Nov 18 • Training 💪
🧗♂️Muscle Up: Why It Feels Impossible… Until It Doesn’t
If there is one skill that exposes every weakness in your pull, every gap in doing the right steps, and is one of the most demanded skills… it is the muscle up.
And for most people, the struggle is not due to effort.
It is due to misunderstanding the movement entirely.
So today we are breaking it down from top to bottom.
Strength, technique, timing, mobility, body positioning, transitions, and the invisible details nobody tells you about.
Take your time with this post.
Save it.
Revisit it.
This is everything you need to understand why the muscle up feels so hard and how to finally break through.
Let’s get into it.
⚠️ Why The Muscle Up Is NOT Just “A Pull Up + A Dip”
Most beginners think they just need to get stronger at pull ups.
It is one of the KEY ingredients, but it is more complicated than that.
But the muscle up is not a pull up.
There is a movement pattern.
Strength matters.
Technique matters.
Timing matters.
Bar path matters.
Scapula mechanics matter.
Transition mechanics matter.
You are learning a coordinated sequence, not a single exercise.
Once you understand that, everything changes.
🔍 Where Almost Everyone Gets Stuck
1. Not pulling high enough
Minimum: Chest to bar is the minimum.
Ideal: Lower ribs to bar is ideal (which is an even more impressive feat in my opinion).
If you cannot get height, you cannot rotate.
2. Zero transition practice
The transition is 90 percent of the struggle. Most people never train the transition directly.
They keep trying full muscle ups and hope something magically clicks.
It won’t.
The transition is its own skill.
3. Pull Up Direction
This is the big one.
The muscle up is not a straight upward pull.
It is a C shaped bar path:
You pull slightly forward
Then slightly up
Then slightly back and over
This creates the space you need for the transition.
If you pull “straight up”, you get stuck at the top feeling like:
“I am at my max height but I cannot get over the bar.”
That stuck feeling is the wrong pull direction.
Not a strength issue.
4. Body tension collapsing mid way
If your hollow breaks even for a second:
Your feet swing
Your ribs flare
Your bar path changes
Your height disappears
You must move as one unit.
💥 The 4 Phases Of A Clean Muscle Up
We are expanding this section because this is what actually matters.
Phase 1: Hollow Body Mechanics
The hollow position is your control system.
Basically you body as a kinetic chain. When you generate force, you when your body to be 100% efficient with it.
The "tighter" you are the better your body is at using all the force it produces.
Without this foundation, you are wasting strength.
Phase 2: Vertical Power And Height
Your goal is not more reps.
It is more height.
Explosive chest to bar
Explosive sternum to bar
Weighted pull ups
If you can pull 35 percent or more of your bodyweight for 1 rep, you are strong enough for a muscle up.
Phase 3: The C Shape Pull Path
This is the “secret” most tutorials never explain.
The muscle up is not:
Straight up
Then magically over the bar
It is a curved path.
Think:
Pull slightly forward to create space
Rise upward while staying tight
Lean over the bar as your hips drive
Practice this on low bars to reinforce the movement.
This is the number one fix for people who feel “strong enough but stuck”.
Phase 4: Transition Training
The transition is the heart of the muscle up.
Jumping transitions
Negative transitions
Low bar transitions
Band assisted transitions
Your body must learn the rotation.
This phase is where 90 percent of success is built.
These are muscles that are not used often so they are weak (even if you do pull ups and dips).
🧠 Why The Muscle Up Feels Impossible Even When You’re Strong
People with ten clean pull ups still fail muscle ups.
Not because they are weak.
Because they do not understand:
The height needed
The C shaped bar path
The timing of the transition
How to lean over the bar
So you get that awful stuck feeling at the top:
“I am right there but nothing is happening.”
This post is designed to fix that.
🛠️ Your Muscle Up Starter Routine
Run this two or three times per week:
Weighted pull up (or regular pull-ups until you get to 10+)
3×6 with around 25 to 35 percent of your bodyweight
Explosive chest to bar (can use elastic band at first)
3×6 focusing on height
Low bar C shape pulls
3×5 focusing on forward then up then over
*Can use a rolling bar or a barbell to make it easier
Transition negatives
3 reps slow and controlled
*Can use a rolling bar or a barbell to make it easier
False Grip Hangs in Hollow hold
20 to 30 seconds
If you dial in power, bar path, and transition mechanics, you will get your first rep far sooner than you think.
If the muscle up is your goal, you are training more than a skill.
You are training strength, technique, discipline, self belief, and total body control.
You are training the ability to do something your past self would have thought was impossible.
And you deserve a proper path toward it.
⚡ Want Extra Help?
If you want a roadmap personalized to your level, comment MUSCLE UP and I will send it to you.
What part of the muscle up feels like the real “sticking point” for you right now?
8
14 comments
🧗♂️Muscle Up: Why It Feels Impossible… Until It Doesn’t
skool.com/awesome-ninja-fitness
Master bodyweight strength, skills like handstands & muscle-ups. Build strength, movement, and control while unlocking your full potential! 💪🔥
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
+449
2
+319
3
🔥
+314
4
+179
5
+162
Powered by