How to get a Muscle-Up, 3 tips I discovered on my self taught journey [Female]

[girdyourloins]

I'm proud to share, I just got my 5th ever muscle-up! While they're not the strictest or sexiest reps yet, what I'm about to share got me from zero to one—which is the hardest part, and hopefully this will help you do the same!

I want to emphasise that I'm not saying this is the "only" or "best" way to get a muscle-up, it's a highly subjective journey. This is a method that I have found effective and I wanted to share.

In this post, I’ll cover 3 tips I found helpful during my path to the muscle up!

• 3 Highly Effective Exercises to do
• Strength Targets to aim for
• How to structure your Muscle-Up Workouts!

TIP 1: THE MOST EFFECTIVE 3 EXERCISES (for me):​

While these exercises are not the only ones I train, these are the 3 exercises I wish I had started doing sooner, as they have been a game changer for accelerating my strength for the muscle up!

Exercise 1: Weighted Chin Ups​

Weighted chin-ups! These are my #1 pulling exercise! Weighted pull-ups are just as good, it depends which movement you feel stronger with. For me personally, I saw much faster gains with weighted chin-ups.

They have helped me to build more muscle in my back and arms, while developing a stronger and higher pull for the muscle up.

Exercise number 2: Weighted Dips​

Weighted Dips! These are my #1 pushing exercise!

I got stuck trying to increase my bodyweight dips, so I started loading them with weight instead.

They have helped me build more muscle in my shoulders, chest, and triceps, and increase my pushing strength, which I’ve noticed has helped me massively in the initial phase of the muscle up!

Exercise number 3: Banded Muscle Ups!​

Banded muscle ups are my #1 progression for learning the movement pattern and refining the skill itself all while keeping fatigue low - so it doesn’t take away from my strength work.

BUT, an important note - Banded Muscle Ups are not very effective at building strength for your muscle up. Instead leave the strength building to the weighted chin ups and dips.

TIP 2: STRENGTH TARGETS FOR EACH EXERCISE​

After a lot of research and asking other calisthenics experts, I came up with strength targets to aim for! This made the muscle up journey fun and feel like a game, with the focus on becoming strong AF!

Each training block and week focus on getting stronger, increasing the amount of weight or reps you can do. This extra strength you’re building will make the muscle-up come as a by-product!

Here are the strength targets I recommend to work towards:

• Weighted Chin Up/Pull Up ~ 1 Rep Max - 40-55% of Bodyweight
• Weighted Dip ~ 1 Rep Max - 30-40% of Bodyweight
• Small - Extra Small Band Muscle Up 2x2

For context, at the time of achieving my first muscle up, here is what I was able to do:

• Weighted Chin Ups 3 Sets of 1x 20kg ~ 40% of my body weight
• Weighted Dips 3 Sets of 1x 20kg ~ 40% of my body weight
• Banded Muscle Up 2x2 Small Band consistently (occasional extra small band 2x1)

TIP 3 : HOW TO STRUCTURE MUSCLE UP WORKOUTS​

Here’s how to structure your muscle up training day:

• Start your session with Banded Muscles Ups to practice the skill while you’re fresh.
• Next perform Weighted Chin ups to increase your pulling strength and power.
• Then Weighted Dips for pushing strength and power gains.

Train this workout 2-3x per week, either as a workout of its own or included in an upper body session you already do.

Here’s the nitty-gritty of the programming - aka the sets, reps, intensity and how to progress.

Accumulation P1
Exercises
Session 1
Session 2

Week 1
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x8 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x5 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x8 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x5 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 2
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x7 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x7 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 3
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x6 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x6 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 4
Banded Muscles Ups
1x2 Reps 5-7 RPE
1x2 Reps 5-7 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
2x6 Reps 5-7 RPE
2x3 Reps 5-7 RPE


Weighted Dips
2x6 Reps 5-7 RPE
2x3 Reps 5-7 RPE

Accumulation P2
Exercises
Session 1
Session 2

Week 1
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x8 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x5 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x8 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x5 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 2
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x7 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x7 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 3
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x6 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x6 Reps 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps 7-9 RPE

Week 4
Banded Muscles Ups
1x2 Reps 5-7 RPE
1x2 Reps 5-7 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
2x6 Reps 5-7 RPE
2x3 Reps 5-7 RPE


Weighted Dips
2x6 Reps 5-7 RPE
2x3 Reps 5-7 RPE

Intensification
Exercises
Session 1
Session 2

Week 1
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x7 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps, 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x7 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x4 Reps, 7-9 RPE

Week 2
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x6 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps, 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x6 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x3 Reps, 7-9 RPE

Week 3
Banded Muscles Ups
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE
2x2 Reps, 6-8 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
3x5 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x2 Reps, 7-9 RPE


Weighted Dips
3x5 Reps, 6-8 RPE
3x2 Reps, 7-9 RPE

Week 4
Banded Muscles Ups
1x2 Reps, 5-7 RPE
1x2 Reps, 5-7 RPE


Weighted Chin Ups
2x5 Reps, 5-7 RPE
2x2 Reps, 5-7 RPE


Weighted Dips
2x5 Reps, 5-7 RPE
2x2 Reps, 5-7 RPE

The program alternates between two accumulation phases (8 weeks total) and an intensification phase (4 weeks), looping back, but starting again with new targets.

• I use RPE (rating of perceived exertion) and RIR (reps in reserve) to determine the weights. I’ll leave a description below about RPE/RIR if you haven’t heard about these before.
• Each week decrease the reps by 1 but, aim to increase intensity by adding weight of your lifts by 1-2.5kg/2.2-5.5lbs per week.
• In the last week if you want to, Swap the sets of 2 reps for 1 to test where your max’s are at!

How To Progress With Band Muscle Ups​

Here’s an extra little tip for maximising your progress with banded muscle ups.

At the beginning of each session, before strength work when fresh, aim for:

2x2 reps, RPE 6-8, with a band that allows you to perform reps with good form, BUT is still challenging.

To progress weekly, aim to refine your technique by focusing on making the reps more strict. Throughout a training block, If you can consistently achieve 2x2 with strict form, you know you're ready to decrease the thickness of the band.

The 4th week of every block is a deload week - this is when you can practice bodyweight attempts (This is when I attempted and achieved my first ever muscle up).

RPE/RIR Introduction​

RPE/RIR:

The RPE Scale (Rating of Perceived Exertion) and RIR (Reps In Reserve) are subjective measures to determine the weight for weighted chin-ups and dips exercises. Combining RPE and RIR allows for better intensity management during a session, based on your energy levels and how you feel.

RPE/RIR SCALE:

11 | Failure

10 | 0 reps left in the tank, Absolute true max

9.5 | 0 reps in the tank, but not true max

9 | 1 rep left in the tank for sure

8.5 |2 reps left in the tank, maybe 1

8 | 2 reps left in the tank for sure

7.5 | 2 reps for sure, maybe 3 left in the tank

7 | 3 reps left in the tank for sure

6.5 | 3 more reps in the tank for sure, maybe 4

6 | 4 more reps in the tank for sure.

5 | 5 More reps in the tank for sure.

It will take time and practice to accurately determine your RPE/RIR, but it's a very valuable skill to build and will help you take your gains to the next level!

Let me know if you have any questions about this post or Muscle Ups.

Hopefully you're able to take away something that will help you on your muscle up journey.

 

[yackleen]

@girdyourloins I love when others tell their personnal journey and insights. Good job!

 

[philtheolus]

@yackleen I love when others

Tell their personnal journey

And insights. Good job!

- tentickl

[sup]I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.[/sup] [sup]Learn more about me.[/sup]

[sup]Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"[/sup]

 

[yackleen]

@philtheolus Good bot.

 

[justjem]

@yackleen How many times did you tickle yourself?

 

[joseph124]

@girdyourloins Hey how come chin ups instead of pullups? I always assumed pullups needed as thats the movement pattern?

 

[vickyh]

@joseph124

Exercise 1: Weighted Chin Ups

Weighted chin-ups! These are my #1 pulling exercise! Weighted pull-ups are just as good, it depends which movement you feel stronger with. For me personally, I saw much faster gains with weighted chin-ups.

 

[yearning4yeshua]

@joseph124 the actual difference between the two is very little

 

[rarner]

@yearning4yeshua Strange that some people can do one but not the other then.

 

[girdyourloins]

@joseph124 Great question!

I like pull-ups and train them 1x per week to keep the specificity for the Muscle-up, but I personally love Chin-ups as my #1 pulling exercise because I'm able to pull higher, lift heavier loads, and feel stronger in comparison to my Pull-ups.

I've also found a lot of my female clients can pull more weight with chin-ups, and typically they build the required strength for the muscle-up faster.

If someone wanted to do Pull-ups as their #1 pulling exercise, the training principles and targets would remain consistent with those outlined for Chin-ups in this post!

I hope that helps!

 

[aranyi_zsolt]

@girdyourloins Upvoted.

Great job!

 

[solidarity]

@girdyourloins Glad you took time to write this. Thanks.
Muscle ups have been lurking on my mind for last couple months and this def helps.

 

[girdyourloins]

@solidarity You're sooo welcome, and I'm so stoked it helps! All the best on your Muscle Up Journey, you freaking got this! Keep me updated with how you get on!

 

[ocelotcr]

@girdyourloins Awesome write up! Muscle up is def my goal right now so glad to see I’m doing the right exercises already but learned some good stuff on structure, thanks!

 

[girdyourloins]

@ocelotcr Thank you so much for your awesome feedback, I'm stoked you found it helpful! You're so on to it doing these exercises already! It took me ages to figure out! Good luck with your muscle-up - you got this! Let me know when you unlock it!

 

[susie40s]

@girdyourloins Awesome write up, and congrats on getting there!

I agree that weighed chins/pullups and dips are what gets you there. Currently working my way back up after a longish break, but the first time I managed to do muscle ups, I did tons of weighted chins before I could unlock them. Unweighted pullups weren't really doing it.

 

[girdyourloins]

@susie40s Thank you so much for your positive feedback and kind words of support! It's so empowering to be able to do something that once felt impossible!

It's so awesome to hear that you share a similar experience re: Weighted Chin ups and Dips helping you achieve your Muscle up! I wish I'd started doing Weighted Calisthenics earlier, because like you, my progress stalled with bodyweight reps alone.

That's so exciting you're getting back into Muscle Up training! You got this!!!!

 

[leahfeamw]

@girdyourloins This is so insanely detailed, thank you! And congratulations!

 

[girdyourloins]

@leahfeamw You're soooo freaking welcome, and thank you so much for your kind words! I'm soo glad the details are helpful!

This was the information I wanted for sooo long, and I wanted to share it in the hopes it can help others get their first muscle up too!

 

[mtainmn43]

@girdyourloins Thank you for sharing. I’ve wanted to achieve a muscle up for a long time but have lost to procrastination and being focused on my normal routine. This gives me refreshed motivation to set a goal. Thank you for the detailed post. I think the weighted pull/chin ups and dips are what I’ve been missing causing my plateaus. Congratulations on achieving yours.