The the best muscle-up tutorial on the internet was posted by a non-gymnast, Tyler Hass, on the Power Athletes Magazine site.
Tyler called muscle-up the one upper body exercise that reigns supreme.
Now, building on that article, strength guru James Bathurst posted an exhaustive tutorial on his excellent Beast Skills site. Once again we gymnastics coaches have been bettered at our own game.
Of course James takes a fitness rather than a gymnastics approach. You need not keep your feet together and feet pointed on his drills.
From his long tutorial, here are a few visual highlights:
With beginners, I always introduce the skill on the very end of the Parallel Bars. It is easier to learn the false grip and the “outward” action of the elbows there.
His tutorial includes that drill as well, but on a machine in a weight room on the chin-up handles of a squat rack.
In the culture of men’s gymnastics, you are nothing until you can get above the rings by yourself.
LATER … you need to do muscle-up on a bar.
What really caught my eye, however, was muscle-up on a bar in UNDERGRIP. I’d never seen it before.
Check the tutorial for yourself – The Muscle-Up – Beast Skills
I’ve seen a few female gymnasts do muscle-up, but not many. I’d love to get a video clip of a girl doing it on rings.