Master the Muscle-Up The One Tip You Need Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Master the Muscle-Up The One Tip You Need How to Beat the Tricky Transition by Tanner Shuck December 26, 2021May 13, 2022 Tags Challenge Training, Exercise Coaching The Muscle-Up The Single Best Upper-Body Exercise Yes, I said it. What other exercise trains virtually every muscle in the upper body? None! By combining the two most foundational upper-body exercises for relative strength – the pull-up and the dip – the muscle-up is a super exercise. The main issue? Most people lack the basic strength required to do it. To competently perform this movement, you need to have a solid foundation of relative strength and low body fat. Even then, the transition phase gets tricky. So, if you're relatively lean and want to unlock this elite exercise, here's where to start: Build a solid strength foundation in both strict pull-ups and strict ring dips. Strength before skill! Once you can easily perform 5 unbroken, false-grip ring pull-ups and 5 unbroken ring dips (externally rotating the thumbs at the top of each dip), you should be strong enough to do a muscle-up. Master the transition. The transition is the skill of getting your head and shoulders from below the rings to above the rings for the dip portion. The transition phase can prove elusive for many, even if they possess the requisite strength. Use the Toes-to-Rings Technique Start in a dead hang with a false grip on the rings, then lift your toes before you pull with your arms. Lifting your toes first forces your hips to follow, thereby raising your center of gravity and allowing you to get your upper body on top of the rings more easily. While this isn't exactly a "strict" muscle-up, this technique will allow you to perform many more "strict-ish" muscle-ups. Incorporating the toes-to-rings technique is the best way for beginners to master the strict muscle-up because it allows them to accumulate more reps. The more reps you get under your belt, the more your technique improves. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Interval Training Workouts for the Rower These two routines are not only fat incinerators, they'll also help to build your glutes and quads. Check 'em out. Metcon, Tips, Training Dr John Rusin January 24 Training Advice You Don t Want to Hear 2 Tough, tough love from 7 coaches; stuff that will make you pull the pillow over your head and shout, "no, no, no!" Bodybuilding, Training T Nation June 18 Training Tip Full Body Fridays Here's a new way to program push-pull training for even better results. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Dean Graddon June 23 Training Tip The Missing Warm-Up for Leg Day Add this simple move to your warm-up on lower-body day and you'll be ready to smoothly bang out the big lifts. It Hurts Fix It, Tips, Training Mike Sheridan November 28