Wake up call
So anyone that has read my online ramblings over the last few years know about how long I struggled with getting my first muscle up. It was literally at least a couple year process due to injury and just not getting the technique until I finally got my first rep in September 2011.
Once I got my first rep I was excited to keep going, keep building my reps as well as cleaning up my form which I did for several months. I got my one set rep max to 7 and was slowly improving my form.
However right around the new year a new goal popped to the forefront in my head, the BBR’s. For the first third of 2012 I was really pushing to work the core movements of the BBR’s, dips, pull ups and push ups, figuring my muscle ups will take care of themselves.
Well once again the injury bug bit and I also hit a plateau where it seemed I just couldn’t significantly improve. I derailed my BBR focus and continued various body weight exercise but never picked back up my quest to improve my muscle up.
Well today at the gym put an exclamation point on how my muscle up has eroded. I tried to do a slower, false grip muscle up at the gym and didn’t really get close. I tried multiple times and just did not have the strength through the transition portion of the exercise. It also felt like it put a ton of stress in my elbow tendons since they haven’t been used that way on a consistent basis for quite awhile. The extra 8 or 9 pounds I have on my frame compared to when I first did a muscle up doesn’t help either.
So the muscle up is once again in focus and more generally calisthenics in general. I am thinking about almost eliminating the weight portion of my daily lunch workouts at the gym (right now 4 of the 5 days are mostly weight work) and instead use that time for calisthenics. I wish my gym was better equipped for calisthenic work outs, there are no good bars and depending on how crowded it is, sometimes there is an issue getting access to certain equipment/floor space.
I think going almost exclusively with calisthenic type workouts will give me the results I am looking for.
“I think going almost exclusively with calisthenic type workouts will give me the results I am looking for.”
I totally agree. At the very least in the shorter term it would enable you to hit your goals quicker. I’ve just put my training up to a two days cali/one day legs split to try and really work on the muscle up – hoping that the increase in volume brings results.
Also, there’s time in winter when it’s cold or rainy (well, maybe not so much with you!) to focus on weights.