Recently I accomplished a big goal of mine, I got my first muscle up. In case you do not know what that is it is a basic gymnastics move where you go from hanging by your arms from a pair of rings (think monkey bars) to over the top of them with your arms fully extended. It is a pull up into a dip and far more than the sum of its two parts. If you still do not know what it is then type muscle up into the search bar and click on a video.
Some smart folks say that before trying to do a muscle up you should be able to do 15+ pull-ups and dips. I’ve also heard that you should be able to do weighted pull-ups and 10+ ring dips. Both are probably accurate but I would say the second is more valid as this is far more of (at least initially until you can do a bunch) a strength move than an endurance move. Being able to do a weighted pull up and DEEP chest(like below your peck/ boob) pull-ups is essential.
I have been actively working towards this goal for more than 6 months and with serious focus for the last two of them. It was probably a lot harder for me than it would be if I was around people who could do them. I imagine I have been physically capable (had the explosive pulling strength) to complete one but it took a couple months of building more strength and fiddling with the skill component to get over the cusp and actually stick one. The transition between the two moves (pullup and dip) is the hard part. Most healthy moderately athletic adults can do at least one pullup and dip (ring dips are different but after a session or two you get used to it) but having the explosive pulling strength relative to body weight to transition between the two is another thing entirely.
What is this useful for? Well first in the process of getting there my upper body has become much stronger and more explosive than it once was. As for the move itself this quote from somewhere pretty much sums it up “Far from a contrivance the muscle-up is hugely functional. With a muscle-up you’ll be able to surmount any object on which you can get a finger hold – if you can touch it you can get up on it. The value here for survival, police, fire fighter, and military use is impossible to overstate.”
As for form following function my arms are somewhat thicker and more muscular. My upper back and shoulders are getting bigger moving from a square shaped torso to more of a V. I only mention this to remind you that if looking good is a concern for you those results can be achieved with useful exercises not just stupid single joint body building stuff with little to no real life or athletic carry over.
Well this was one of my biggest physical goals for the year and is another milestone to mastering my bodyweight.
Got Muscle Up? Got pull up?
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4 comments:
Man, I still cant get the muscle up. Okay, that sounded way wrong...lemme rephrase: I still cant achieve the gymnastic move known as a 'muscle up'.
Congratulations! I know this isn't the kind of goal that changes your life, but it's still one hell of a marker that in at least one, concrete way you're better than you were a week ago, and enough of those, and you do change your life. Thanks for sharing--my current similar goal is much less, four dead hang pull-ups (very bare minimum for a Marine), but it's inspiring to see someone check one off his list.
Just getting through a normal day is enough physical exercise for me. I think the "Muscle Up" period of my life is in the distant and dim past.
@ Commander Zero, It is a tough one. The muscle up is second only to the piston (still not totally there) for infuriating movements that just don't seem like they should be that hard. One advantage you have got is a local crossfit gym where (presumably) the coaches know how to do and train for these things.
Just doing a bunch of pullups and going from 10 to 15 or 20 won't cut it. The muscle up is different from generic pullups because it requires a lot more strength, explosive strength with a long power range (just doing normal chinups won't work) to get your shoulders up over the rings.
Here is what I did for training in no particular order
A) lots of pullups
B)B) deep chest to bar (like to the bottom of my sternum) strict pullups
C) heavy weighted pullups
D) false grip ring pullups (as deep as you can)
If I had it to do over again i would have started doing deep chest to bar pullups much earlier. The thing is that my power diminished greatly between where my chin goes over the bar and the bar getting deep enough (bottom of peck/ sternum) to actually be in range to stick a muscle up. For reference I can do a normal pullup with + .5BW but only an extra 10-15 pounds on a deep C2B pullup. A couple months of deep progressively weighted C2B pullups would have made it a lot easier.
Work your false grip some but for me that wasn't a big deal. Just took some getting used to.
I wouldn't even start trying to actually stick one until you can do strict FG ring pullups to your sternum and a real deep C2B pullup with at least some weight. Hope this helps some
-TOR
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