Learning The Muscle Up Part 1.
Due to popular demand, I’ve created this series on building to a strict muscle up on rings… This is as much for my members as it is for everyone else, so they can see why I program the things the way I do and why the insistence on certain things…
The muscle up is a fundamental movement and an incredibly important skill...
- It gets us from underneath something to on top - very useful should the **** ever hit the fan
- It develops strength in the full range of motion through the pull up and dip positions
- It is the gateway to more advanced ring strength
Prerequisites...
Before attempting the muscle up, here are the usual prerequisites…
- A few strict chin ups
- A few strict ring dips
- Acceptable shoulder mobility
Nothing mindblowing there…
Here are the Blackbrook prerequisites…
- 5x10 Feet elevated, full range of motion strict ring rows
- 5x10 Perfect press ups
These are important: think about it - the muscle up pull looks more like a ring row than a pull up. Most crossfitters believe they are too advanced for ring rows because they can do a few kipping pull ups. This is a problem because they will then never develop the pulling strength in that frontal plane needed for the muscle up... Or much pulling strength at all, if we are being completely honest... People, the kipping pull up has its place, but should definitely not be relied on to build strength.
Perfect press ups are important because they ingrain the hollow body position, develop horizontal pushing strength and most importantly they teach you where your shoulder blades are and develop the strength to use them correctly. They need to be fully protracted at lock out. If they are not, then you have no ‘bony support’, therefore something else will have to take up the role - likely the small muscles of your rotator cuff… This is not good for longevity.
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Once you have that dialed in, we go one step further...
- 5x30 Second chin up holds - chin must stay well above the bar
- 5x5 Full range of motion dips with a 10 second eccentric
* 5x5 Table rocks or some other shoulder extension drill
These are important: think about it - the muscle up transition takes place at the top of the pull, so you need to be strong there - something a kipping pull up will not do for you... The dips are necessary because without them you will not finish. The slow eccentric will not only build strength and control, it will also give you the time to focus on creating a strong scapula depression and maintaining decent posterior pelvic tilt - that means stable shoulders and a good body position, basically... The table rocks build shoulder extension strength and range of motion. *This is not really a strength standard, just a means of taking care of your shoulder extension...
Due to popular demand, I’ve created this series on building to a strict muscle up on rings… This is as much for my members as it is for everyone else, so they can see why I program the things the way I do and why the insistence on certain things…
The muscle up is a fundamental movement and an incredibly important skill...
- It gets us from underneath something to on top - very useful should the **** ever hit the fan
- It develops strength in the full range of motion through the pull up and dip positions
- It is the gateway to more advanced ring strength
Prerequisites...
Before attempting the muscle up, here are the usual prerequisites…
- A few strict chin ups
- A few strict ring dips
- Acceptable shoulder mobility
Nothing mindblowing there…
Here are the Blackbrook prerequisites…
- 5x10 Feet elevated, full range of motion strict ring rows
- 5x10 Perfect press ups
These are important: think about it - the muscle up pull looks more like a ring row than a pull up. Most crossfitters believe they are too advanced for ring rows because they can do a few kipping pull ups. This is a problem because they will then never develop the pulling strength in that frontal plane needed for the muscle up... Or much pulling strength at all, if we are being completely honest... People, the kipping pull up has its place, but should definitely not be relied on to build strength.
Perfect press ups are important because they ingrain the hollow body position, develop horizontal pushing strength and most importantly they teach you where your shoulder blades are and develop the strength to use them correctly. They need to be fully protracted at lock out. If they are not, then you have no ‘bony support’, therefore something else will have to take up the role - likely the small muscles of your rotator cuff… This is not good for longevity.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Once you have that dialed in, we go one step further...
- 5x30 Second chin up holds - chin must stay well above the bar
- 5x5 Full range of motion dips with a 10 second eccentric
* 5x5 Table rocks or some other shoulder extension drill
These are important: think about it - the muscle up transition takes place at the top of the pull, so you need to be strong there - something a kipping pull up will not do for you... The dips are necessary because without them you will not finish. The slow eccentric will not only build strength and control, it will also give you the time to focus on creating a strong scapula depression and maintaining decent posterior pelvic tilt - that means stable shoulders and a good body position, basically... The table rocks build shoulder extension strength and range of motion. *This is not really a strength standard, just a means of taking care of your shoulder extension...
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Once you have nailed these strength standards then achieving a strict ring muscle up should take you no longer than two weeks.
If these standards seem like a lot of effort, remember this: all skills and all movements are built on prerequisites… In other words: all skills and all movements are for those who have earned them... Of course we have logical progressions for achieving these standards. Your coaches have too, and if they haven’t, you should probably go and train somewhere else. Friday: Learning the muscle up part 2... ~ Coach Collins Copyright 2017 |
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