new starter in search of the Muscle up. need advice.

[IanD]

Hi people

Nice to be here btw.

Basically im looking to be doing muscle ups by summer, failing that i want to be doing them by the winter.

Maybe a bit of background will help and i will list my broad strategy for any interested parties to have a look at.

Im a fully qualified PT, and i have a few years steady exercise experience behind me, i have also been doing (almost exclusively) crossfit workouts for the past several months. I dont follow the crossfit mainsite WODS, well i do, but i tend to pick and choose them from the archives rather than follow them on a daily basis. I should also note that i have still been doing some strength work on my 'main lifts' in each of my sessions, before i perform a crossfit workout.

Now, i can fully appreciate the benefits of ring training in general (as much as a ring training virgin can) and im all for doing dips, pull ups, tuck sits, L sits etc etc on the rings (one step at a time though) but my main concern now is building up to the muscle up, i also feel generally that its time to master the rings to a degree (im never going to be an Olympian or anything) i have always appreciated the 'Beast' like awesomeness of people who give it loads on the rings. I want to expand my workout potential, and ring exercises open up many more possibilities for WOD combos.

I only tried using rings for the first time yesterday and im fully aware that im more or less starting from scratch again in some regards, its like day one at the gym all over again.

I was just playing around really, but i did manage to perform a few singles and a few 2 rep sets of ring dips (without looking a complete fool, not ideal, but not completely hopeless) and i find i can support myself for a while with my arms fully extended, and just about get into a tuck sit for a few seconds - so maybe there is hope for me

im not the best at pull ups, but i have been working hard on them for a few months now. i can do 6-7 to failure and i can one rep with an extra 20kg on a belt. I also realise that i need to be doing chest to bar pull ups ideally, and i do intend to work on getting these - I will be incrorporating some complex setting and other PAP strategies ino my training in coming weeks in the hope of stimulating the attainment of some chest to bar pullups. Im not far off now on my first couple of reps, when im fresh, not far off, but still more like neck to bar.

I also realise that generally i just need to keep plugging away with ring dips and ring pull ups until they feel 'natural'.

and i am beginning to work on my false grip strength - doing body rows with my feet on the floor (using the false grip) and also just holding myself at the bottom of the row for as long as i can.

If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated.

regards

Ian

[Blairbob]

False grip pullups, body rows. Also work hanging in false grip for time when you can. Tape your wrists.

Negative Muscle-Ups. Support to hang, moving through transition. Add in ring dips or false grip pullups at some point.

At some point in time you are going to need to work the transition such as body row to MU. Unfortunately, these don't do much for pushing out of the bottom.

When you get strong enough, a useful drill is to start at the bottom of the ring dip, transition to top of the false grip pullup and push back into the bottom of the ring dip portion of the MU.

Russian dips are particularly useful. Set the parallel bars accordingly. What I thought was an appropriate setting for them when I first started was not. When I played around with the setting, I figured it over time.

To note, I learned a muscle-up without russian dips or without training the false grip (already had flexible wrists) back in 2001ish. But russian dips and negative MU/false grip pullups were useful when I wanted to re-attain my MU years later.

[IanD]

thanks guys. Good news! hit the pull ups today, tried some PAP setting with the weighted pulls than went straight into a few attempts at chest to bar pull ups. actually managed a few, only singles mind but still just barely as well, as in just below collar bones, but its a start.