So...I mentioned in another post that I've been working on getting my muscle-ups. This is one of the hardest exercises to do in CrossFit. It requires a lot of upper body strength, coordination, and some gymnastic skills. I'm strong, but my coordination and gymnastic skills haven't always been the best. They have, however, been improving since I really started hardcore training with CrossFit. You can either do these on the bar or on the rings. It's much, much harder to do them on the rings because you are having to stabilize your entire body with rings that can get away from you in a second with one hint of movement. Lots and lots of core strength gets added when it comes to doing these on the rings!
I finally decided that it was time that I started working on getting my muscle-ups...and the rest is history. I had taken off work one day and really focused for about an hour and a half with the basics of getting a muscle-up. Jeremy had me doing basic movements so that I would get the feeling for what it was like to really push my hips forward so that I would have enough power to then push myself up on the bar so that I could extend and lock my arms. After I had worked on some floor work to get the movements, he then put this contraption together so that I could work on the turn-over...the hardest part of the muscle-up. He put two rings over the bar and then belted me in so that my feet were dangling off the floor and I was holding on to only the two rings. Then, I was practicing pushing myself up and extending and locking my arms. It was really hard because I was pushing up my body weight without any other movement. I wasn't kipping myself up or pushing myself off the ground. It was pretty much a strict triceps dip on the rings, but the movement started in front of my chest instead of from in front of me. Even though it was hard, it helped my body to understand the muscle movement so that when I attempted to do a muscle-up, it was simply putting the hip thrust together with the turnover and then getting my arms locked out.
I didn't get them the first several times I tried. In fact, I didn't even wind up getting them when I was working on them this day. I might have, but I decided to stop exerting so much energy on them and focus on the WOD...which was Helen...so I needed all the energy I could muster! A couple days later, I decided to just get back on the bar and not doubt myself. And you know what...I totally did it! Not only did I get one, but I got back up on the bar and did two more! I was SO pumped!!! Then, I decided I was just going to put my fear and doubt even more behind me and get up on the rings to attempt a muscle-up on those. And...I got those too!!! Well...I guess technically I didn't get a complete one. I got the turnover, but I could get my arms locked all the way out. I was probably about a quarter of an inch away from fully extending and locking out my arms. But...I DID IT!!! I've been practicing more and more and I can get a couple in a row without coming off the bar. They're still hard for me, but I know with more practice, I'll be able to do more and more. Jeremy really helped me to understand the technique and also had more confidence in me than I had in myself that I would be able to do them. That's what good coaches do!!! Now...Brent wants to put together a CrossFit team so that we can go and compete against other CrossFitters. Guess we'll see where that takes us!!!
I finally decided that it was time that I started working on getting my muscle-ups...and the rest is history. I had taken off work one day and really focused for about an hour and a half with the basics of getting a muscle-up. Jeremy had me doing basic movements so that I would get the feeling for what it was like to really push my hips forward so that I would have enough power to then push myself up on the bar so that I could extend and lock my arms. After I had worked on some floor work to get the movements, he then put this contraption together so that I could work on the turn-over...the hardest part of the muscle-up. He put two rings over the bar and then belted me in so that my feet were dangling off the floor and I was holding on to only the two rings. Then, I was practicing pushing myself up and extending and locking my arms. It was really hard because I was pushing up my body weight without any other movement. I wasn't kipping myself up or pushing myself off the ground. It was pretty much a strict triceps dip on the rings, but the movement started in front of my chest instead of from in front of me. Even though it was hard, it helped my body to understand the muscle movement so that when I attempted to do a muscle-up, it was simply putting the hip thrust together with the turnover and then getting my arms locked out.
I didn't get them the first several times I tried. In fact, I didn't even wind up getting them when I was working on them this day. I might have, but I decided to stop exerting so much energy on them and focus on the WOD...which was Helen...so I needed all the energy I could muster! A couple days later, I decided to just get back on the bar and not doubt myself. And you know what...I totally did it! Not only did I get one, but I got back up on the bar and did two more! I was SO pumped!!! Then, I decided I was just going to put my fear and doubt even more behind me and get up on the rings to attempt a muscle-up on those. And...I got those too!!! Well...I guess technically I didn't get a complete one. I got the turnover, but I could get my arms locked all the way out. I was probably about a quarter of an inch away from fully extending and locking out my arms. But...I DID IT!!! I've been practicing more and more and I can get a couple in a row without coming off the bar. They're still hard for me, but I know with more practice, I'll be able to do more and more. Jeremy really helped me to understand the technique and also had more confidence in me than I had in myself that I would be able to do them. That's what good coaches do!!! Now...Brent wants to put together a CrossFit team so that we can go and compete against other CrossFitters. Guess we'll see where that takes us!!!
This is not a very pretty muscle-up. But hey...it was my first official one! The more I practice them...the cleaner they'll be!!!
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