The Kipping Muscle-Up

Originally published March 18, 2013.
Channeling the power of the hip can be tricky when it comes to the muscle-up.
"I think that most people understand you've got to have a good amount of pulling strength, full range, and a deep dip with a great amount of dipping strength. I think getting the hip involved to learn the kipping muscle-up is a little bit more complicated," says gymnast and CrossFit Santa Cruz coach Laurie Galassi.
To help athletes understand how to get the hips involved, she has them lie on their backs, pull their knees into their chests and then explosively open their hips with their butts as high as possible.
"Imagine if you could freeze your hip at the height it's at right now and sit yourself up over your hip-kind of like a reverse Slinky going up the stairs," Galassi explains.
The next drill has a couple of prerequisite skills: an ability to hold yourself at the bottom of a ring dip and to stabilize yourself at the top.
"We're going to take the explosive hip opening and put it on the rings," Galassi says. "The goal is to activate that hip and get a boost out of it."
Video by Hollis Molloy.

[@Luggerful]

With the endless muscle-up videos from all the crossfit stars, this was by FAR the best progression how-to I've ever seen. In my quest to improve my MUs, THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge!

[@taovas]

I love this tutorial. It gives me a few techniques to add to the drills that I haven't seen in any of the other tutorials. Can't wait to try them out, now.

[@RonaldoGueraldi]

excellent tutorial. Useful and important details. Going to experiment rigth now!

[@Scottyvetere]

The kipping muscle up is actually a bent arm front uprise in the gymnastics community and the common misconception is that you throw your hips out. However, throwing your hips out and leaving your chest down still keeps your shoulders behind you and not on top. The chest should always lead and then the hips follow

[@juliolui7517]

every video...she's the best instructor....PERIOD!!

[@doing60]

Thanks, it worked for me! Been struggling for awhile, just couldn't connect the movement. Couldn't make more than 2 out of last 100 attempts. Ran thru 10 reps of transition movement and made 2nd attempt on high rings followed by several more.. Just getting it into my head than I can make it is a big boost. Look forward to improving the movement and building consistency. Feels good at 65+.

[@s.b.easwaran7563]

Really well-thought-out drills. Great work!

[@AncientXxC]

This video became sooo much more relevant since yesterday :)

[@Soothinghealingvibrations]

Definitely trying this tomorrow. Im so looking forward to getting my first kippin muscle up

[@BellaGoldenAdventures]

Thank you soo much this helped me a lot!

[@shawnhauck8722]

This works amazingly!! I've been struggling with the muscle up and after 20 practice drills from the video I did my first one today!!! Great video! Thank you!

[@ambachu42]

Loving the coaching style here. Very nice!

[@northrnblcklights]

great instruction...i look forward to using it during my workout tomorrow

[@sendymcsendersonn]

This helped so much! its exactly the progression I needed because this is where I'm stuck.

[@youngsddg78]

By far one of the best muscle-up tutorial videos

[@itchyscratchy3082]

don't you mean the worst*?

[@sebastiancorrea979]

Stephen thats true :) Btw itchy you jealous because crossfit is really efective in comparisson to your... maybe... conventional gym?

[@CzechFitnessGirl]

Great video with instruction! Thank you!

[@skpshipley]

Thank you! I have been working on this.

[@manolohk]

Literally saw the video, tried once and SPAUX! I did my first muscle up. Nice and Thanks!

[@kylewattssurfing3266]

Thanks for teaching us how to kipp muscle up. I appreciate the instruction on how to master this move.

[@thearaban]

great instructions. i need to work on the 'sit up' part to get my self over the rings.

[@mranalog]

This is awesome.

[@ValiantATHLETE]

Great stuff!

[@brettstenberg]

good shit ive been looking for a video like this

[@JonathanRutigliano]

Lol!!! A lot of people are talking about how to do a "Real" Muscle-ups and saying Crossfit is a joke... All of them will die doing any WOD longer than 20 minutes 😂 BTW This is the best tutorial how to learn to do a ring muscle up! I just did my first Muscle-Up because i watched this video! Thanks for making it!

[@Quintix666]

Jonathan Rutigliano Been once on "Crossfit", why "Crossfit" not Crossfit? Because it was essentialy mixed oly weight lifting (which is something i like doing, so no problem), gymnastics rings training (which is something i LOVE doing, so no big deal) and calisthenics (which is something you do on ring, so also great.) but they techniqes were briliant.I've completed entire WOD. So, I'm not the one Who would "Die after 20 min. Of WOD". And now to the part where i hate you Crossfit. I've to admit that i love the idea and atmosphere in boxes. Crossfit has done great job in popularizing oly wl,gymnastics training which is fookin awesome. But it started to being a fucking joke, kipping pull up, kipping muscle up, nose breaker push up. That's not the way it should go. Also, in term of building strength Crossfit suck ass, to build strength you need high intensity, low rep exercise. Crossfit buil only vascular endurance. Read some books before you start commenting about ppl "not being able to endure your wod". Cuz' o can easily point out the fact you can't do an strict Archer push up/Archer dip/muscle up/Amy things that requires some strength. Sorry for any mistakes I've made.

[@JonathanRutigliano]

Quintix666 hello! I'm sorry if my comment was confusing. People are saying that kipping ring muscle ups sucks and they compare Crossfit with other disciplines... and I just wanted to say that you cannot compare apple with oranges because hey are not the same. You cannot compare sports where their goals are totally different... - Olympic weightlifting in which the athlete attempts a maximum-weight single lift of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Wikipedia - Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's musculature. - CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program consisting mainly of a mix of aerobic exercise, calisthenics (body weight exercises), and Olympic weightlifting. You can do whatever you want with your body and... if you are happy doing 200 of strict ring muscle ups with one arm ... if your goal is to have huge muscles and you are doing hundreds sets of heavy weights... if you think the way all the people are doing the excersices ... then GOOD FOR ALL OF YOU 👌🏻 I just wanted to say that people like me need help to learn how to do some specific exercises or all the existing ones, and a lot of companies and individuals are posting tutorials explaining how to do them. They might or might not work but we appreciate the effort they do and the time spent to do a video, writing an explanation, etc... Do something helpful if you want to help, but please don't come here and write negative and demotivating posts. Btw, I don't know which WOD you did but I recommend you try to do the following one EVA: 5 rounds for time of: Run 800 meters 2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps 30 Pull-ups Cheers 🍻

[@LaxonPfc]

Ok you guys can say what you want but doing any kind of muscle up on rings IS FREAKING HARD! And im not even a fan of crossfit at all and almost never use kip myself but dont just disrespect people like that.

[@joaosw1518]

Since when muscle up is hard ? I do one arm muscle up . Muscle up is one of the easiest movements ever . I do it slowly

[@malibuwild]

I did my 1st muscle up after watching his video, thanks. How about a video of how to do a muscle up on a straight bar?

[@matildahfe]

Great teatching

[@Gabriel1o1]

good teacher

[@russiantothefridge]

instructor: "you can sit up" them: "nah"

[@Ze_Ninguem]

Holly Molly! She did it

[@danmccarthy8494]

Those of you hating on this - stop. No one asked for your input, anyway. Kipping ANY movement is designed to give your body a different stimulus than a strict movement. CrossFit DOES train the strict muscle-up. And the front uprise. And back uprise. And a whole list of gymnastics movements. Being able to do a strict muscle up is fantastic. Being able to do many kipping muscle ups is fantastic. There are reasons for each, and they are different because we are trying to train as many different facets of health and fitness as we can. Your argument for only doing movements slowly falls apart very quickly when you compare it to other movements. By your logic, doing an air squat is cheating, because you SHOULD be doing it with weight. And if I have a 350lbs back squat, does that mean if I do a workout with 300 air squats, I'm "cheating"? No, obviously not. I'm looking for more of a conditioning stimulus from doing a higher amount of an "easier" movement, versus a smaller amount of a "harder" movement. So please, stop hating. If you have trained with the US olympic team and still feel this way, then write CrossFit a letter. But hating on people on youtube because they do something differently than you do just makes you seem petty and ignorant.

[@RogueTravel]

Dan McCarthy muscle up, back uprise and front uprise all score NOTHING in gymnastics. They are fundamentals. If these movements score anything in Crossfit, it will be hard for the average gymnast to have any respect for the sport. At least in calisthenics they train front lever, planche, etc. For me as a rings, vault, and floor guy I would like to see some sort of tumbling out of Crossfit

[@fahadrehman9743]

Bеst Musсle Building Foоds: Еааt Тhesе Fоooооoods Tо Build MMusclе Маss Quickly Rеad hеre noоw => twitter.com/98d6c4d508a177041/status/822770372575563776 Thе Кiрping Musclе Uр

[@spencergsmith]

@@RogueTravel CrossFit is a different methodology and sport than gymnastics, with different goals. Expecting them to be the same is unrealistic and, quite frankly, idiotic. CrossFit is about a broad, general, inclusive fitness, not specializing in any one area such as gymnastics, powerlifting, or endurance training. Sure, gymnasts can do a front lever, planche, and iron cross, but how many of them can snatch 200 pounds? How many of them can row a 7-minute 2k? You’re placing specific standards of skill and strength into a community that is simply improving their work capacity across broad time and modal domains. Rather than criticize it for not being gymnastics, be glad that hundreds of thousands of people around the world are becoming healthier through CrossFit.

[@RogueTravel]

@@spencergsmith In the NFL, Austin Ekeler can front lever and squats 550lbs. Denton Conteh weighs 74kg and deadlifts 240kg. I squat 400lbs and can straddle planche. My front lever is almost a straddle and I plan on getting one arm pull ups. Do they sprint in Crossfit or do any track and field? I have no idea but I don't follow Crossfit mostly because I'm not into it

[@spencergsmith]

@@RogueTravel including yourself, whom I don't know and therefore have no proof that you're telling the truth, you just named 3 people who can accomplish those feats. There are many CrossFit athletes who compete at the highest level who can do impressive weightlifting AND bodyweight feats. But if we're talking about the majority of recreational CrossFitters, they are more well-rounded than the AVERAGE calisthenics, weightlifting, or bodybuilding athletes. For a true comparison, it needs to be apples to apples. Now, if you tell me that EVERY single gymnast can also squat 400 pounds that might be something, but using a PROFESSIONAL football player as an example against hundreds of thousands of soccer mom and desk-job CrossFitters is a dishonest comparison. Since you used a couple of outlier examples, there have been a few CrossFitters who have squatted 500 pounds and run a sub-5-minute mile in the same day, and I myself -- a very average athlete -- can squat nearly 350 pounds and hold a front lever and L-sit (still working on my planche). Now, if you would like to compare the average person who does football or calisthenics recreationally while working a 9-to-5 job, then we can talk. Otherwise, you're simply creating a false equivalency.

[@erikacripe7738]

That was an awesome video. Sometimes you need to cheat a little bit to build the neurological road to do the motion. That's exactly what I needed to learn.

[@saminislam2043]

PrоМusсlе Fit will naturаllу bооst yоur tеstostеronе lеvеls, enabling уоu tо build mоrе musсle, FАSТER... twitter.com/490f549205676880f/status/742668391975096320 Тhe Кippрing Мusсle Uр

[@crossfitlimby]

It's trying to get you to focus on extending the hips and using that force. Think of the Martial Artists and Ninjas that do that from their back on their feet and stand up. Same idea right? They're using hip drive and following that momentum to get their torso over their heels.

[@Noelmin1978]

@3:17 do we want to emphasize external rotation of the shoulder ie similar position on the GHD (shoulders wise) and the ring row?

[@kurtian1]

Great

[@bodekreis]

Oh muscle-ups in the next Open Workout!

[@iJAARS]

Nice! Thanks!

[@SYKim_94]

Well at least they called it the "kipping" muscle up

[@XanderPetrov]

I got her 100% from the first 5 seconds of the video.

[@Cropsy81]

Crossfitters fail to realize this: There's no such thing as a kipping muscle up on gymnastic rings. There is a ring muscle up, and a kip to support on rings -- which is kind of what they're trying to teach. Kipping and Muscle up is an oxymoron. Muscle ups use pure strength and muscles, while kipping uses momentum.

[@travisvoorhies2774]

Semantics

[@lucaque]

Its all true, but you forgot that crossfit is not only about muscle and strength, its also about efficiency... with the momentum help, the muscle up is more efficient and consume less energy.

[@Cropsy81]

lucaque You do know they're really called STILL rings right? All that uncontrollable movement is not safe. Not to mention how important it is to lock out at the top position, but that obviously isn't taught. But I always love watching the Summer Olympic Games to see all of the Crossfitters compete on the rings.... Smh

[@travisvoorhies2774]

Cropsy81 Lockout at the top isn't taught? You do know that you will get a No Rep if you don't lock out at the top.. Or where you just being sarcastic?

[@Cropsy81]

Travis Voorhies Lol, Like I always say, Crossfit doesn't know how to use the Still Rings properly. The lockout is probably one of the hardest things to do in the exercise once you muscle up to the mount position. The lockout ensures that you're not using friction to hold your bodyweight, hence your arms are not touching the straps; the rings should be turned out slightly with inner elbows facing forward to do this. It doesn't mean straighten your arms to where you think they're locked out.

[@DoctorJanakaWannaku]

lt's just another way of going from point A to point B... So what's the big deal.. how many of you can do a pull up even.

[@joe6700]

+Janaka Wannaku Because the point of exercise isn't just to get from point A to point b

[@MrReigan111]

were those unicycles in the back

[@SHAKEx99]

13.3 is having muscle ups!

[@domcopp1]

So you're saying that opening your hips explosively doesn't use muscles?

[@ctfelipecatao]

top

[@TheCodar]

But it's hard to hold the false grip with your hands straight.

[@dawgyv72]

Hahaah, you've been talking to too many kindergarten PE substitute teachers.

[@chearlc]

Wow! Effortless... Wish I can do that...

[@cmep]

What in the fuck? There is no kip in a muscle up.

[@dgma626]

Charles R most people can't do a strict muscle up

[@AikiNickAMV2]

This type of kipping is one of the main reasons why crossfit is ridiculed, guys. Get rid of those, teach real muscle-ups and pull-ups so no one will be able to criticize.

[@navsquid32]

The problem is that nobody cares if you criticize anything.

[@Cropsy81]

Amen

[@lezard7100]

I can do a strict muscle up but I can't do a kipping one. It requires some coordination i don't have yet. It is a skill. They learn how to use their whole body as a unit to climb. I am sure it can have some use in a real life scenario involving climbing and not burning up your energy.

[@lezard7100]

fnog9 I'm new to Crossfit, but I've been practicing parkour for a lot of years now. The muscle up is a basic movement. I've seen strong people who were not very agile because they struggle with coordinating their whole bodies. I still think crossfitters perform quite well when it comes to running, vaulting, climbing, jumping, carrying things and throwing. Their discipline helps them acquire functional strength they can use outside of the gym. As for the kipping motion itself. I could understand it being dangerous for the shoulders but as long as they don't overdo it, they should be fine. Plus it can help them go beyond failure and get a little more from the workout.

[@lucybillington3620]

Just want to educate you that CrossFit didn't invent the "kip" it is a basic principle movement of GYMNASTICS. If you are aware of CrossFit you'll also be aware that this covers 3 disciplines Olympic Lifting, HIIT and, yep you got it, Gymnastics. Now go back to that squat rack you keep benching in Nika.

[@zydomason]

ZERO

[@mariobosco1760]

this is another type of muscle up called strict ring muscle up instagram.com/p/BbnG1HMH9dt/

[@poktangju]

the drill where you lie on your back does not translate for me...

[@tommylau7457]

I can do muscle ups without moving my feet, I can do kip up without using my hand, I just dunno why I cannot do kip muscle up XD

[@Lawrence2525]

you're not alone in this struggle

[@francispena1427]

Looks dangerous better do the slow yet controlled Ring Muscle-ups

[@norseman-ns5tq]

This is why people hate crossfit. Most instructors have an extreme arrogance to them. The bottom line is that people want instant gratification. They don't want to spend over a month straight like I did to learn them properly. They want the easy route so their little self esteem gets boosted...while destroying their tendons at the same time. Its ironic how cross fit is made fun of in the weightlifting world and even more so in the street bar workout world.

[@AdrianTheSecondBruceLi55]

Interesting, its just like when I learned to do the Kip Up. Well duhhhh from the name

[@DanielADickey]

4 minute video tutorial on how to cheat on a muscle-up... wow

[@navsquid32]

That you watched. You spent 4 minutes watching a video that you didn't want to watch. What's that say about you?

[@Ziziky]

Matt Williams most likely it says that he heard "know your enemy" at some point.

[@navsquid32]

Štěpán Volfík So, his enemy is CrossFit?

[@Enrique2495]

Matt Williams yes, crossfit is only to cheatters, is a fantasy to make bealive the people they can do a muscle up, unless a pull up or dip

[@navsquid32]

Enrique2495 Like how you're faking English?

[@CharlieWhidden]

wait, is she coaching two women?

[@chrisvill2284]

The people who can't do a muscle up muscle up lol.

[@j69d]

Her voice -.-

[@VegaChastain]

so she says how to do it right, and then says the way to do it right is not complicated enough because it does not make the muscle up easy enough:)

[@cam.actual]

#SkipTheKIp

[@pittbullak]

Why they don't pop the hip because they think its cheating

[@currymuncher2195]

4 minutes of how to do the correct way to do an incorrect muscle up

[@DavidSmith-xt6wu]

It’s a front uprise duh 🙄

[@thehonestptofficial-jarydm3904]

This is such bad technique and form, you're essentially teaching people who aren't strong enough to do a real muscle-up how to cheat their way up..

[@dgma626]

Jaryd Mostert it's rare to see someone do a stick muscle up most people are using momentum

[@JonnYmphomaniaC]

Rico... please yo! This is not about most ppl. What is being taught here is crap. There are degrees of progression... this is not one of them.

[@angeljr03]

Fjfie

[@sanjuroz4714]

lmao smh....

[@lopo8000]

Nice girls0.0. 0:33 blablalbalbalblalbalbla.... go to the kitchen

[@sofianfrancis]

Pointless. This is not a muscle up. A muscle up as the name implies requires using muscle to get up, not explosively opening your hips or flailing. There are lots of progressions that can be used without any kipping required

[@nate5388]

She keeps using this word “athlete”...

[@peter357]

Another brake-fit instrucktion clip from a Yoda master from crossfit central It IS sad :(

[@nvsandrive]

Какая-то суровая баба. Явно феминистка.

[@mpbirk]

is there anything in crossfit that isn't laughable? lol

[@PranjayVarshney]

I am yet to meet a gymnast who does muscleups like this.. Please do not make fun of a highly technical sport by mentioning it in your shit tutorials.

[@toastnose]

You know nothing about crossfit, then.

[@JonnYmphomaniaC]

Crossfit... how to destroy a perfectly good exercise. File with flat earth nonsense...

[@christopherolymbios8468]

lol crossfit gae

[@identifyalexa]

CROSS FIT where woman look like guys and the rest just get hurt

[@RhythmBrewer]

kipping is cheating

[@TopJoo7]

aka cheating muscle ups

[@DT_Worlds_Strongest_Goth]

ZERO