The Bar muscle-up is a natural progression from the Toes to bar and pull-up, and a stepping stone to developing the ring muscle-up, one of the more advanced upper body gymnastic movements
A mixed variation movement, utilizing shapes and positions, and being both a pulling and a pushing movement, it’s very understandable why this movement can be quite challenging to perform.
By understanding the basic mechanics, we can shift our mindset from getting over the bar, to moving in unison with our hips, lats, core, and arms, while maintaining a stable grip on the bar
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It is important to master the basic gymnastic skills, hollow hold, arch hold, full grip rig hang & upper body push pull strength. This may take longer to develop for some, this is OK as it is harder to unlearn poor patters/compensations than it is to learn new ones. Taking your time the first time will help set you up for long term success.
Below is an example of the pre requisite guide we give before taking part in one of our muscle up programs!
YOU should have all of these PRE REQUISITE Skills to be able to successfully achieve your first Bar Muscle Up (Without being limited by strength)
- 1–3 STRICT PULL UPS
- 4–10 TOES TO BAR
- 4–10 KIPPING PULL UPS
- 1–3 CHEST TO BAR PULL-
When learning any new skill it is important to express patience & be open minded. The rate of progress for everyone is always different & nor is it linear. You will often hear of athletes plateauing or having extended periods of time which seem to have no progress. Reality is, we simplify the variable we track for ease of understanding & tracking. We may be progressing in areas we are simply not paying attention to; for example: increase in movement speed, control or efficiency rather than just simply more reps or more weight. The great thing about life is hard work will always be rewarded its just a matter of time.
A strategy we suggest is finding an accountability buddy or someone with similar goals. You may purchase a templated program & partake in this together on a regular bases or even look to doing semi private personal training session.
It is important to be present & focus on the day to day tasks without getting too caught up on the end result. When we become process orientated we tend to be more successful & find more fulfillment in the little things.
This will look like simple micro goals where intent & focus is high. Not being distracted during your training sessions, being organised with your training equipment & even improving your sleeping habits & daily food intake.
The successful completion of these smaller simpler tasks will build the momentum for you to take on the larger & more difficult ones later on.
Living in a time were access to information is so easy it can often be confusing to know were to start!
So start by trying to understand the best process moving forward for you, hopefully this article helped you understand yourself a little better & what might be the best approach for you.
By Michael Earl
Coach | Director | Business Owner
Disclaimer
We are a functional fitness facility and understand we have biases like everyone else, we have attempted to be as objective as possible when creating this guide. Understand that what is valuable to one person may not necessarily be valuable to another. Thought and planned out choices always lead to better decisions. It is ok to invest in yourself and you can create your own change, you are always in control just take the wheel. If you have ay questions about Personal Training, get in touch with us today. We are happy to help!
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