Mastering Muscle-Ups | Progressions and Advanced Tips

30 muscle-ups for time is a staple CrossFit workout that made an appearance at the 2018 CrossFit Games! Now that you’ve watched the pros do it, you may be getting the itch to try it yourself! Whether you have a muscle-up or not, this is a great workout to measure your progress with the movement.

1. Muscle ups for Beginners

The kneeling muscle-up is a great option for those who have little to no muscle-up experience, or need to refine their technique. This is a great place to work on the technical aspects of the movement while still building overall strength in your CrossFit workouts. The floor supports your body weight while working on transitioning from a pull (from the false grip) to a push on top of the rings. Use your feet as needed for the ring dip as well. To make this harder, put your feet out in front of you or up on a box.

2. Muscle-ups for Intermediates

The jumping muscle-up is a great tool for those athletes who are almost there with their muscle-up. If you miss the transition at times or struggle finishing the dip, this is for you! For those who have done a muscle-up or haven’t mastered multiples in a set, try this as well! While you are still using your feet to support you in the false grip, this movement requires a fast transition through to the dip which essential in the movement. It also yields an unsupported dip which will allow for some strength-building. If you find yourself missing the transition more often than not with this movement, go back to the kneeling muscle-up and refine the technique in a supported environment.

3. Muscle-ups for Advanced

If you have muscle-ups in multiples (think 2+), try the workout as prescribed! Strategy will come into play here in order to be successful and minimize the risk of failing or “running out” of muscle-ups altogether.

Max set of 2-5: Use the clock. Try pacing out the workout to get 2-3 muscle-ups each minute. This may be most successful done in singles from the beginning.

Max set of 6-10: Use the clock. Attempt to complete 3-4 muscle-ups each minute. This would be best to string 2 to 3 together at a time, and may result in quick singles near the end of the workout.

Max set of 10+: Be smart! Large maximal sets does not mean do that set initially and see what happens after that! Aim to break your sets up into no more than 30% of your maximal set. For example, if your max set of muscle-ups is 14, you shouldn’t do sets larger than 4 (give or take a couple). It’s very tempting to do a large set initially but the risk of burn-out is high as you approach the high teens and low twenties in the workout. Be mindful of the clock and try not to wander from your rings, as it will eat up your time.

Enjoy, have fun and comment your time and/or how you approached the workout!