Recently I put up a few posts in the forum...one on how to get rings to chest level to prep for muscle-up...the other on scaling dynamic movements. In thinking about it, if I could share some wisdom to anyone starting (outside my normal sermons about slowing down to let your joints catch up), it would be to drop down to progressions where you can do the full range of motion in control.
For example, I can do 7-8 pullups from a dead hang. Well, so I thought. First I learned this issue about doing the full range from shoulders fully extended all the way to fully retracted scapula and rings/bar at chest level. Then I noticed that I was using momentum from the first part of the movement to propel me over the bar rather than using pure strength to do the pullup. As soon as I tried doing pull-ups at with no momentum and total control (maybe like 2-1-2 tempo), I could only do 2 or 3.
That's when I started thinking, "well, if my goal is to get a full ROM pull-up so that I can do a real muscle-up without momentum, maybe I need to make sure I'm training my pull-ups right". So I was perusing the forum, and I found this old post from Slizz:
http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewto ... =15#p43922
You will also make very good progress if you scale the pull WODs back to just doing slow (8-10s is the goal, but if you start out with 3-4s that is ok) negatives with FULL ROM. Sounds stupid but it works. Just do 4-5 reps per set, as prescribed in the WOD. You can do an explosive pull up to the top if you want to and are able to in order to get bat to the contracted position again, but it is perfectly ok to jump back up or use a stool. I believe you should have similar rates of success with each approach, but working the negatives during a scaled WOD is going to be a lot less disruptive and simpler to program in my opinion. When you are able to do the 8-10s negatives for the whole WOD I believe you will find that the actual pull ups are a breeze. I WOULD absolutely switch between chin ups and regular grip pull ups at first, and add in the other variations and grips as you get stronger.
And so I tried doing a 10s negative descent through the full ROM. After 2, I was dead. And that just confirmed that if I want to be strengthening my pull movements, I need to drop back to a progression where I'm actually working the movement rather than just using momentum to cheat through it. (And next WOD, I'm actually gonna drop another progression to do just 3-5s descents and work my way to 10s descents.)
The moral of this story...whether it's pullups, levers, muscle-ups, dips, etc. If you want to move to the next progression you really need to have mastered the one you're working on right now. And if you're using momentum -- or not going through full ROM -- then you might need to drop back a little to build up to where you're not cheating yourself. Not getting that high, high dip? Then put your legs up on a bench and do them assisted until you can go all the way deep. Still too tough? Time to put your legs on the floor.
Not a rant...but just for you guys new to gymnastics, this isn't like your bench press where you're just maxing the metal you're lifting. Your joints are begging you to slow down. You can't learn the skill for the next moves when you're not even really strong enough for the last skill. And if there's a weak link somewhere in the chain, it'll be a humbling confrontation when you find yourself barely able to move forward.
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Just thought I'd save you guys the heartache and frustration I've been through - J