
 
@east81 Good read, thanks for sharing your experience. I'd love to be able to do more muscle ups, I'm only able to do 1 at the moment and it's a sloppy one at that.

For my training I'm doing 2 chinups and 4 pushups every 30 seconds for half an hour, every second day for a total of 120 pullups and 240 pushups. On the other day I'm doing 30 mins of skipping. Trying to have 1 rest day a week.

I've been stuck at 16 chins for ages. I'm glad to hear that won't be what holds my muscle up game back though.
 
@cgdtaylor I have been thinking of pairing skipping with RR (beginner) as a means for strengthening my legs and aerobic health, So How does skipping affect your overall health/workout/muscle gains?
 
@robert93 Depends on how long you can skip. Initially my calves were stopping me after a few minutes, then my shoulders after a few more, eventually I got to the point where it tests my cardio. Now I'm trying to add a double under every 10th skip and it's smashing my calves again. If you want gains too much cardio will make it harder to get there.
 
@cgdtaylor yeah man you're pretty strong on 30 mins compared to me, I can only manage 3 Sets of 3 minutes skipping with alternating pace, 1 min moderate 30 seconds HIIT, and resting until i catch my breath, It really makes me feel good, gives me the runners high and it's so wholesome.

But i fear that it will affect my overall muscle gain because that's my priority for now, you know putting on some mass.

[68 Kgs, 5'8]
 
@east81 I disagree on most of what you say, so let me explain.

First thing first, setting 10 pull ups as entry level is probably a bad idea, especially if you got there recently. This is because muscle up is an advanced movement and I can comfortably tell you that you shouldn't bother until you come near the range of 17/18 pull ups. This is my opinion, based on my experience, so you do you.

Learning the muscle up by kipping is a bad bad idea, because you learn a wrong movement patter and in the long run it will be harder to clean the rep by not moving legs.

Instead, you should focus on MOD muscle ups (an exercise where you do the first part of the muscle up only, with progressively less swing, touching the bar with your chest and your forearms perpendicular to it. I should make a video to explain I guess), which allows you to train both explosiveness and the correct movement pattern.

It's basically and improved version of the exercise you show in the video, cause it makes you used to the position you will find yourself in during every muscle up, training the explosive part at the same time. The way you suggest to train it is correct: low reps (2-4 range) for many sets (6-8) so you can focus on quality.

Transition is vital too. When you do many muscle up you have to be careful with how you use your energy. Pulling high to avoid transition is a bad idea, especially if you are doing MUs with an obstacle. So being strong in the transition part will be vital when you have to do many reps, because you will pull high enough only to go as soon as you can in the pushing part and lose less energy.

It's more of an advanced consideration, but giving the transition enough attention from the start will help you a lot. Enough strenght will also prevent further problems in your wrists/upper torso muscles.
 
@tka_tn You could say so. I call it this way cause in an high pull up the way your chest has to touch the bar nor the position of your forearms are not specified. So when I say "Mod Mu" I actually mean an high pull up with perpendicular forearms to the bar and the chest almost curling over the bar itself
 
@blessedbree7 A high pull up regardless of arm positioning is always going to be a high pull up. Chest to bar pull ups are part of common gymnastic training. For some it starts with kipping pull ups and other use a resistance band.
 
@east81 I agree with what you said entirely !

I spent some time while learning the muscle-up working on the transition, with little effect.

What kickstarted my progress was doing around 6 sets of 3 explosive pull ups, trying to get as high as possible. Within a few month of time I had the strict muscle-up. I truly think high pull ups are the most important thing : if you pull high enough you don't even have to stay in the transition phase.
 
@east81
  • Don't bother the transition
  • only advanced trainees who are looking to clean up their muscle or learn slow muscle up would train specifically for the transition.
  • For beginners, your first muscle up must be one with kipping
Click to expand...

I don't agree with any of these points... One can learn a strict muscle up first without a doubt and they should very well train the transition.
 
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