Muscle-Up Guide | Complete TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN using bands

Hey there! This is a 12-step technique breakdown I created for the Bar Muscle-Up. You can use the guide to refine each step and conquer the muscle-up like a pro!

I’ve included resistance bands in this breakdown as they are great for muscle-up beginners. They can be used to practice the muscle-up technique even when we’re not strong enough to do bodyweight reps yet.

How To Do A Muscle-Up With Correct Technique Summarized

1. Set Targets: Place a marker a small step in front and another behind the bar.
2. Grip: Grab the bar using a false grip.
3. Start Position: Walk your feet to the target behind the bar.
4. Swing Start: Jump up to build swing momentum.
5. Swing Forward: Swing your feet towards the front target.
6. Get Long: Extend your body long and flat.
7. Create Bounce: Finish your swing and extension simultaneously to create a bounce.
8. Pull/Push Up: Push the bar down towards the floor to pull yourself up diagonally behind the bar.
9. High Point Pull: At your highest point, pull yourself towards the bar, throwing your head and chest over it.
10. Transition: Roll your elbows above your hands, keeping the bar firmly on your chest.
11. Dip: Push your arms out straight to finish the movement.
12. Return: Dip your chest down to the bar and pull yourself off, swinging back towards the target in front of the bar.

Step 1: Muscle-Up Setup

Stand directly underneath the bar. Take a small step forward, place a target on the ground, go back underneath the bar. Then take a small step backwards and place a second target there.

The target behind us is roughly where we start, and the target in front is roughly where we will aim to swing to.

Elevation: I’m a little short for the bar so I use some plates to help me reach the bar from my starting position.

Important to note:

If you’re like me and you’re elevating your feet, this can change your swing and line of pull.

Experiment with changing the target positions until you find a set-up that feels good for you.

Step 2: Muscle-Up Grip

Firstly your grip is very important, it’s different from a pull-up. You can use an overgrip, pseudo-false-grip, false-grip, or switch-grip. Basically, any grip where your knuckles are positioned over the bar makes the transition from pull to push much easier, because it keeps your wrists and upper body more over the bar.

If your wrists stay down like in a pull-up, the muscle-up transition will be extremely challenging or near impossible, you’ll find you bounce right off the bar.

Step 3: Muscle-Up Starting Position

Start behind the bar, where we set our target. If you’re using a band/s step in them with one foot or two feet (slightly easier). Form a straight line from your tip toes to your hands. Core squeezed, butt tucked under, legs long and tight.

Step 4: Muscle-Up Swing Prep

Push through your arms into the bar and jump a tiny bit off the ground to build some momentum for the upcoming swing.

You can do this by stepping off with one foot, or lifting off with two. Beginners often like the one-foot start, but you can use whatever you find easier.

As you lift off, create a Hollow Body Shape, like a shallow C, by pointing your toes, squeezing your quads, butt, and abs, while keeping a firm grip/tension on the bar.

Step 5: The Muscle-Up Swing

After we lift off from our starting position swing yourself towards the target we set in front of the bar. Our goal is to complete the end of our swing in this area.

Step 6: Get Long

Next, while we are swinging to our target, we want to think about straightening ourselves out. We’re transitioning from our hollow position to a flat line. Our goal here is to think about making ourselves as long and straight as possible towards the target.

We’re treating our muscles and tendons like rubber bands, creating elastic energy. The longer and tighter we can make them, the greater the bounce we will get out of the bottom.

Step 7: Hit The Button

Our goal here is to finish our swing while reaching full length together at the same time! Imagine you’re trying to build all this force to smash into a big red button where our target is.

It doesn’t have to be perfectly timed… but the more synced we can make this, the greater the bounce-back effect will be.

A useful tool to help you know when you’ve nailed this is to film yourself from the side, ideally with slow-mo if your phone has it. You’ll know your timing, length, and swing is on point if you can get your arms, nose, tummy, and legs flush with the band.

Step 8: The Push/The Pull

Once we hit our longest point think of pushing the bar down and away from you towards the floor.

Almost instantly after, keep pushing, but also start thinking about pulling the bar towards your hips.

This should pull you up diagonally behind the bar.

To help with this, think of pushing your forearms forward, which creates enough space between you and the bar.

Step 9: The Headbutt

When you reach your highest point, aggressively pull yourself in towards the bar like a row.

Lunge your head and upper body forward over the bar, as if you were trying to headbutt someone on the other side.

Step 10: The Transition

Hold on tight! Keep your wrists firmly above the bar, roll your elbows above your hands, and keep the bar firmly on your chest.

This part can get a bit bumpy with all that momentum—trust me, I’ve had my fair share of ‘bumps’ into the bar!

The stronger and more efficient you get with your muscle-up the higher you will be able to pull. Higher pulls result in much easier transitions.

Step 11: The Dip

Once the storm has settled and you’ve stuck the landing it’s time for the easy part. Push your arms out straight to complete the movement.

Step 12: The Decent

The movement coming down should ideally look like the movement coming up… but in reverse. Dip your chest down to the bar, lean back with a little tension, and pull yourself off the bar into a controlled swing, reaching back towards the target in front of the bar.

You can use this swing down off the bar to attempt another rep or just to dismount.

The muscle-up is a complicated pattern but will get easier and more refined with practice and repetition. My own technique isn’t perfect— but you best believe I’m working hard to level it up!

Now that you’ve learned the technique with banded muscle-ups, you want to combine that with getting stronger so you can achieve your first bodyweight muscle-up! I’ve a free muscle-up workout program that you can start right now!

How to get a Muscle-Up. FREE Workout Program

Let me know if you have any questions or if you have any cues that have helped you with your muscle-up.

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I hope there is something you can take away to help you on your muscle-up journey.