Reverse MU Progressions

[Bryce Warren]

So I've looked around quite a bit and have only found topics on the reverse MU itself with videos, not necessarily and progressions towards it. I see in BTGB it goes from a reverse yewki and jumps to reverse mu for progressions. I get the feeling that's a very far gap in between, especially if you don't have a spotter or assistance to take some weight off. I'd just like to know if there was some other exercises to fill the gap, and make the transition into training negatives a bit easier. 

[Joshua Slocum]

It would help if you could provide more information about where you are in your training right now.

Completing the Foundation series (especially the rope-climb progressions) would be a good start, though.

[Bryce Warren]

Sadly I don't have access to a rope unless I pay 10$ per drop in at the local gymnastics club, there's no memberships or anything it's sort of a rip off and I can't afford that. So I'm looking for some insight on curling progressions to reach this skill. Right now I'm not training for it, as I'm well behind that level of strength. I know about the foundation and I will be completing it in time. Just for educational purposes right now I'm just wanting to know the progressions that steer towards the reverse muscle-up.

[Ralph Palutke]

here you go...(keep in mind what you've said before. you might be to weak even for the first progression in this video. the stress in the biceps tendon is pretty high)

[Joshua Slocum]

Sadly I don't have access to a rope unless I pay 10$ per drop in at the local gymnastics club, there's no memberships or anything it's sort of a rip off and I can't afford that. So I'm looking for some insight on curling progressions to reach this skill. Right now I'm not training for it, as I'm well behind that level of strength. I know about the foundation and I will be completing it in time. Just for educational purposes right now I'm just wanting to know the progressions that steer towards the reverse muscle-up.

 

Luckily for you, the RC progressions in Foundation don't even use a rope in F1 or F2. Getting it and starting it would be the most productive thing you could do, if learning an IMU is your goal.  

here you go...(keep in mind what you've said before. you might be to weak even for the first progression in this video. the stress in the biceps tendon is pretty high)

The progressions shown in this video are not at all appropriate for beginners.

[Ralph Palutke]

@Josh: yes i know they are very intermediate but i thought they might fill the gap between yewkies and reverse muscle up.

like i've wrote even the first progression in the video might be to advanced.

[Jon Douglas]

@Josh: yes i know they are very intermediate but i thought they might fill the gap between yewkies and reverse muscle up.

like i've wrote even the first progression in the video might be to advanced.

Reverse yewkis in full lay are def not a joke either.

Basic of basics; spend time in false grip inverted hang to lay groundwork

[Joshua Slocum]

@Josh: yes i know they are very intermediate but i thought they might fill the gap between yewkies and reverse muscle up.

like i've wrote even the first progression in the video might be to advanced.

Yes, I was agreeing with you.

[Brian Li]

If you don't want to do heavy bicep curls with DBs or BBs, then you can do ring curls and supported BL/pelican curls to build up to the inverted curl. Otherwise you will have to do spotted inverted curls and negatives.

[Daniel Burnham]

 

 

Just for educational purposes right now I'm just wanting to know the progressions that steer towards the reverse muscle-up

Everyone seems to be an academic here.  But seriously once you finish the Foundation Series,  and by finish I mean the whole thing including unreleased ones, you will be in a better position to understand what you need to get to the reverse muscle up.

 

You should be proficient in advanced rope climb variations.  In my opinion these are unavoidable.  You will need these to build the volume required not to get injured during reverse muscle up work and other ring work.  You will also need to have handstand pushups on the rings.  In the same way dips and pull-ups are needed for the regular muscle up you need these.  

 

Personally, I am using a spotter to train them and have not found a better form of assistance.  For testing purposes you should probably be able to curl about your bodyweight, but I wouldn't focus on this as the progressions laid out by coach are much much more useful in obtaining this skill otherwise there would be a bunch of bodybuilders doing it.

[Brian Li]

I would like to mention that being able to false grip in the inverted hang is very important. Without a false grip it becomes so much harder that I can imagine the difference between the two would be like the difference between a slow MU with false grip and a slow MU with no false grip.

 

I was able to do a supinated grip tuck BL pull-up and could bicep curl about BW (possibly even more after I got the BL pull-up) and wasn't able to get the inverted curl (inverted MU half) because I couldn't false grip in the inverted hang. I was able to curl to about halfway from inverted hang without the false grip though so maybe if I was strong enough to false grip in inverted hang I might have been able to do a full rep at least with feet on straps for stabilization. 

 

Has anyone seen someone inverted curl without the false grip or know if it's possible. And I'm not talking about a kipping one.

[Bryce Warren]

Inverted hangs and curls with false grip is where I figured you'd start out. I also did see that pelican video, just wasn't sure if this was considered a progression towards the RMU. The reason I asked is because most movements have their specific requirements just like the regular MU is full rom dips and pull-ups, or the elbow prep list that coach laid out for the IC.

 

To me it doesn't seem like attaining a OAC would assist the RMU process very much, and when the time comes for me to choose which direction to go I like to know where my starting point is and when I should be starting it. If there are no set progressions for this then that's fine, I will figure out the best for me. 

[Joshua Slocum]

Inverted hangs and curls with false grip is where I figured you'd start out.

 

You should start out by developing a solid base of gymnastics strength. Worrying about what you're going to have to do in a couple of years when you're actually ready to begin dedicated inverted muscle-up work isn't going to help you at all. If you really want to learn an IMU, you need to start mastering the basics now. It's fun to think about how one would hypothetically train an advanced skill, but if you don't focus on the training that's appropriate for you in the present, you'll never get to the more difficult skills. 

 

 

 

 

As an aside, it's also worth noting that at least one GB member found that he was very quickly able to pick up the OAC after mastering the upper-level rope-climb work he learned in a seminar. 

[Bryce Warren]

If you read above, OAC isn't my priority, and anything with actual rope climbs isn't either because I don't have access to one at the moment. I started the basics a long time ago, I've achieved a solid slow MU on rings, straddle bl, etc. Right now I've taken a big step back to solidify the foundation. I've been progressing rapidly through them, and I'll soon be back to training my MU, and I don't figure it will be very long before I move on from that as I trained them a fair amount in the past. 

 

I haven't said anything about my current level of strength other than I'm far from a RMU, which is a huge feat of strength to begin with. So assuming I haven't even begun, is rather off point and not really appreciated. I asked simply the progressions that work towards this movement, nothing more. So if anyone really does know how to work towards these properly, and the steps needed to attain it (if I need to point out again, coach's elbow prep towards an IC is a perfect example of what's required for a certain skill) then I'd love to hear it and learn more about it. Let's stay on topic though, it's not about my skill level, many people like educating themselves on how to get certain places, it's not uncommon.

[Brian Li]

I forgot to say (for educational purposes) that using momentum from back felges, kips, or front pulls before the inverted MU are also progressions to it.

 

Oh and OACs won't have much transfer to the inverted curls because it uses mainly the lats and rear delt. Regular MUs are completely different from inverted MUs so they will have no transfer. A good base for the inverted MU is having strong biceps and rings HSPU.

[Bryce Warren]

I don't really have the luxury of vast amounts of space with the rings, or a spotter, or mats to cushion my falls while attempting the assisted versions. I need to find a way to build the raw strength to be able to at least practice negatives. Am I best to go the route of assisted pelican exercises like the ones in the video then? I can't really think of any other curling motions that will stress the biceps enough to progress into a RMU.

[Brian Li]

I don't really have the luxury of vast amounts of space with the rings, or a spotter, or mats to cushion my falls while attempting the assisted versions. I need to find a way to build the raw strength to be able to at least practice negatives. Am I best to go the route of assisted pelican exercises like the ones in the video then? 

If you don't have rings then how are you going to do the assisted pelicans? Are you going to use a bar? 

 

I can't really think of any other curling motions that will stress the biceps enough to progress into a RMU. Why not just do bicep curls with dumbbells or barbells? It's the easiy to measure your progress in your curling strength. 

Why not just do bicep curls with dumbbells or barbells? It's easy to measure your progress with weights too.

[Bryce Warren]

I said I don't have the space with the rings, I have rings. I do not, on the other hand, have a huge area with mats like a gymnastics club would have. I either put them up in the gym on the squat rack or in my home on my pull-up bar.

 

I prefer to stray from weights aside from assisted stretching or for rotator movements. Everything in gst is possible without them and I'd like to know how this one works.

[Brian Li]

Well then I guess you are best to go with supported pelicans. I think doing ring curls may be better for you because you can put your feet higher as you progress and eventually reach inverted. You can also try the negatives of BL curls or supinated grip BL pull-ups in tuck if you don't have room tall enough to do negative inverted curls, but that may be currently beyond your abilities and can cause injuries.

[Bryce Warren]

Yea pelicans sound like the best route after talking it over, wasn't even really thinking about increasing the height of the feet until inverted. Probably start with these after my MU training is done, for now I'll just throw some false-grip training in so I have plenty of time to get that down properly. Thanks for the input B1214N, much appreciated.

[Joshua Slocum]

I haven't said anything about my current level of strength other than I'm far from a RMU, which is a huge feat of strength to begin with. So assuming I haven't even begun, is rather off point and not really appreciated. I asked simply the progressions that work towards this movement, nothing more. So if anyone really does know how to work towards these properly, and the steps needed to attain it (if I need to point out again, coach's elbow prep towards an IC is a perfect example of what's required for a certain skill) then I'd love to hear it and learn more about it. Let's stay on topic though, it's not about my skill level, many people like educating themselves on how to get certain places, it's not uncommon.

I apologize if my previous post came off as dismissive or demeaning. Know that my intention is to help, not to put you down. I want you to achieve an inverted muscle-up. And to that end, I'm telling you that this line of questioning will not help at your current skill level.

In my experience, spending time asking how to train skills years beyond you is not just a distraction, it's downright counterproductive. All the time and energy you're putting into trying to figure out how you might hypoethetically start training an IMU in 3-6 years would be much better spent asking how you can get the most out of the training you're doing right now.

 

Yea pelicans sound like the best route after talking it over, wasn't even really thinking about increasing the height of the feet until inverted. Probably start with these after my MU training is done, for now I'll just throw some false-grip training in so I have plenty of time to get that down properly. Thanks for the input B1214N, much appreciated.

 

Mastering muscle-ups is not sufficient preparation to begin training supported pelican.

[Bryce Warren]

 

All the time and energy you're putting into trying to figure out how you might hypoethetically start training an IMU in 3-6 years would be much better spent asking how you can get the most out of the training you're doing right now.

You're the one that turned this into a hypothetical situation. Progressions are about training up to something. Just like you go from bench dips to full dips. I did not ask how to train for an IMU, I asked about how to get to that level. You've misunderstood everything I've said thus far, and have said nothing about the actual topic.

 

 As of right now, I see no evidence to show that assisted pelicans are out of reach after MU training. Footing can be changed according to strength. I also practiced inclined assisted pelicans a few years ago when I was messing around and not so serious, and there were no problems. Starting at an incline will be well within reason.

[Joshua Slocum]

You're the one that turned this into a hypothetical situation. Progressions are about training up to something. Just like you go from bench dips to full dips. I did not ask how to train for an IMU, I asked about how to get to that level. You've misunderstood everything I've said thus far, and have said nothing about the actual topic.

 

If you're going to be confrontational, there is no more help I can offer. Best of luck to you.

[Bryce Warren]

I don't post on here looking for confrontation. See it all the time on here, tell it how it is. If you have knowledge on the topic I've displayed and think you can help, great! If not, I don't see the point in saying "don't worry about it, it's not within your reach". Not confronting, just saying why post if you're not going to help?

 

On another note, if someone here has achieved this skill, and knows the direction in which to get it then post it up! Otherwise I'll have to go with the route that was already discussed, and see how it goes 

[Coach Sommer]

... If you have knowledge on the topic I've displayed and think you can help, great! If not, I don't see the point in saying "don't worry about it, it's not within your reach". Not confronting, just saying why post if you're not going to help ... On another note, if someone here has achieved this skill, and knows the direction in which to get it then post it up! Otherwise I'll have to go with the route that was already discussed, and see how it goes ...

 

I certainly understand and encourage your curiousity about future progressions; however be aware that there is a fine line that should not be crossed between acquiring enough information to scratch that 'intellectual itch' and attempting to implement that information prematurely and causing yourself unnecessary injury.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer