Muscle-up

What you'll gain

• Links a high pull and a dip into one upper-body skill.

• Builds grip, trunk stiffness, and coordination under a hang.

• Is the competition skill many calisthenics and CrossFit programs need.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than the shoulders.

2. 2

   Set an active hang with the legs together and the trunk braced.

3. 3

   Pull the bar toward the lower chest or stomach, keeping both sides even.

4. 4

   As the chest clears the bar, lean the shoulders forward and turn the wrists over together.

5. 5

   Press to straight-arm support with the torso stacked over the bar.

6. 6

   Lower under control through the dip and the hang, then reset.

Common Mistakes

• Pulling straight into the bar instead of creating a path around it.

• Treating the lift as three frozen steps instead of one continuous path.

• Starting with a normal pull-up grip that blocks the wrist turnover.

• Attempting it before strict pull-ups and dips are strong enough to finish.

About This Exercise

The muscle-up is a pull plus a press on one bar. From a dead hang you pull the chest or stomach to the bar, roll the shoulders over, and finish with a straight-bar dip to locked elbows. Chest, lats, and triceps are the primary muscles, with biceps, forearms, and delts helping. The same sequence applies to a bar muscle-up and is treated as an advanced gymnastics skill, not a general hypertrophy lift. For a catalog this is a calisthenics and competitive-fitness staple. It sits at the top of a pull-up-to-dip ladder and needs a clip that shows the hang, the transition, and the support, not a kipping blur with no lockout.

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