How To Do A Muscle Up On Rings!! The Tutorial!!

The muscle up is one of my favourite exercises, maybe because it combines two of my other favourites the dip and the pull up! The muscle up is one of the best upper body exercises you can possibly do, it hits just about every single muscle in your upper body. It also combines both pulling and pushing movements, making it a balanced exercise. Today we'll be talking about how to perform a muscle up on a set of rings (Muscle ups can also be performed on a bar as I have written about in the past).

Getting Stronger: First things first, you need to get very comfortable performing both chin ups/pull ups and dips on the rings. You're dips should be deep and you should be capable of performing pull ups/chin ups high enough to touch your chest to the rings. Once you can perform multiple reps with control and tight form, you can move onto muscle up progressions.

False Grip: Before you attempt your progressions you need to be familiar with a false grip on rings. The false grip will allow you to transition from your pull up into your dip. To perform the false grip on the rings, curl your hands in towards in the inside of your fore arms, then grip the rings and allow your the side of your wrists and hands to rest on the rings. Then hang from this position, it may take time to get comfortable holding this grip. See the video above for visual.

Progressions: Once your performing multiple pull ups and dips it will be time to try some progressions to help you achieve the muscle up on rings! A few that I used for myself and also use for my clients are, jumping muscle ups, knees to feet muscle ups, and negatives. Jumping muscle ups are performed by setting the rings just above head height, gripping them in a false grip, and giving a light hop up to help perform the muscle up. Knees to feet muscle ups are performed by lowering the rings to shoulder height and gripping the rings in a false grip, then kneeling down and sitting on your feet. From that position you pull up, and transition into the dip phase by allowing your legs to support your slightly, then finally finishing with a full dip. Negatives are performed by jumping up into the fully extended dip position and then slowly lowering down to the dead hang pull up position. All of these are excellent progressions to help you become comfortable with the muscle up and help you on the path towards performing the full muscle up on rings. Try combining them together.

The Muscle Up On Rings: Now that all the progressions have become a little too easy, it's time to try the muscle up on rings! Remember, keep your elbows tight to the body and don't let them flair out, a kick is ok to help you transition, over time you'll need less of a kick to transition to the dip. Remember to pull to your chest, and get a slight lean back. Most importantly, give it some time ... the muscle up will come and you don't want to rush it and risk injury.

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How To Do The Splits Tutorial!!

Learning how to perform the splits can take a long time depending on your current fitness level, mobility, and state of flexibility. However, it's a great stretch to add your arsenal of techniques and it's just plain impressive!

Start Slow:

Start off by warming up with some basic joint mobility to get the blood flowing and your muscles warm. Then build a base level of flexibility by regularly performing basic stretches such as groin stretches, hip and quad stretches, sit and reach stretches etc. Hold each stretch multiple times in what ever order you choose for 30sec - 1min. Once you feel comfortable with these and no longer find them challenging or intense, you'll be ready to move onto the next stage!

Attempting the Splits Stretch:

Most people will not even be able to lower themselves far enough to place their hands on the ground at first. In order to work towards this I would suggest placing your hands on a bench or chair, lower yourself to the point of tension but not pain and hold for 30sec - 1min. Repeat as many times as you like. Slowly over time you'll be able to lower yourself to the point where you can place your hands on the ground and you'll be only a few inches away from performing the full splits.

Reaching The Full Splits:

Being able to perform the splits takes time, practice, and dedication. It's not the easiest accomplishment and may take months or even years in some cases. Ease into it slowly, take your time and never push through pain! Once you're able to perform the splits you can start to get creative and link it into other exercises such as hand stands and other gymnastic holds.

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How To Do Handstand Push Ups!! The Tutorial!!

Handstand push ups are an excellent test of upper body pressing strength. They're functional, challenging, and fun! However they're not the easiest exercise for most people to accomplish, and most people can't just flip upside down and start banging out a set of them. So lets look at how you too can work towards adding the handstand push up into your array of exercises.

Get Comfortable with Push Ups:

Getting comfortable with basic push ups is an absolute must! This means mastering the push up to the point where its no longer a challenge to you what so ever. You might also want to try Hindu push ups and dive bomber push ups like I've outlined in "The Body Weight Solution". Once you have these down, then you're ready to move to the next step!

Master Pike Push Ups:

Pike push ups are an excellent way to accustom your body to the pressures of handstand push ups. Try starting them with your feet on the ground at first, get comfortable with these and practice them until they're no longer a challenge for multiple reps. Once this has been accomplished try pike push ups with your feet elevated on a bench, bar, or ball.

Time To Go Upside Down:

You'll want to get comfortable holding your own body weight for long periods of time when upside down. So practice holding your hand stands for 1min each while up against the wall. Once you're able to hold your hand stand for at least 1min and you're performing multiple reps of feet elevated pike push ups, you'll be ready to try out the hand stand push up!

Tips:

The hand stand push up is no easy feat, try to keep your feet together as much as possible, control your body weight throughout the entire movement, and don't forget to breath! Come up slowly, a lot of blood will rush to your head and you don't want to get light headed or worse. Take your time, it's all about practice.

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Dips: How To Progress, Achieve, and Challenge!!

Dips, along with pull ups and push ups, are one of my favourite exercises! The dip is an awesome exercise for targeting your upper body with an emphasis on the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Full body weight dips are an excellent exercise to master if you intend to strengthen and build muscle in the upper body or if you're looking to progress to more advanced upper body exercises. The dip (along with the pull up) is one of the "gate keepers" to actually being able to perform the ever elusive muscle up or weighted dips!

There are many schools of thought on how to progress towards performing the dip, in the video above I'll share with you the way that I have found most effective with my clients. It's much safer on the shoulders than a lot of other approaches and allows everyone to get a feel for full dips right from the get go!

The method I have detailed in the video involves using resistance bands laid across your dip bars, in this case my Lebert Equalizer is being used. You place your knee on the resistance band and as you lower your self through the movement the band will actually assist you by reducing the amount of body weight you have to push. It's very effective and so simple! Try it out, let me know what you think in the comments below!

- Tim

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The Ultimate Upper Body Workout!

Today I thought I would post for you what I like to use as one of my fall back workouts. I like to call it my "Upper Body Blast Workout". When I perform this workout, I use a dip belt or weight vest for some of the movements like the chins or dips at the beginning, but as the workout progresses I eventually lose the vest! The whole workout is only upper body focused, so for those of you looking to build some more strength endurance and muscle mass this one is for you!! If you're finding the workout a little too advanced, then no worries! Just use progressions that are more suited to your fitness level, such as assisted chins instead of regular chins, or knee push ups instead of ring push ups etc. I've outlined plenty of other options in "The Body Weight Solution" and in "The Silverback Program" so be sure to review them! If you don't have a set of dip bars two chairs will do or two benches. Try out the workout, let me know what you think in the comment section below! Until next time, take care!

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The Grinder Workout!

Here's A little workout I like to call the grinder! Give it a try and I'm sure you'll find the name is well suited!

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Captain America Workout!

Check it out this fun and challenging bodyweight workout inspired by Chris Evans and the new movie "Captain America: The First Avenger". It might not actually make you a super hero, but you might feel like one!

- Tim

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