Bar Muscle-Up
Pull-up into a dip, up and over the bar
The move that turns heads at the park. It builds in a straight line: own the pull-up first, then add explosive height, a strong bar dip, and finally the transition that links pull to dip. Follow the rungs in order. Skipping ahead is how people stall for years.
Assisted pull-up
Reps3 x 6-8Before anything goes over the bar you need a real pull. Loop a resistance band under your feet, or use an assisted pull-up machine, so some of your weight is taken off and you can train the full range with clean form.
Gate: 8 assisted pull-ups, chin clearly over the bar, no swinging.
The band gives you the reps you can't do yet, so you build the pattern first.
“Lead with the chest, pull the elbows down to your ribs.”
View exercise →Bodyweight pull-up
Reps3 x 8-10Now drop the band. Strict, full-range pull-ups from a dead hang are the base of the whole move. If you can't do these yet, stay on this rung. It is the one that matters most.
Gate: 10 strict pull-ups from a dead hang, chin over the bar.
Full bodyweight, no help. This is the strength floor for a muscle-up.
“Start from a full hang, pull until your collarbone reaches the bar.”
View exercise →Explosive high pull-up
Reps3 x 5 to lower chestA normal pull-up brings your chin to the bar. A muscle-up needs your chest to the bar. Pull as hard and fast as you can and aim to drive the bar down toward your sternum. That extra height is the room you'll use to get over the top.
Gate: Pull the bar to your lower chest / sternum with control.
You need height before you need technique.
“Pull down and back, like you're driving the bar to your belt.”
View exercise →Straight-bar dip
Reps3 x 8The top half of a muscle-up is a dip on a straight bar. Get on top of the bar, lean your chest over it, and press to a locked-out arm. Strong dips here make the finish of the muscle-up feel easy.
Gate: 8 clean dips on a straight bar, leaning over it.
The top half of the muscle-up is a dip.
“Stay over the bar, don't let it drift away from you.”
View exercise →Assisted muscle-up
Reps3 x 3Link the pull and the dip with help. A band under your feet, a jump off the ground, or a spotter takes just enough weight so you can feel the transition, that moment where you roll your shoulders and wrists over the top of the bar.
Gate: 3 assisted muscle-ups linking pull to dip in one motion.
Lets you rehearse the transition before you own the full strength.
“Fast hands, turn the wrists over the bar as early as you can.”
Kip muscle-up
Reps3 x 3Use a small hip drive to carry you through the hardest inch of the move. This isn't cheating. It teaches your body the path over the bar at full speed, so the strict version has something to copy.
Gate: 3 muscle-ups with a controlled kip, no crashing into the dip.
The kip carries you through the sticking point of the transition.
“Drive the hips, snap the elbows up and over, then press out.”
Bodyweight strict muscle-up
SkillSingles, then 3-5No band, no kip, no help. A dead-hang pull so high your chest clears the bar, a clean roll of the wrists over the top, then a press to a locked-out dip. This is the one people film.
Gate: No kip, smooth transition, finish in a dip lockout.
Full strict pull-to-dip on bodyweight alone.
“Pull high, snap the elbows over, press out.”
View exercise →Weighted muscle-up
Reps3 x 1-3 + loadOnce strict muscle-ups feel easy, add weight with a dip belt or a light vest. This is how you keep progressing when bodyweight stops being a challenge, and it makes your unweighted reps feel effortless.
Gate: Clean strict muscle-up with added load, same smooth transition.
Adding load is the only way to keep the move progressing once bodyweight is easy.
“Same technique, just heavier. Don't let the load pull your chest off the bar.”
View exercise →
Tap the circle on the rung you're training. We'll remember it and light the path up to there.