Got my muscle up!

[Patrick Patterson]

After atleast 9 months of work, I've finally gotton my first muscle up 2 days ago. Below is a video of my third muscle up.

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I'm shocked because for so long it just seemed like an impossibility. The first progession in the book (negative MU) was way beyond my reach for so long. What finally did it for me was I found a video here somewhere of a dude doing the muscle up transition with assist from a soccer ball on the floor, balancing on it with straight legs. That finally enabled me to get the correct amount of assistance so that I could slowly do transitions and negatives, and very very gradually give myself less assistance. I essetially GTG's that about every day, a few times a day, doing 1-3 reps' for a total of 2-3 months, gradually with less resistance. However the actual muscle up seemed totally out of reach. I was on the road for 2 weeks over the holdiay and eneded up taking pretty much a complete break from all my workouts. Then when I came home I jumped on the rings and BAM I did a muscle up!

Any comments on the form and/or what I should do to improve it would be greatly appreciated. As far as I can tell I'm not really kipping at all, but using a lot of upward momenteum to get over alot of the transition.

But just wanted to post this because I felt for SO long that it was impossible, and wanted people to know that it's not. It really seems to be able being able to find the exact specific technique that will allow you get just enough of the right assistance... it's really about finding the best way to scale things as far down as you need to. I think, anyway.

[Nic Branson]

Congrats on getting it!!

[Patrick Patterson]

Hey thanks, guys!

One thing I notice is that I was really consistent about just getting really slow controlled assisted muscle ups and negatives, and never pushed myself to try to do a sloppy kipping muscle up at all, perhaps that's why I went right into a non-kipping muscle up. I really see the value of small controlled effort now.

About the pike in my hips, what exactly are you referring to? You mean in the pull-up phase not being totally straight? Or?

Another thing is that (and this was true when doing the assits and negatives) is that the muscle up really kills my elbows. It's getting much better, but there is a definate pain there. What specific elbow pre-hab should I / could I do for this?

[charlieborro]

congrats man!! I've tried today too, but I just failed I won't give up until i can do them!! way to go!!!

Charlie

[Patrick Patterson]

You're exactly right Bdk1786, it doesn't feel like a injury/pain but more like a strain, like perhaps as if my tendons or joints in the elbows are just not fully ready or strong enough for it. As I feel so giddy about being able to do a MU now I have to stop myself from trying them everytime I walk pasat my rings as this feeling the elbows does tell me I need to give myself lots of time to recover and rest. As for the pike, it is an issue of the low clearance I've got in my set-up, which is the best I can get now. But perhaps I could bring the rings up more sometimes so that instead of pressing all the way up to support I'm going to have more room for straight legs. Also, what do you mean by "transition pulls"? As in just get into the bottom of the transition (not pulling up to it but starting there) and then just pulling over to the top and back of the transition?

charlieborro, there is hope, man! I felt so hopeless for so long about it, but it finally came. That's why I wanted to post this, so other people at my level could see that it can happen. I mean I've been doing BTG for atleast 2 - 2.5 years, and this is my first major victory in that time. I still cannot kick up into a free standing handstand (nor really hold one for that long), my l-sit, planche, front lever and back lever have been stuck as the same essential progression for atleast 1.5 years, and I still can't do a headstand push-up (despite years of work). So I was really starting to loose all motivation for this whole thing, I really needed to get SOMETHING... and then this happened. Good start to 2012!

[Cole Dano]

Congratulations! It's a slow road.

FWIW . i'm in the same boat, and knew from the get go that the MU would be a major project, my elbows are screwed from swellbo so many times when i was skating. I'm taking the same tract as you, the kip is a waste of time, so what if it takes a few more months to get there. Thankfully all the prehab i've learned from Coach has cured my yoga shoulders, but i think the elbow is structurally damaged so it's something i have to live with.

Just keep it up with the others and they will come, at the same time, take a look at your programing if you've been completely stalled that long, there must be something in the way you are setting up your workouts that's off.

I'm moving very slowly, but can see there is progress, however incremental, on a regular basis.

[Patrick Patterson]

Thanks Cole! I think this issue with the elbow pain worked in my favor as the one or two times I tried to do a kip MU it just blasted my elbows with so much pain that swore off trying to do any dynamic movement like that again.

As for my program overall, it's a been a long twisting journey. I started right when the book came out and followed the programming advice there. But then after almost a year, suddenly the advice on the boards changed to having to have a 60sec hold in order to advance to the next progression (not the 12 or 15 as advocted in the book). So that had me restructure everything. Then later the consensus seemed to be to do the WODs and that they were totally scalable for everyone. So I switched to that for almost a year. But then I noticed that I was completely stagnet on all my FSP and FBEs, that even though I was working so hard, I was not progressing at all. When I finally tested myself I had regressed significanty from my pre WOD results. So starting this last June I again went back on to my own program. Again by that time the consensus on the boards had now switched to doing Pre-Reqs. So actually over the years because of changing opinion on the board I've kept going back to previous/more easy progressions. Anyway these are my results since I went back on my own program (first test in June, latest test at end of November):

June Test > Nov Test

Adv Frog 49 sec > 68 sec

FL Flat Tuck 37 sec > 42 sec (improvement in form)

BL Tuck 35 sec > 54 sec (Flat Tuck)

Lsit Bent 32 sec > 33 sec (but legs straight)

I'm still not sure if the above results are ok, or if I am moving too slow and need to re-look at my program. Essentially my program has been a SSC version of the Kilroy template. I do a Pre-Req WU, then my statics, then 5reps x 3 sets of FBEs (rotating 3 for each plane of movement as outlined in the book).

It seems that mostly people will default to "do the scaled WODs" or "You have to go to a seminar" for most questions like this. I've tried the WODs and it didn't work for me at all. Going to a seminar is just out of my reach for the forseeable future. So sticking with a SSC as I've been seems to be my choice. However I still haven't found the correct tweaked version of things to get the progression that I feel like I should have.

[Patrick Patterson]

Thanks Bdk1786.

Wow, you move on after 5 secionds? So what do your work sets look like? I decided to reach a certain minimum of strength and skills before I go back to the WOD's. But I incorporate some of the things from the WODs in my own template. For instance I have 5 workout days, 3 days where I rotate through 3 different FBEs in each movement plane as per the books guidelines, but then I do a ring day for day 4 (using the template of the ring days from WODs), then for day 5 I do the workout from the WOd where you do the press handstands, followed by eother the handstand push up ladders or 10 mins of HS runs. So far I'm happy with this. Getting ready to start a new SSC, so I'll most likely move on for alot of my FSPs. However, do you agree with the wisdom that your FSP work sets should be no more than 4 sets?