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Learning the Bar Muscle-Up: Gymnastics 101

If you feel you are ready to learn the Bar Muscle-Up, here are a few tips to help you get there. Before we begin, ensure you have multiple strict pull-ups and have mastered kipping pull-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups and bar dips.

Develop perfect technique in your kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups. Learn to maintain your hollow body and start to pull-up as high as you can. Avoid slamming your chest into the bar, but rather pull yourself up high and aim to look over the bar.

When you can do this perfectly, work on pulling even higher, completing a sternum to bar or belly button to bar pull-up. If you are pulling high while maintaining good position you should now be able to see the floor when your sternum is at the bar.

Next will be the transition, set yourself up in the bottom of a push-up position and practice shifting your whole body forwards and backwards. This will help you with the motion of a transition.

lerning the bar muscle up muscle-up

When you take this back up on to the bar, make sure both your shoulders transition symmetrically. Both shoulders and elbows should ALWAYS move together. Never ever practice throwing one elbow over the bar at a time as this can lead to injury. If you are struggling to do this, take it back to your belly button to bar pull-ups. Spend more time here increasing the height of your pull.

As you get stronger and begin to consistently get single Bar Muscle-Up reps, try building it in to your session in an EMOM format where you complete 1 rep Every Minute On the Minute for 10 minutes.

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