A Primer, Bodyweight Basics

BAR
MUSCLE UPS
AND HOW WE GET THERE...
The muscle up is the reason
a LOT of people become
interested in calisthenics. It
requires pulling power, skill
and control in the transition,
and pressing power for the
top of the movement with a
front dip.
#1 #2 #3
With all the elements involved
in the movement,
we have to start simple and
break it down to the individual
parts. First of which is
the pull.
First we have to get above the bar, for this we need explosive
pull up strength. So, we need to get our chest to
the bar. How do we do that?
Well, we try and get our chest to the bar! Whenever we
train pull ups, we should be trying to do it as explosively
as possible.
Once we get the shoulders
and elbows above
the bar, all we have to
do is perform a front dip
on top of the bar. Guess
what helps! Front dips!
Explosive means generating as much force as you can
quickly.
We can use a looser grip, where we explode up and
then quickly get our hands above the bar. If you are using
a swing to initiate the muscle up then this is a good
choice. It would be worth cultivating the false grip
however as you will be able to work through the full
ROM slowly. This means more gains!
Hanging with a neutral grip
With the wrist at a 90 degree angle with a false
grip, we shorten the distance we must travel to
pull ourselves up, as well as creating a solid base to
press off when we get the shoulders above the bar.
A false grip can take a long time to develop but
will make your muscle ups a lot more controlled,
therefore enhancing the strength gains as we work
through the range of motion slowly, as opposed to
the normal muscle up which uses momentum to
assist.
90°
Hanging with a false grip
12 BODYWEIGHT