Pull up and muscle up progression

One chain, from your first scapular pull to the one arm pull up, with the muscle-up in the middle. Own each rep before you chase the next shape.

Realm: The Muscle-Up
Steps: 25
Grades: White to Red
Gear: bar, rings, floor

This chain links the three big pulls on a bar. The pull-up takes you from straight arms to chin over the bar, no swing. The muscle-up adds a second half: pull high enough to bring the chest over, turn the wrists, and press out to straight arms above the bar. The one arm pull up puts the whole load on a single arm. Each is built from the one before, so early work keeps paying.

Pulling strength is the first thing the bar asks for, and the pull-up is how you measure it. On BARCROSS the Pull Up and the Muscle Up are both marker skills behind your chalk grade on Rank, so this pull up progression counts toward your rank. It also builds the grip and elbows that the levers and every one-arm skill lean on later.

White is the groundwork: the Scapular Pull, the Arch Hang, the Pull Up Neg and the Flexed-Arm Hang. Green brings the Chin Up, the Pull Up, the Ring L-Sit Pull Up and the L-Sit Pull Up. Blue is the muscle-up block, from the High Pull Up and the Explosive Pull Up through the MU Neg and the Kipping MU to the Muscle Up. Yellow makes the muscle-up wider and stricter and adds archer and typewriter pulls. Red is the One Arm Pull Up and beyond.

The ladder

Every step has a standard. Own it, then climb. Grades run White, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red.

01
Scapular PullWhite
3 × 5–8 with a 3–5s squeeze at the topfloor · lats · biceps · forearms · video
02
Arch HangWhite
3 × 8, progress toward a 90° shoulder anglebar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
03
Pull Up NegWhite
build to 10s negativesbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
04
Flexed-Arm HangWhiteChin over the bar, hold the top of the pull. White gate of The Muscle-Up.
3 × 10–20s holdbar · biceps · lats · forearms
05
Chin UpGreenSupinated grip; for most athletes the first chin-up lands weeks before the first pull-up.
3 × 8 repsbar · biceps · lats · forearms
06
Pull UpGreenFork: the weighted road (dip belt) is the recommended default, +50% bodyweight = ready for one-arm work.
3 × 8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
07
Ring L-Sit Pull UpGreen
3 × 8 repsrings · lats · biceps · forearms · video
08
L-Sit Pull UpGreen
3 × 8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
09
High Pull UpBlueChest to bar: forearms deviate from vertical, build up slowly, it stresses the elbows.
3 × 8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
10
Explosive Pull UpBluePull past the chest with speed; the standard muscle-up feeder. Green work item of the race.
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps
11
MU NegBlue
slow eccentrics, 5s+ through the transitionbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
12
Kipping MUBlueResting the chest on the bar during the transition is fine at first.
3 × 8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
13
PulloverBlue
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
14
Muscle UpBlue
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
15
Wide Muscle UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms
16
Strict Bar MUYellow
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
17
L-Sit Muscle UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms
18
Ring Wide Pull UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsrings · lats · biceps · forearms
19
Ring Wide L-Pull UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsrings · lats · biceps · forearms
20
Typewriter Pull UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
21
Archer Pull UpYellow
3 × 5–8 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
22
OA Pull Up NegYellow
5–10s eccentricsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
23
One Arm Pull UpRedStandard on the weighted road: +50% bodyweight pull-up before serious OAP work. Towel-assist and stool-assist are the classic drills.
4 × 3–5 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
24
OA Straight MURed
4 × 3–5 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video
25
High One Arm Pull UpRed
5 × 2–3 repsbar · lats · biceps · forearms · video

How to climb it

Own 3 × 8 clean pull-ups before you start the muscle-up block, then add chest-to-bar height a few sets at a time, because high pulls load the elbows. Pull two or three times a week and keep rows and dips in the same week. In Train, each rep step from White to Blue starts at 3 × 5 and adds one rep per logged session; at 3 × 8 the next step joins your training.

Past 3 × 8 the chain forks. Weighted pull-ups are the usual road to one-arm strength, and the archer and typewriter pulls are the bodyweight one. Before any one-arm negatives, the tree asks for a full Back Lever, so the biceps tendon is ready for the load. Expect the one-arm work to take far longer than everything before it, and let the elbows set the pace.

After 3×8 pull-ups the wiki's default road is WEIGHTED pull-ups, +50% bodyweight is the standard before one-arm work. L-sit / typewriter / archer pull-ups are the bodyweight-only roads.

Form cues

Slightly hollow body, straight legs, don't cross them
Arms fully straight at the bottom
Chest to bar at the top, build slowly, it stresses elbows
Neutral neck, no craning

Accessory work and gear

Doorway bars are $20–40. Tree branch, staircase, bus stop otherwise.

Common mistakes

The chicken wing: getting over the bar one elbow at a time wrenches that elbow and means you are not pulling high enough yet, so go back to high and explosive pulls.
Half reps: stopping short of straight arms at the bottom inflates the count and skips the hardest part of the pull.
Kipping before you can pull high: the swing should help a strong pull, not replace one, so own the High Pull Up and the Explosive Pull Up first.
No dip strength: the top half of the muscle-up is a dip from the bar, which is why the tree asks for a Dip before the MU Neg.
One arm too early: one-arm negatives load the biceps tendon and the elbow heavily, so build the two-arm base and the back lever first.

Questions

How do I get my first pull up?

Start with the Scapular Pull, the Arch Hang and the Pull Up Neg, and hold the top in a Flexed-Arm Hang. Most people land a chin-up before a pull-up, so use the Chin Up as a stepping stone. Train three times a week and add a rep or a few seconds at a time.

How many pull ups do you need for a muscle up?

On this chain you own 3 × 8 pull-ups first, then the High Pull Up and the Explosive Pull Up before the muscle-up itself. Height matters more than the count. If your chest does not reach the bar, more reps of the same pull will not get you over.

How long does it take to learn a muscle up?

From a solid 3 × 8 pull-ups, many people need several months of explosive and high pulling to land the first one. Starting from zero, plan on a longer road. Patient elbows and regular sessions matter more than any trick.

How do I train for a one arm pull up?

Build a big two-arm base first: weighted pull-ups toward +50% of bodyweight are the usual road, archer and typewriter pulls the bodyweight one. Then add slow one-arm negatives and assisted reps with a towel or a stool. It usually takes years, and the elbows set the pace.

Pull ups or chin ups: which is better?

Both train the lats well, and chin-ups load the biceps a little more. Either one builds strength. This chain puts the Chin Up before the Pull Up because most people get it first.