Name: Playbook - Jess St John - Muscle Up Workout
Uploaded: 2023-02-17T18:41:15.595Z
Duration: 60 min
Description: Muscle Up Workout

Add this workout into your routine 1-2 times per week to achieve your bar muscle up! 

When most of you start adding in this workout, you will not yet have a muscle up. As you build the strength and make your way through the progressions, you will develop the ability to achieve it. When you get to that point, start incorporating the muscle up into the section with banded and knee drive muscle ups. View the muscle up exercise for the description of how to go about it, and watch the muscle up tips video!

This workout is designed for an athlete who is confident and strong in their pull ups, push ups, and dips. You should be able to do 8 or more pull ups, 10 or more push ups, and 8 or more dips, without assistance. If you’re not at that level yet, no worries, I gotchu! Check out my calisthenics programs to build and strengthen these skills!

Bodyweight Basics: learn to the basics
Calisthenics Beginner: get strong at the basics

Note: choose either banded OR knee drive muscle ups depending on your skill level. The knee drive is a progression after you feel confident in banded muscle ups.

- Drive elbows toward the ground aggressively while maintaining a hollow body 
- Pull your body as high as possible, with the ultimate goal of getting your chest over the bar 
- These are meant to be explosive so you should only be able to complete a few before needing a rest or losing height

High Pull Ups

- Use a resistance band that will provide you with enough momentum to pull your chest over the bar
- This is an explosive pull up so think of driving the elbows down fast
- Your body will remain in a hollow body position with a very slight angle leaning back

Banded High Pulls

Choose one or the other, not both. Start with banded muscle ups and progress to the knee drive muscle up when you feel confident with the band.

- Using a resistance band, complete a high pull, finishing with your chest over the bar
- At the top, shuffle hands over top of the bar and keep elbows tucked in
- Look forward over the bar to bring you into your dip position
- Push up into a front support

Assisted Muscle Up

This is a progression after you are confident with assisted muscle ups using a resistance band

- Pull your body as high as possible in your pull up
- Right before you reach the top, bend at the knees and hips to drive your knees up
- This will continue your upwards momentum and give you time to shuffle your hands on top of the bar to transfer you to your dip position 
- Look over the bar and keep your elbows tucked in
- Push up into front support 

*While you can connect these, it is best practice to give yourself time at the bottom to make sure you are in the correct position for the next pull. This will help with consistency in pulls and maximize muscle memory.

Kipping Muscle Up (knee drive)

Assisted Muscle Up OR Knee Drive Muscle Up

There are multiple ways to go about this! If you have the equipment, you are welcome to do weighted pull ups. However, it’s possible to add resistance  just a band. You will need to attach the band to something on the ground, like the equipment or a heavy gym bag, or even have a friend hold it. 

- The goal is to be as explosive from the bottom as possible to keep your momentum all the way to the top
- Drive elbows down quickly 
- Finish with your collarbone level with the bar

If you are doing weighted pull ups, choose a weight that you can only do for 4-5 reps, but no more.

Resisted Pull Ups

- Using parallel bars, bend elbows and keep them tucked in 
- Lower shoulders toward the bars 
- At the bottom of the dip, slowly shift weight backwards and catch yourself with your forearms on the bar - make sure this movement is slow and controlled
- Shift weight forward as quickly as possible (it’s ok to use legs a bit to kick or balance when learning)
- Finish in the bottom position of your dip
- Push back up

The main focus is the slow shift back (muscle control), and the quick jump forward (explosiveness), to train your muscles for the transfer from pull to push in the muscle up.

Russian Dips

- Start in a front support
- Keeping elbows tucked, bend the elbows and lean forward to counter balance
- Bend at the hips to lower your chest to the bar 
- Slowly lean back into a pull up position with elbows in front and a hollow body position 
- Slowly extend the arms to lower yourself into a dead hang

The slower the better throughout the entire movement!!!

Muscle Up Eccentric

- Start in a front support
- Keeping elbows tucked, bend the elbows and lean forward to counter balance
- Bend at the hips to lower your chest to the bar 
- Go as low as possible without losing control
- Keep elbows tucked in (don’t let them flare out to the side)
- Push back up to front support

Straight Bar Dips

- Start in a plank position 
- Keep elbows tucked and lower yourself into a push up
- At the bottom of your push up, slowly shift weight backwards so you are resting on your forearms
- Your hips will raise slightly but do your best to maintain a hollow body and tight core
- Quickly shift your weight forward back into the bottom of the push up
- Push back up, pushing through the shoulders at the top


The main focus is the slow shift back (muscle control), and the quick jump forward (explosiveness), to train your muscles for the transfer from pull to push in the muscle up.

Tiger Bend Push Ups

When most of you start this program, you will not yet have a muscle up. As you build the strength and make your way through the progressions, you will develop the ability to achieve it. When you get to that point, start incorporating the muscle up into the section with banded and knee drive muscle ups. Here’s how to go about it:

- Start in a dead hang and focus on pulling as high as possible in your pull up - aggressively drive elbows toward the ground 
- As you reach the top of your pull up, shuffle your hands forward, over top of the bar
- Slightly pike your legs (bend at the hips), keep your elbows tucked in, and look over the bar so that you wind up in the bottom position of a dip 
- Keeping the elbows tucked in, push up to front support

Keep in mind, it is OKAY to chicken wing (raise one arm at a time), or kick your feet, or drive your knees up while you are learning! It’s all a part of the process and these things improve with practice and time!

Muscle Up Workout

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