T-Nation: Muscles-ups are the ultimate upper body exercise

Started by RatioFitness, December 2, 2011 · 10 Replies · 7,203 Views

Falcon

Wide, no lean, or non false grip ring MU would be a fine exercise, I don't see anything ultimate about the standart muscle up 95% of people do. Just because it combines press and pull doesn't make it a miraculous exercise.

Robert Stejskal
Coach Sommer said:
It should always be remembered that many times the "magic", or overall effectiveness, of an exercise lies not in the broad general parameters of a movement, but in the specific details of how it is performed.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

This quote came from Coach Sommer's post on Body Levers (and how they differ from Dragon Flags), but it seems to apply equally well to muscleups (and pretty much everything else).

Razz

Not sure I'd call it ultimate..it's just the beginning in this realm of advanced bodyweight exercises. The ultimate exercises to me are straight arm exercises.

Aaron Griffin
Razz said:
Not sure I'd call it ultimate..it's just the beginning in this realm of advanced bodyweight exercises. The ultimate exercises to me are straight arm exercises.

I'm partial to a Straight Arm HS Press from ring support

John Sapinoso

Well this is T-nation, guys.

To be honest I'd say press handstand variations are the ultimate upper body exercise.

Ryan Libke

I think the choice of the word "ultimate" for the article was probably just harmless hyperbole. The general point of the article is to say that it is a very good exercise, which, of course, it is. I would venture to argue that there is no one ultimate upper body exercise, i.e. one that does all things for all people, in all ways. Its all relative, ultimately.

Joshua Naterman

For a vertical pull to press with the body remaining upright, muscle up progressions probably are the single 'best' thing out there.

Press handstands work a completely different set of muscles so I don't know that a fair comparison can be made, it's a completely different plane of movement as well as a different body orientation.

If both are performed correctly they are both massively difficult and build excellent strength.

RatioFitness

Another mention of gymnastics exercises on t-nation today.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=5003258

4. Don't Underestimate Bodyweight Training

It's common for trainees that want to build muscle to revolve around the barbell, as it's the most fabled piece of equipment. Squats, bench presses, deadlifts – ahh, smell the manliness. But don't neglect bodyweight training like push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, muscle-ups, and perhaps even some handstands, planche training, and front levers. Not only do these lifts keep your bodyweight in check (performance decreases if you're overly puffy), but they can build muscle and stave off body fat accumulation.

I wonder how widespread such things are getting in training facilities out there? What kind of progressions are they using? Are they following Coach's, or what?