The pole muscle up is the coolest of the cool kids when it comes to pole strength tricks. Floaty *and* strong… erm, yes please!
If this one is on your trick wish list, too, join me for a little scope of what’s involved in the pole muscle up movement pattern, PLUS some ideas on how to train for it – both on and off the pole!
Rather watch rather than read? Check out the quick-fire 90 second whizz through this blog post in the video below!
The pole muscle up movement pattern: an asymmetric handstand press?
Well, sort of. If you take a look at any of the ‘muscle up’ style press ups like these…
You can see that the movement pattern definitely shares some similarities with the handstand press movement from the floor.
That magical floating point in a handstand press requires a combination of hamstring flexibility, hip flexor strength to hold our legs nice and close to our torso, trunk stability from our core muscles to control our spinal position and of course a big dollop of overhead shoulder strength.
We need those same elements for our muscle up on the pole, too! But, unlike the handstand press from the floor, we’re pulling with one arm, and pushing with the other! We’re also moving through *multiple* planes and fighting against the natural asymmetry of holding a vertical pole in order to get our pelvis into and hold it in the most efficient place for us to lift our legs: close to the pole!
That means not only do we need to be super strong in that pike position, but our obliques and the other muscles on the side nearest the pole are gonna be working *extra* hard to keep our hips close to the pole as we execute the movement, too!
It’s also worth noting that for that top arm pull, we’re often moving from a position of shoulder extension (with the arm behind us).
For all the above reasons, my recommended plan of action when it comes to building strength for the pole muscle up includes:
- ON the pole muscle up progressions… obviously! Can’t get it without those! :p
- OFF the pole… a focus on: handstand press exercises (yep, that includes all those
nastynice thigh-shaking hip compression drills); oblique strength; and building strength and stability in that pull from shoulder extension!
Let’s take a look at some examples!
3 x ‘on’ the pole muscle up progressions
Cross-training can feel kinda like magic, but it’s not *actual* magic… we can use it to speed up the process of building trick-specific strength and establishing strong movement patterns, but we still gotta work on the skill itself!
The pole muscle up IS extremely challenging, but if we break it down into progressions and work our way through them, it is absolutely possible to create a gradual, linear(ish) process to nail it, especially if we bolster that with specific ‘off the pole’ training.
Pole muscle up progression: forearm slide ups
Some of my favourite progressions include starting with floor based slide ups, like the forearm version below which helps bulid strength and familiarity in moving into that inverted pike position, while pulling and pushing at the same time – all with the benefit of that extra support from the forearm on the floor.
Btw, you can do all of these progressions in twisted grip, too! I’d recommend you use whichever grip you feel is your strongest Ayesha/handspring grip!
Pole muscle up progression: Hop ups and controlled lowers
Using a little hop to get up into your pencil position and then controlling the muscle up movement in reverse is another great way to start to grove the movement pattern and build strength at the same time. Obviously, you need to be super comfortable with your Ayesha (and ideally comfortable with your handspring, too) before trying this one!
Pole Muscle Up Progression: Feet elevated pole muscle up progression
When you’re ready for it, elevating your feet is a great way to help you find that biting point for the lift off from the floor!
Want access to my full library of muscle up progressions (in both true and twisted grip)? What if they were all organised for you in a step-by-step workout to follow? Annnnnd what if you could schedule that workout for yourself for a whole training block along with off the pole workouts to support it *and* have my support, guidance and fist bumps to get you through your muscle up mission? Well, that’s exactly what you’ll get in my app! Let’s get this muscle up party started!
4 x (oh, go on then, might as well make it 5) off the pole exercises for the pole muscle up
Those ‘on the pole progressions’ can be given a major boost with some strategic strength training in the gym!
As I mentioned above, handstand press progressions can be really useful, so here’s a long-standing go-to of mine: the stability ball handstand press. Excellent for working into that pike position, while maintaining that nice strong overhead push.
And you can (literally) add a twist to that by performing a similar movement pattern, with a subtle shift of the hips to one side – this puts more focus onto the obliques, making it super pole-muscle-up-specific!
Skin the cat progressions like the one below are a great way of working on that upper body pull and shoulder stability in extension…
If you’re not ready for these, you can start with shoulder extension pulls instead. Here’s a resistance band version, but you can do these with a cable machine, too!
Finally, improving strength in your overhead press is gonna help with the push on that bottom arm in the pole muscle up. Dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell overhead presses are great! I love unilateral versions (after all, what we’re doing in the muscle up is pressing with one arm while the other pulls), but I also really like handstand press up progressions like the one shown below – it really gets us using our own bodyweight and pressing in a more similar position (i.e. upside down) to the pole muscle up!
Now we’re starting to pull together a really strong roadmap to move towards that floaty, badass muscle up lift off! YES the pole muscle up IS possible, it just takes a targeted approach, a little patience and a lot of trust in the process!
Want to pull all these exercises into a full workout with reps, sets, warm up and cool down?
In the Pole PT app, you’ll find both my ‘on’ and ‘off’ the pole muscle up workouts with full step-by-step instructions. Get your muscle up mission started today – schedule the workouts in the app for a whole training block and you’ll have all the support, guidance and fist bumps from me along the way! Let’s get this muscle up party started!
