How to Finally Get Your First Muscle-Up (Bar or Ring)

Written By Charleh Knighton | Bar Muscle Ups, Ring Muscle Ups

If you’re staring down the CrossFit® Open season and thinking “this is the year I finally get my first muscle-up”, you’re in the right place.

Muscle-ups can feel like the one movement that separates “just showing up” from feeling like you belong on the Rx leaderboard. But here’s the thing most people get wrong: muscle-ups aren’t reserved for the naturally talented or full-time athletes. They’re learnable. And often, the difference between almost and actually getting one is simply knowing what to work on (and what to stop wasting time on).

This guide brings together everything we teach inside WODprep Academy and at our in-person camps (see our video above!) to help athletes just like you nail their first bar or ring muscle-ups, or make them consistent if you’re stuck at one or two reps.

Best bit about this? We’re giving you this knowledge for FREE!

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Check Your Prerequisites
(Are You Really Ready Yet?)

Let’s start with the thing no one wants to hear, but everyone needs to know:

If you can’t consistently hit these numbers, your first muscle-up (whether bar or ring) is going to stay out of reach for now.

7 strict pull-ups
7 unbroken kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups
7 unbroken toes-to-bar

These aren’t arbitrary targets. They are the strength and control benchmarks that tell us you’re ready to tackle the demands of a muscle-up.

They show that:

Your lats are strong enough to elevate your body high above the bar or rings.
Your core is stable enough to maintain tension throughout the kip swing.
Your shoulders and grip can handle the forces at play during the critical transition phase — where most athletes struggle.

Why Prerequisites Matter
(and Why Most People Skip This Step)

It’s easy to get pulled into the excitement of drills, transitions, and technique breakdowns. But here’s the truth: no amount of skill work can compensate for a lack of strength.

The muscle-up isn’t just about learning how to move. It’s about having the horsepower to make that movement happen. If your pulling strength isn’t there, your body will find workarounds, pulling too early, losing momentum, or compensating with poor form that eventually leads to frustration or injury.

If your strict strength is solid, the movement feels powerful and controlled. If it isn’t, the transition becomes a scramble.

When the foundation is missing, here’s what usually happens:

Bending your arms too early, which kills your momentum.
Chicken-winging over the bar, throwing one arm up first.
Crashing into the bar instead of floating over it.
Burning out your shoulders or grip halfway through the set.
Leave yourself open to the potential of injury

The Good News: Strength Is Trainable

If you’re not hitting these numbers yet, it doesn’t mean you can’t get there. It simply means your priority right now isn’t more muscle-up attempts — it’s getting stronger.

And that’s good news. Because strength is measurable. It’s trainable. And with a smart approach, it improves faster than most people expect.

Start with these focus areas:

Strict Pull-Up Progression: Use band assistance if needed, work through controlled negatives, and build up to weighted strict pull-ups when ready.
Strict Chest-to-Bar Pulling Strength: Aim to build strict chest-to-bar pull-ups, not just kipping. Kipping chest-to-bar doesn’t always mean you’re strong enough for a muscle-up, but if you have strict chest-to-bar strength, you’re ready.
Kipping Chest-to-Bar Capacity: Focus on maintaining tight hollow and arch positions. Use box-assisted sets if needed to keep form crisp.
Toes-to-Bar Consistency: Build up from hanging knee raises to strict toes-to-bar, then work on linking your kipping reps smoothly.

Coach’s Note: Strength First, Skill Second

If you’re sitting at five strict pull-ups and trying to muscle through the transition, you’re fighting an uphill battle. But two to three sessions of focused strength work per week can quickly move that number up. Exercises like bent-over rows, ring rows, lat pulldowns, and strict pull-up variations will always outpace random muscle-up attempts when it comes to building what you need.

Self-Check Before You Move On

Before jumping ahead to progressions and drills, take an honest moment to assess:

Can you consistently hit seven strict pull-ups, seven unbroken kipping chest-to-bar, and seven toes-to-bar?
Are your reps clean and controlled, or are you barely hanging on by the last one?

If not, pause here. Focus on strength-building first. The muscle-up will be waiting, and when your strength is in place, it will come faster, smoother, and with far less frustration.

Want more? Check it out: Bar Muscle Ups For Beginners: How To Get Your First

Step 2: Understand the Difference Between Bar and Ring Muscle-Ups

Not all muscle-ups are created equal.

It’s easy to lump them together and assume that once you’ve learned one, the other will follow, but the truth is, bar and ring muscle-ups demand different strategies, different strengths, and a different approach to the movement.

Understanding these differences from the start can save you months of frustration, especially if you’re choosing the wrong path based on what looks easier instead of what actually suits your current abilities.

Bar Muscle-Ups:
Timing and Technique Rule the Day

The bar is fixed. It doesn’t move to meet you. Which means, to get over it, you have to go around the bar.

This makes bar muscle-ups more dependent on:

Good hip pop timing
Effective use of momentum from the kip
Straight-arm elevation (getting as high as possible before bending your arms)
Lat strength for the aggressive push-down phase

If you lack strict pulling strength but can generate solid kip momentum and time your hip pop well, the bar muscle-up might come together for you faster than rings. But without that timing, the bar can feel like a brick wall.

The biggest mistake here?

Pulling too early and driving your hips to pop enough.The magic of the bar muscle-up happens when you stay long, let your hips lead, and only pull at the moment your body is weightless.

Ring Muscle-Ups:
Strength Over Swing

The rings, on the other hand, move with you. This gives you more freedom in your path, but also demands more control. Without the fixed surface of a bar to generate as much momentum, you have to bring the power yourself.

Ring muscle-ups rely heavily on:

Strict pull-up strength
Strict ring dips
Core stability through a low, controlled kip (if any kip at all)
Consistent transition strength between the pull and dip phases

While you can kip on rings, the amount of assistance it gives you is limited compared to the bar.

For many athletes, ring muscle-ups reveal strict strength gaps more quickly. The movement is less forgiving if your pulling and dipping numbers aren’t solid.

Which One Should You Focus on First?

Here’s the simplest way to decide where to put your energy:

If you struggle with strict pull-ups or dips but feel comfortable with swing mechanics and timing, start with bar muscle-ups.
If you can knock out strict pull-ups and dips but can’t seem to catch the timing of the kip, focus on ring muscle-ups.

This isn’t about which one is easier. It’s about understanding where your current strengths give you the best shot at success — and where your weaknesses might hold you back.

Once you’ve built the strength and mastered the skill in one, it becomes much easier to cross over and learn the other. But trying to learn both at the same time, especially if you’re early in your muscle-up journey, tends to spread your progress too thin.

Step 3:
The Muscle-Up Progression Plan
(Stop Guessing, Start Progressing)

Here’s where most athletes go wrong with muscle-ups: they throw random attempts at the wall and hope one of them sticks.

But the muscle-up isn’t a lottery win.

It’s a skill, and like any skill, there’s a proven path that works. The real key is knowing what to work on, in what order, and why each piece matters.

If you want results, start here.

1. Strength First (Don’t Skip This Step)

You’ve probably heard this before, but it bears repeating:

No amount of drilling can cover for missing strength.

Muscle-ups, especially bar muscle-ups, demand pulling power. If your strict strength isn’t there, your kip will always feel like it’s working against you instead of with you.

Here’s where to focus your strength work:

Strict Pull-Ups: Build up to weighted reps if possible.
Belly-to-Bar Pull-Ups: Train elevation, not just chin height. The higher you can pull, the easier the transition becomes.
Straight-Arm Banded Pulldowns: Develop lat strength and shoulder stability in the exact movement pattern you’ll need during the kip.
Negative Ring Dips and Deep Ring Support Holds: If you’re working on ring muscle-ups, these are non-negotiable.

If your strict pull-up max is still under seven, this is where your attention needs to be. Don’t skip ahead. Strength lays the foundation for everything that follows.

Continue reading? Check it out: 6 Keys To The Best Bar Muscle Up Progression

2. Hollow and Arch: The Foundation of Your Kip

A strong kip isn’t about swinging wildly. It’s about controlled tension.

The hollow and arch positions are the bedrock of every effective kip — whether you’re working on muscle-ups, pull-ups, or toes-to-bar. When these positions break down, so does your swing.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Hollow Body Position: Feet together, legs long, core tight, shoulders active and slightly rounded forward. Think of your body as a banana shape, pressing your lower back into the floor when practiced on the ground.
Arch Position (Superman): Feet behind you, glutes and hamstrings engaged, chest open, lats fully loaded like a stretched rubber band.
Dynamic Glute Bridge: Build core-to-extremity power by practicing explosive glute bridges. Focus on driving through your heels, squeezing your glutes at the top, and maintaining strong core tension, just like you'll need when transferring power through your kip.

Drill it until it’s automatic.Controlled beat swings, both small and large, are your go-to here. The goal is rhythm and tension, not momentum.

Without these positions, your kip won’t generate enough energy. With them, your swing becomes a weapon.

3. Lever Position: Elevation Before Activation

This is where most people lose the battle.

They get a decent swing, but then pull too soon, bending their elbows before they’ve given the kip a chance to do its job.

The result? You slam into the bar instead of floating over it.

The lever position is the sweet spot where you’ve generated maximum elevation without yet activating your arms.Staying long for as long as possible is what makes the transition smooth and the rep feel effortless.

Key Drill:

Straight-Arm Kipping Pulls: Jump up, kip hard, and focus on getting as high as possible without bending your elbows. Push down aggressively on the bar with straight arms and feel yourself float upward.

The better your lever position, the less your transition has to work against gravity. Pull too early, and you’re fighting your own momentum.

4. Master the Hip Pop Timing

No hip pop? No muscle-up. Simple.

The hip pop is what turns your swing into lift. Done right, it feels like you’re being launched upward at the exact moment you hit weightlessness in your kip. Done wrong — too early or too late — and you’re either running into the bar or losing all your power.

Your timing here is everything.

Drills to get it right:

Frog Kick Drill: Use a sharp knee drive at the peak of your swing to reinforce the hip pop and learn how to generate power from the hips.
Ground-Based Hip-Pop Snaps: Lay on your back, hips cocked, knees bent, and snap your hips upward quickly. This helps ingrain the timing and feeling of the movement without grip fatigue.

If your muscle-up attempts feel sluggish or like you’re muscling through the rep, this is where to focus.

5. Transition: Release the Death Grip, Re-Grip Like a Pro

This is the make-or-break moment, where athletes either float through the transition or stall out halfway.

Your hands must move around the bar during the transition. If you hold a death grip the whole time, you’ll hit your chest and stop cold. The transition isn’t just about pulling; it’s about letting go and regripping.

Here’s how to fix it:

Release your hands slightly at the apex of your swing — the moment of weightlessness.
Snap your elbows through aggressively. Think “fast elbows” (the same cue you’d use for a clean or snatch).

A good transition doesn’t look forced. It looks smooth, fast, and controlled. If your hands aren’t moving, your body won’t either.

Want more? Continue reading by clicking the link below:

Mastering Bar Muscle-Ups: A Simple 3-Step Progression
Mastering the Bar Muscle-Up: A Visual Guide

6. Build Confidence With Box-Assisted Drills

If there’s one drill that’s helped more WODprep athletes hit their first muscle-up than any other, it’s this one.

Using a box (or bench) to jump into the hollow position removes one of the hardest variables: the timing of your initial swing. Instead of worrying about your setup, you can focus on the positions, the lever, the hip pop, and the transition.

Here’s why it works:

You control the starting position every time.
It reduces the energy demand of the setup, letting you focus on the key mechanics.
It helps you build confidence, fast.

Once you feel what a successful rep feels like, you can start to remove the assistance, one step at a time.

Learn how to set it up: Bar Muscle Up Drills Using a Box!

Step 4: Real Athlete Success Stories
(Proof This Works)

This isn’t theory. And it’s not hype.

At WODprep, we’ve coached thousands of athletes toward their first muscle-up, whether it’s bar, ring, or finally linking multiple reps together without feeling like each one is a fluke.

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this:Success has way less to do with talent or genetics, and everything to do with consistency, smart training, and the right plan.

“I’m not a Games athlete. I’m a mom.”

Take Katie, one of our WODprep Academy athletes.

She’s a 37-year-old mom, juggling family life, work, and training like so many in the CrossFit® community. When she first set the goal of getting a bar muscle-up, the doubt was there.

“I always thought muscle-ups were for the really athletic people, the ex-gymnasts, the young twenty-somethings. Not someone like me.”

But Katie didn’t rely on guesswork. She followed the progressions. She checked the strength prerequisites. She put the time into the drills, the same drills we’ve shared here with you.

And she got her first rep.

Then another.

And another.

Now, she’s linking them together with confidence — proving that the muscle-up isn’t reserved for a select few. It’s available to anyone willing to put in the work.

Read her full story here: How This 37-Year-Old Mom Went From Zero to Multiple Bar Muscle Ups

How to Finally Get Your First Muscle-Up (Bar or Ring) Tips

Step 5: Get Faster Results
(How to Work With Us Directly)

You can absolutely work through the progressions in this guide on your own, and many athletes do.

But if you’re serious about speeding up your progress, removing the guesswork, and having a coach by your side who’s helped hundreds of people get their first muscle-up (and their second, and their third…), we’d love to work with you directly.

WODprep Academy: Your Step-by-Step Muscle-Up Mastery Plan

The WODprep Academy isn’t just another set of YouTube tutorials. It’s a full skill development system, designed to give you the clearest, fastest path toward hitting your first muscle-up, or improving the consistency of the reps you already have.

When you join, you get immediate access to:

The Bar Muscle-Up Mastery Course: A structured, step-by-step program built to help you achieve your first muscle-up. Complete with video breakdowns, progressions, and coaching cues that remove the guesswork.
Full Access to Our Entire Skill Library: Not just muscle-ups. You also unlock courses on ring muscle-ups, double unders, handstand push-ups, handstand walks, and more. All designed with the same WODprep coaching philosophy that focuses on solid progressions and real results.
One-on-One Video Coaching (Included with Annual and Lifetime Options). Sometimes, the difference between “almost there” and “got it” is just one piece of personalized feedback. That’s why, with the Annual or Lifetime membership, you get direct one-on-one video calls with Coach Ben — where we break down your movement and give you the exact adjustments you need.
Money-Back Guarantee. If you show up, follow the plan, and don’t see results, we’ll give you your money back. Simple as that.

This is the system we’ve used to help hundreds of athletes, parents, students, first responders, and everyday CrossFitters, achieve the skills they once thought were out of reach.

Want to join WODprep Academy, click here to get started today!

Step 6: Don't Let Your Gear Hold You Back

It’s easy to focus all your attention on drills, strength work, and timing, but the athletes who make the fastest progress know that what you do outside of the gym matters just as much as what you do inside it.

Protecting your hands and prioritizing recovery can be the difference between steady progress and getting sidelined by ripped palms, nagging fatigue, or inconsistent training sessions.

Protect Your Hands: RX Smart Gear Grips

If you’re serious about muscle-ups, your hands are going to take a beating — especially during the early stages when reps are few and the work is high.

But torn hands aren’t a badge of honor. They’re a setback.

The right pair of grips lets you:

Train longer without grip fatigue.
Reduce the risk of rips and tears.
Maintain better control on the bar or rings.

We recommend RX Smart Gear Grips Alec Smith 2.0 because they’re designed for gymnastics movements like pull-ups, toes-to-bar, and muscle-ups, offering the right balance of feel, durability, and support.

WODprep Athlete Bonus: Use code WODPREP20 at checkout to save on your next pair or click this link to learn more about the Alec Smith 2.0.

Want to stop rips and blisters on your hands? Read more here.

Ready to Finally Get Your First Muscle-Up?

The next CrossFit® Open may still be months away, but that’s exactly why now is the perfect time to start.

Whether your goal is to hit your very first bar or ring muscle-up, or you’re chasing consistent, repeatable reps, the process doesn’t change.

Here’s your roadmap:

Build your base strength. Focus on the prerequisites. Create the pulling power and control that make muscle-ups possible.
Follow the proven progressions. Don’t guess. Work through the right drills in the right order, and let steady progress replace frustration.
Fix your timing. Learn to work with the movement, not against it. Understand when to stay long, when to pop your hips, and when to pull.
Get coaching support if you’re ready to speed things up. Sometimes all it takes is one cue, one correction, or one call to move from “almost there” to “nailed it.”

You have time. You just need the plan.

At WODprep, we’ve helped hundreds of athletes, parents, students, first responders, and everyday CrossFitters, finally achieve the muscle-up they thought might never happen.

We’re ready to help you do the same.

Your Next Step:

Join WODprep Academy for full access to our Bar Muscle-Up Mastery course, one-on-one coaching calls (included with annual and lifetime membership), and the entire skill library.

Twelve months from now, you could still be saying “maybe next year.” Or, you could be walking into the Open ready, confident, capable, and no longer scaling muscle-ups.

Your move. Let’s get started.

How to Finally Get Your First Muscle Up Bar or Ring

Useful Links for Bar & Ring Muscle Ups

FAQs: Your Muscle-Up Questions, Answered

Q: Do I need to be able to do strict muscle-ups first?

Nope, but you do need the prerequisites: 7 strict pull-ups, 7 unbroken kipping chest-to-bar, and 7 toes-to-bar. Strict strength makes the process smoother, but kipping muscle-ups are absolutely achievable without strict muscle-ups.

Q: Which is easier to get: bar or ring muscle-ups?

It depends on your strengths.

Bar muscle-ups require timing, hip power, and lat strength.
Ring muscle-ups lean heavily on strict strength (pull-ups + dips).If you’ve got decent strict pulling power but struggle with kipping rhythm, start with rings. If your timing is on point but strict strength is a work in progress, bar muscle-ups might come first.

Q: How long does it usually take to get my first muscle-up?

If you have the strength base, most athletes see major progress within a few weeks to a few months — when following a structured plan. Without the pre-reqs, focus on strength work first before drilling muscle-up techniques.

Q: Should I practice muscle-ups every day?

No, quality beats quantity here. Aim for 2–3 focused sessions per week. Overdoing it can lead to fatigue, poor form, and hand tears that set you back. Prioritize good reps, solid drills, and proper recovery.

Q: Why do I keep hitting the bar instead of getting over it?

This is the #1 mistake we see (and coach out of). The likely cause:

Pulling too soon
Bending your elbows early
Skipping the hip pop
Forgetting the “go around the bar” principleFix these by focusing on straight-arm elevation, delayed pull, and hip timing. The box-assisted lever drill is a great place to clean this up.

Q: How can I get better at the hip pop? Mine feels weak or mistimed.

The hip pop is what gives you lift at the perfect moment. If it’s missing:

Practice ground drills like hip-pop snaps.
Use the frog kick cue — it feels weird, but it works.
Try the hand release kip swings to learn timing and weightlessness.Consistency here pays off fast.

Q: Do I need to use grips for muscle-ups?

Highly recommended. Grips protect your hands from ripping and help you hold the bar longer without fatigue. We suggest RX Smart Gear grips, they allow for a solid grip without blocking your feel for the bar.

Q: What’s the best way to build strength if I’m not close to the pre-reqs yet?

Start with:

Strict pull-ups (band-assisted if needed)
Negative pull-ups and dips
Belly-to-bar pulls
Straight-arm lat pulldowns
Ring rows and deep ring supportsFocus on strict work first. Kipping should come later, once you’re strong enough to control the movement.

Q: I can do one muscle-up… but can’t link them together. Why?

This is usually a regrip issue or losing tension between reps.

Work on quick regrips and keeping your hollow/arch swing active after the first rep.
Practice linking kip swings first before adding the full muscle-up transition back in.

Q: Should I be working on both bar and ring at the same time, or focus on one?

Focus on one at a time, whichever is closer to your current strength and skill level. Trying to learn both simultaneously can slow your progress. Build mastery in one, then apply what you’ve learned to the other.