Pull · A pull-up bar with clearance above it
How to do
Muscle-ups
The hardest movement in the Alea pool: a pull-up that continues into a dip, ending with your torso above the bar. It only appears on a large exercise die, and it is a genuine skill rather than something you brute-force.
| Movement pattern | Pull |
| Measured in | reps |
| Equipment | A pull-up bar with clearance above it |
| Effort weight in Alea | 3.0 per rep |
| Appears from | D17 exercise die upward |
How to do it
Setup
Take a slightly-wider-than-shoulder grip on the bar, thumbs over the top rather than hooked under. Hang fully, shoulders engaged rather than slack. Leave enough space above the bar to get your chest over it.
The movement
Pull explosively, aiming to bring the bar toward your lower chest rather than your chin. As the bar reaches sternum height, lean your chest forward over it and rotate your wrists on top. That transition is the whole exercise. From there press out of the dip position to lock out with straight arms.
Common mistakes
- Pulling only to chin height, which never creates the clearance the transition needs
- Trying to muscle through the transition slowly rather than pulling explosively
- Excessive kipping that turns it into a swing with no strength carryover
- Attempting it before you can do roughly ten strict pull-ups and ten straight-bar dips
Too hard? Scale it down
Build the two halves separately: strict pull-ups to the chest, and straight-bar dips. Then work explosive pull-ups where the bar reaches your sternum, and jumping muscle-ups from a box to learn the transition. Negatives, lowering slowly from the top, teach the position better than repeated failed attempts.
Too easy? Scale it up
Slow, strict muscle-ups with no leg drive, then weighted, then working toward the ring variation.
Where this sits in the Alea pool
Alea draws exercises from an ordered pool of twenty, and the die size slices from the top of that list. Muscle-ups is number 17 of 20, so it enters the draw once your exercise die reaches D17. Below that, you will never roll it.
Its effort weight is 3.0 per rep, which the app uses when it builds 100-rep sessions and tailored workouts, so a session containing muscle-ups carries fewer total reps than one built from lighter movements.
Roll it now in your browser, or set your dice and let it come up on its own.
General information, not medical or fitness advice. Stop if you feel pain or dizziness, use the easier variation when in doubt, and see the full training disclaimer before starting.
Let the dice pick it for you
Alea draws muscle-ups at random alongside nineteen other bodyweight movements. Free, no account needed.
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Related
Muscle-ups FAQ
What do I need before attempting a muscle-up?
A common benchmark is around ten strict pull-ups and ten straight-bar dips. Without both, the transition has nothing to work with and repeated attempts mostly build frustration.
Why does the bar always stop at my chin?
Not enough pulling speed. A muscle-up needs the bar to reach sternum height to create room for the transition, which requires explosive effort rather than a grind.
Can I train muscle-ups at home?
Only with a bar that has clearance above it, which most doorway bars do not. If you cannot get above the bar, train pull-ups and dips instead and set a smaller exercise die.