Dufisthenics

Back in September I was ecstatic when  I finally managed to pull off a bar muscle up after a couple years of trying.  On Monday night I followed up by getting my first ever successful muscle up on rings!

Here is the post I made regarding it on my regular blog.  Here is the video.

I have been asked which was easier the first time, a bar muscle up or a muscle up on rings?

Doing the muscle up on a bar  requires strength but it also requires technique.  The technique involves a combination of a properly timed kip and pulling your body upward in such a way that it follows the path of a C, up and around the bar.  In fact if your technique is good, the momentum from your swing/kip can do a lot of the work for you.

A ring muscle up can also be done utilizing a bunch of swing and kip however I didn’t really use much of either on my successful attempt.  The keys to the ring muscle up are a good false grip, a strong/high initial pull, and being able to thrust your shoulders strongly up and over your wrists.

I think the training for a ring muscle up is very similar to a bar muscle up except you do the same exercises like high pulls, dips, slow negatives and jumping assisted MU’s on the rings.

To be honest I haven’t been doing ring work as consistently as I should be which only hurts myself.  Ring exercises do a great job of overall strengthening because you are constantly stabilizing your body while on them.  Getting strong on the rings only means you will be even stronger when you get back on the bar.

I noticed the day after my ring work the tendons in my elbows and forearms were more sore than normal.  I always look at soreness as a good thing, as long as it isn’t severe.  It means my body is learning to do something new.