One of the most challenging calisthenics workouts is the muscle-up. To do a muscle-up, you will need an incredible amount of strength. Not only that, but you will also need an extremely sturdy pull-up bar. With that said, what are some of the best pull-up bars to do muscle-ups?
If you are looking to do muscle-ups, then you will need an extremely sturdy pull-up bar. With that said, your safest bet is to use the pull-up bars in your local parks. However, if you want a personal pull-up bar to do muscle-ups, we have a shortlist prepared for you. This list includes the following pull-up bars:
- Titan Fitness T-3
- Fitness Reality X-Class
- Yes4All Heavy Duty Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar
The list of pull-up bars above all needs to be bolted into either the ground or a sturdy wall to do muscle-ups safely.
As you continue to read this article, we will be discussing the proper form when doing a muscle-up. Furthermore, we will tell you how much space you need to do a muscle-up and your pull-up bars required to do them. Finally, we will show you a few pull-up bars that can support the muscle-up exercise.
How To Do A Muscle-Up
When it comes to doing muscle-ups, it is pretty hard to nail the proper form. Not only that, but it is also a very tough exercise to do in general. There are five steps to doing a muscle-up. They might sound simple, but in practice, you will experience difficulties almost immediately.
- Step One: Hang from the pull-up bar using a false grip (thumbs on top of the bar, not around it)
- Step Two: Pull yourself up to the bar as if you were doing a pull-up until your chin is just past or level with the bar.
- Step Three: Use your arms, chest, and back to roll your upper body over the top of the bar to transition from the pull-up position into the dip position
- Step Four: Press down onto the bar with your hands and push your body up into the air.
- Step Five: To return to the starting position, lower your body back down to the bar before rolling back into the pull-up position and lowering yourself back down.
As previously stated, these steps sound more straightforward than they are. So here we are going to give a more in-depth explanation.
Begin by hanging from a straight pull-up bar in a dead hang position. Keep your legs and hips straight and together to get a strong kip going. To do a kip, keep your elbows tight and bring the bar down to your belly while bursting your hips upwards and making an L with your body. Throw your chest and head over the bar as soon as your hips and knees are parallel to the floor, and your hands reach your stomach. Finally, push up until your arms are fully extended.
To do muscle-ups properly will take lots of time and practice to get the motions down pat. But, eventually, you will be able to do more reliably.
How Much Space Do I Need To Do A Muscle-Up?
There are a few requirements regarding space when doing muscle-ups. First, due to the steps described above, your pull-up bar will need to be around 6 to 12 inches higher than you can reach standing naturally on the ground.
Not only that, but there will need to be enough space for you to bend over the top of the bar and to lift yourself. The minimum distance you will need is measured from the top of your head to the top of your waist. However, the more clearance you have, the less worried you will be about hitting your head on the ceiling.
Most people think muscle-ups are a linear movement like pull-ups. However, when attempting muscle-ups, your body should be doing more of a C shape. Therefore, while doing muscle-ups, you are going to be slightly swinging back and forth. With that said, you should give yourself enough space in front and behind you. It is recommended that you give yourself at least half your height in additional space in front and behind you.
What Does My Pull-Up Bar Require To Do Muscle-Ups?
Due to all of the space that you need for a muscle-up is why we suggested using the pull-up bar in your local park. These pull-up bars are sturdy enough and give you plenty of space, and are the best option for muscle-up beginners.
However, as you practice your muscle-up more, you will start to notice that the space you require becomes smaller. Once you can swing much less, you should be able to move to indoor pull-up bars instead. If this is the case, your indoor pull-up bar of choice still needs to be extremely sturdy. If the bar is not stable enough, you can severely injure yourself when doing the up or downswing.
With that said, bars that are secured in place offer much more stability than free-standing pull-up bars like those at the top of most power towers. The secured pull-up bars should be bolted into either the ground or into a very sturdy wall to support the swinging motion of a muscle-up.
What Are The Best Pull-Up Bars For Muscle-Ups?
As previously stated, pull-up bars that are safely secured into the ground are your best bet to do muscle-ups. A perfect example is the pull-up bars that are in your local park. Of course, you can use the pull-up bars in your local gym as well because they are always bolted to the floor for added stability.
However, there are a few different options that you can choose to purchase and install in your home. Each of these pull-up bars listed below will require you to bolt them either into the floor or a sturdy wall for you to do muscle-ups safely.
The Titan Fitness T-3 is a heavy-duty piece of exercise equipment. This power rack can support up to 4,400 pounds of weight and can be bolted into the floor to add additional stability. When fully assembled, this power rack weighs just over 280 pounds, adding even more stability when doing muscle-ups.
However, this piece of exercise equipment is not just for muscle-ups and other forms of calisthenics. The Titan Fitness T-3 is built to store free weights and act as a center for weight lifting. This power rack will allow you to do bench presses, deadlifts, and squats.
While this piece of equipment is quite expensive, which will cost you around $550, it will serve multiple workout rolls. However, there are two downsides to this power rack. The Titan Fitness T-3 is massive with these dimensions: 44.75″ (L) x 53.25″ (W) x 91″ (H).
With that said, you will need tons of space to store this inside. Not only that, but the pull-up bar is 89″ off of the ground, meaning you will need very high ceilings to do pull-ups and even higher for muscle-ups effectively.
With that said, if you can accommodate the Titan Fitness T-3, you will have the capability to do pull-ups and muscle-ups with increased stability and have a great spot to do tons of weight lifting.
Next is one of the only power towers that will support the weight and motion of muscle-ups. The Fitness Reality X-Class is designed for calisthenics like all power towers. However, the massive weight of this power tower and the ability to be bolted to the floor make it perfectly safe to do muscle-ups indoors.
With much smaller dimensions of 63.4″ (L) x 49″ (W) x 83″ (H) and only weighs 150 pounds when compared to the Titan Fitness T-3. However, this power tower comes with all the expected calisthenic stations, including multiple grip options for pull-ups and chin-ups. In addition, you can adjust the dip station for people of different heights, and the push-up and crunch station is adjustable for different positions.
The biggest downside to this power tower is the price. With an asking price of $830, this power tower is costly but will serve all of your calisthenic needs.
Yes4All Heavy Duty Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar
Last but not least is a wall-mounted pull-up bar by Yes4All. This pull-up bar is going to be your cheapest option and was designed to do muscle-ups in your home, costing you only $100. The Yes4All pull-up bar is extremely strong and can hold up to 500 pounds.
The bar itself is 50 inches long and is placed far enough away from the wall to allow you to make the swinging motions when doing muscle-ups. Not only that but any pull-up or chin-up exercise that you can think of can be done on this pull-up bar.
The main downside to this pull-up bar is that it needs to be bolted into your wall. With that said, if you plan on getting this pull-up bar, be doubly sure that your walls are strong enough to hold your weight while making the swinging motions for muscle-ups.
Final Thoughts
Muscle-ups are an advanced workout that requires you to have quite a bit of strength. Not only that, but the emotions that come with doing muscle-ups put extra strain on the pull-up bar that you are using. While the at-home options are great for muscle-ups, it is highly recommended that you start on the pull-up bars at your local park if you are a beginner. Another option is the pull-up bars at your local gym, as they should provide stability and space required for muscle-ups.