đ„ THE MUSCLE UP: UNDERSTANDING THE MOVEMENT
đš As you approach this ânewâ movement, youâll first need to understand how to transition from each step to the next one. While the âperfectâ/âmasteredâ muscle up will start from a dead hang, a beginner will definitely benefit to use some momentum & swinging to their advantage, in order to learn the exercise.

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1ïžâŁThe Swing: itâs not a back and forth swing, youâre not hanging and swinging back and forth like a spghetti noodle (typical kipping muscle uppers) until youâre mentally ready to pull yourself up.
You literally jump onto the bar, let your body swing forward while you keep your whole body tight, and thatâs it. Your body should be aligned as you do it. Itâs VERY important to pull your body along a curved motion, and this takes me to the next step. â
2ïžâŁ The pull: itâs important to understand WHEN to pull up, through the correct timing. The pull has to be performed once youâve gained the most momentum created by the small swing, which is the point in which your body is at the front of your arms. Pull up explosively as you swing forward and do NOT wait for your body do swing backwards in return. â
Keep your arm angle small and donât let your arms straight as you pull yourself up: if youâre too far from the barbell you wonât be able to get over it and youâll simply fall down.
đĄA trick you can use to help yourself lift up above the bar is to bring your knees to your chest AS youâre pulling up with your upper body. This helped me massively to get my first ones nailed down. You can always progressively make it harder by keeping your legs straight as you continue getting better at the movement, but itâs very important to get familiar with the whole movement.
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3ïžâŁ If youâve made it to step 3, youâre now ready to dip yourself over the bar: your grip will change from a hanging to a supportive one. At this point youâll simply have to rely on your upper body and core muscles to control the movement and successfully come ontop of the bar.
Next up Iâll cover some strategies & progressions you can use to start training the movement, to finally nail it down!