Training guide
A bar muscle-up is a pull-up that keeps going: you pull until your chest passes the bar, turn your elbows over it in one quick movement, and press out of a dip to straight arms. It needs strong, high pulling, deep dips and a skill of its own, the transition.
There is very little research on it: one muscle activity study, a few injury surveys and case reports. So this guide says plainly what is coaching practice, including the strength coaches ask for first (about 10 strict pull-ups and 10 dips), and gives our estimate of how long it takes, because no study has timed it.
It covers the technique, the transition and the chicken-wing fault, the ladder and drills, bar or rings, kipping or strict, shoulder care, and a muscle-up progression workout to follow.
Coaches describe it as a pull-up that continues past its normal range, joined to a dip that starts from an unusually low position. On a bar, you pull your chest to the bar, bring both elbows over it and press out to straight arms.
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Our move page asks for about 10 strict pull-ups, ideally pulling your chest to the bar, and about 10 strict dips. Coaches range from about 5 of each as a bare minimum to 15 of each, and no study has tested any number.
Strength alone doesn't produce a muscle-up. Coaches teach the turnover over the bar with low-bar drills, jumping or banded muscle-ups, and deep dips.
In the only muscle activity study, ring muscle-ups worked the biceps, forearms, upper trapezius and triceps harder than bar muscle-ups, and the rings need a special grip. The authors suggest learning the bar version first.
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A kip, a controlled swing from the hips, shifts work to the hips and trunk. It is the standard in CrossFit, and coaches agree strict strength should come first.
No study has timed it, and CrossFit's coaching article says the process can take years. Our editorial estimate: often 2 to 6 months once you have about 10 strict pull-ups and dips, and much longer from scratch.
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Our move page asks for about 10 of each. CrossFit's coaching article quotes 15 good pull-ups and 15 good dips as a guideline rather than a rule, and BarBend suggests 10 to 15 strict pull-ups and ring dips plus a steady support hold. A physiotherapist quoted in CrossFit's ring series puts the floor at about 5 pull-ups, 5 dips and 10 push-ups. All of this is coaching practice: no study has tested a threshold.
The pull has to bring your chest to the bar, not just your chin over it. Coaches ask for strict pull-ups to the chest before muscle-up attempts, and CrossFit's article asks for a strict chest-to-ring pull-up for the ring version.
The dip at the top of a muscle-up starts deeper than most people train, so practise deep, controlled dips and a still support at the top of the bars or rings. BarBend suggests holds of 20 to 30 seconds at the top and the bottom of a ring dip.
Coaches point out that tendons and other connective tissue adapt more slowly than muscle, so rushing the muscle-up risks a nagging injury. This is coaching experience, not a trial result.
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From our muscle-up page and CrossFit's coaching on the chicken wing (both elbows over together). The soft drop when you're tired is our editorial suggestion.
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The movement on the figure: Muscle-up
One elbow gets over the bar before the other, and you drag the second arm after it. CrossFit's coaching says it comes from not getting high enough, often with the feet separating in the swing, and that at worst it can lead to an injury. A clinic in China noticed that patients with a shoulder cartilage and labrum injury had often been hurt doing it. Pull higher, keep your feet together and bring both elbows over at once.
If you can't pull high enough, the bar or rings tend to swing away from you, which makes the turnover harder. Pull the bar towards your hips and drive your chest over it.
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On rings, the heel of your hand sits over the ring with your wrist bent, so you don't have to change grip at the top. It takes weeks of hangs and rows to build, and it tends to slip at the transition when you're tired. You don't need it on a bar.
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Build the pull-ups and dips first, then add slow negatives and transition drills; the low-bar drills and jumping or banded muscle-ups are done on the muscle-up's own bar, set lower.
Work up to about 10 strict pull-ups and 10 strict dips with our pull-up and dip guides, 2 or 3 times a week.
Pull-ups pulled as high as you can, chest towards the bar, 3 sets of 3 to 5, and slow, deep dips, 3 sets of 5 to 8, while you're fresh (our editorial starting point). CrossFit's plan moves from single slow negatives to 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 strict reps.
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From a box, start at the top of a muscle-up and lower slowly through the dip, the turnover and the pull: 3 to 5 sets of 1 to 3 (our editorial starting point). CrossFit's plan keeps negatives to 10 or fewer reps a session.
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With the bar at about chest height and your feet on the floor, practise pulling up and over: 3 to 5 sets of 2 to 3 (our editorial starting point). Coaches use low rings, a box or a partner in the same way.
A jump or a band takes some of your weight so you can rehearse the timing: 3 to 5 sets of 1 to 2, using less help as you improve (our editorial starting point).
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3 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 while you're fresh (our exercise library suggests 4 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 attempts). Stop when the turnover slows.
In 10 active men, measured with electromyography (EMG), which records muscle activity through the skin, ring muscle-ups drew more activity than bar muscle-ups from the upper trapezius, biceps and forearm muscles during the pull, and from the triceps and biceps during the press. The lats, chest, serratus anterior and lower trapezius worked about the same. The men were allowed to kip, which the authors think may explain why the big muscles didn't differ. It is one small study.
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We found no trial of any way of learning a muscle-up. The muscle activity study's authors suggest building pulling strength and learning the bar version before the rings; everything else here, including the prerequisites and the drills, is coaching practice.
In 93 street workout (outdoor calisthenics) practitioners, 62% reported an injury in the past year, and 12% of the injured were doing muscle-ups when it happened. In 181 Dutch calisthenics athletes, 59% reported an injury in a year, most often the shoulder (32%), and intermediate skill in power moves went with more injuries. In 308 German CrossFit athletes, shoulder injuries happened mostly in handstands, overhead pressing and bar work including muscle-ups, and biceps tendon tears in muscle-ups, pull-ups, snatches and overhead squats. These are self-reported surveys, so they can't give a risk per attempt.
A 38-year-old broke the lower end of his upper arm during a ring muscle-up transition; tests afterwards found low vitamin D and low bone density. A clinic built a diagnostic test that copies the chicken-wing movement because so many of its patients with one shoulder cartilage injury had been hurt that way; it picked up 83% of those injuries.
In 11 athletes, adding a kip to the pull-up brought in more whole-body muscle activity and cut the upper-body work in each rep. We found no study of kipping in the muscle-up itself.
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A kip, a controlled swing from the hips, adds height and momentum. In pull-ups it moved work to the hips and trunk and cut the upper-body work in each rep. It is the standard in CrossFit, and the muscle activity study allowed it.
Coaches broadly agree strict strength should come first, with the kip added later to make reps efficient. CrossFit's ring series warns that a large, uncontrolled kip can get you over once or twice but doesn't build a repeatable skill and puts significant stress on your shoulders; that is coaching opinion, not a measured finding.
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No swing at all: the hardest version, needing the most pulling strength (our editorial note).
Coaches agree strength comes first, and connective tissue adapts slowly. Build about 10 strict pull-ups, ideally to the chest, and about 10 deep dips.
Too little height causes failed reps and the chicken wing. Do explosive pulls to the chest and pull the bar towards your hips.
The chicken wing can lead to injury, and one clinic linked it to a shoulder cartilage injury. Get more height, keep your feet together and bring both elbows over together.
Separated feet twist your trunk and cause the chicken wing. Squeeze your feet together; CrossFit's coaching suggests holding a sponge between them.
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It can get you over once or twice without building a repeatable skill. Build strict strength first and keep any kip small and controlled.
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A looping path makes the turnover harder. Keep the bar or rings close and drive your chest over.
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The muscle-up's dip starts very deep. Train deep, controlled dips and support holds.
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Fatigue was one of the commonest reasons street workout athletes gave for their injuries. Keep sets to 1 to 3 reps, practise fresh, and stop when the turnover slows.
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CrossFit's coaching article says the process can take years, and that progress may be slow and come in unpredictable spurts. CrossFit's ring series says most athletes need 2 to 4 weeks in the early drill stages before the full movement becomes realistic, and longer if they're still building pulling and pressing strength.
These are our editorial estimates, not study results. Be wary of promises of a muscle-up in a day.
One pull-up session and one ring-dip session a week for strength, starting with 5 to 7 single slow negatives with 2 to 4 minutes' rest, then 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 strict reps. Alongside, 2 or 3 short skill sessions a week of 10 to 15 minutes of drills, plus 1 to 3 muscle-up attempts a week, filmed. Cut the extra work back if your recovery, performance or motivation drops.
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Our editorial starting point: 2 sessions a week, at the start of a session. Skill first while you're fresh (3 to 5 sets of 1 to 3 drills or attempts), then strength (high pull-ups and deep dips, 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest). Our muscle-up progression workout puts this in one session.
3 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 while you're fresh, as our exercise library suggests. Stop the session when the pull slows or the turnover gets ragged.
Add it after you have strict strength, as a way to make reps efficient rather than a substitute for strength.
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The muscle-up progression trains the skill and the strength in one session; the pull-up workouts build the pulling base, and the shoulder routine looks after the joint that takes the load.
Build to a bar muscle-up: hollow holds, high pull-ups, deep dips and slow negatives, with transition drills and attempts while you're fresh.
30 minAdvanced7 movesPull-up bar, A stepWork up to your first pull-up: dead hangs, scapular pulls, rows, negatives and assisted pull-ups.
25 minBeginner7 movesPull-up bar, A stepTrain for your first pull-up: hangs, shoulder-blade pulls, rows, band- or machine-assisted pull-ups, slow negatives and grip work in one session.
30 minBeginner8 movesPull-up bar, A stepAn advanced bodyweight strength session: pull-ups, dips, pistol squats, archer push-ups, L-sits and Nordic curls.
45 minAdvanced9 movesPull-up bar, An anchor pointA 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandFor the ring muscle-up, build a steady ring support and deep ring dips first; weighted pull-ups build extra pulling strength.
Build the strength first with the pull-up and dip ladders, as our move page asks.
The turnover loads the shoulder and elbow in awkward positions, and a clinic series and a survey link it to a shoulder cartilage injury and biceps tendon tears. Wait until loading is comfortable, and follow our shoulder guides.
A man with low vitamin D and low bone density broke his upper arm in a ring muscle-up. Ask your doctor before explosive arm work (our suggestion).
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The false grip on rings bends the wrist under load, so build it up slowly, or stay on the bar (our suggestion).
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For sudden sharp pain, a pop, swelling, or pins and needles in your shoulder, elbow or arm (our suggestion).
Contact NHS 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment (in the US, urgent care) for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, not being able to move your arm, a shoulder or arm that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in the arm, an arm that's hot or cold to touch, or pain after an injury or fall. These can be signs of a broken or dislocated bone or a torn tendon.
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If shoulder pain gets worse or doesn't improve after 2 weeks.
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A kip is a different, legitimate technique and the CrossFit standard; it moves work to the hips and trunk. Build strict strength first, then add it.
Strength is needed but not enough: the transition, and on rings the false grip, are skills of their own. Coaches' strength thresholds range from about 5 to 15, and none has been tested.
For most people it takes months, and CrossFit's coaching article says it can take years. Only people who are already strong at high pulls and deep dips get one quickly.
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It needs a higher pull than a pull-up, a quick turnover and a deeper dip than most people train, and ring muscle-ups also need the false grip.
About 10 strict pull-ups, ideally pulling your chest to the bar, and about 10 dips. Coaches range from about 5 of each to 15 of each, and no study has tested any number. How high you pull matters as much as how many.
No study has timed it. CrossFit's coaching article says it can take years, and another says most athletes need 2 to 4 weeks of drills once they're strong enough. Our estimate is often 2 to 6 months once you have about 10 strict pull-ups and dips, and longer from scratch.
Only if you're already very strong at high pull-ups and deep dips and have practised the transition. For most people it takes months.
A bar, say the authors of the only muscle activity study: ring muscle-ups worked the biceps, forearms, upper trapezius and triceps harder and need a false grip. Some coaches find the rings' turning makes the transition smoother.
No. It's a different technique and the standard in CrossFit, and the swing moves work to the hips and trunk. Coaches agree you should build strict strength first.
It's when one elbow gets over the bar before the other and you drag the second arm over. It comes from too little height, often with your feet apart in the swing, and one clinic linked the movement to a shoulder cartilage injury. Pull higher, keep your feet together and go back to drills.
On rings, the heel of your hand sits over the ring with your wrist bent, so you don't have to change grip at the top. You need it for strict ring muscle-ups; you don't need it on a bar.
A pull-up ends with your chin over the bar. A muscle-up keeps pulling until your chest passes the bar, turns over and presses out of a deep dip, so it needs a higher pull and a deeper dip.
The turnover loads the shoulder in an awkward position, and shoulders are the most often injured area in calisthenics surveys. Rest the skill and see our shoulder pain guide. Get urgent help for sudden severe pain, a change in shape, or numbness.
The lats, chest, front of the shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms, with your trunk holding you together. Bar and ring versions worked the big muscles about equally in the one study that measured them.
They're an advanced move with an injury record in surveys and case reports, but no one knows the risk per attempt. Build the strength first, practise fresh, keep sets short and stop for sharp pain.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
