Muscle-up negative

From support on top of the bar, lower slowly through the transition into a hang, learning the path of the muscle-up and building strength in its hardest phase.

How to do it

1. 01Use a fixed bar; from a box, get into straight-arm support on top of it, hands about shoulder-width with your wrists slightly over the bar.
2. 02Lean your chest forward and lower slowly as in a straight-bar dip until the bar is near your lower chest.
3. 03Keep lowering through the transition: your chest slides back and under the bar as your elbows swing from behind you to in front, keeping the bar close.
4. 04Lower evenly to a full straight-arm hang, then step back onto the box to return to support for the next rep.

Common mistakes

• Dropping through the transition — slow down and do only as many reps as you can control all the way down.
• One arm going through before the other — keep both arms moving together so both shoulders share the load.
• Starting before your straight-bar dips are solid — build those first, because the transition loads the shoulders and elbows heavily.

In the Muscle-up progression

1. 1Chest-to-bar pull-up
2. 2Straight-bar dip
3. 3Muscle-up negative
4. 4Band-assisted muscle-up
5. 5Muscle-up

Standard to move on: 3 sets × 3, two sessions in a row.