Coaching the Muscle-Up With Jeff Tucker

By Jeff Tucker

In Coaching, Gymnastics/Tumbling, Videos

October 15, 2011

CrossFit Gymnastics coach Jeff Tucker shared his expertise at the 2011 Summer Affiliate Gathering in Big Sky, Mont. In this video, he takes athlete Hayley Parlen through a muscle-up progression.

After watching an attempt, he starts Parlen in a progression using low rings. She kneels underneath the rings to use her legs for as much support as is necessary to scale the movement.

Instead of jumping through the muscle-up, Tucker says he wants “a nice, slow movement” to work on positions in a strict muscle-up.

“Think about placement,” he says. “I’m pulling the rings and placing them under the armpit. I’ve got a hollow body and I press.”

Next, he has Parlen work the negative. It brings up a strength issue with the dip for her. More practice in the progression will develop the necessary strength for the movement, he says.

After these progressions with Tucker, Parlen performs her first kipping muscle-up.

She says what helped her was Tucker’s cue to get above the rings as opposed to pushing through the rings at the transition. She also found success through his cue to “keep pulling.”

9min 33sec

Additional reading: The Muscle-Up by Greg Glassman, published Nov. 1, 2002.

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7 Comments on “Coaching the Muscle-Up With Jeff Tucker”

wrote …

Coach Tucker, thanks for your insight and instruction. I'm envious of the individuals who get your attention, but thankful that it's been shared with the community. Hope to get a chance to meet you (and learn from you) some day.

On to working on my muscle-ups...

wrote …

The thing that always impresses me about Tucker is that he always seems to use the exact descriptive word or phrase to illustrate the precise piece of the movement he is adding or correcting, i.e. "keep pulling" or, "keep pulling yourself above the rings, not through them" . Could be he knows what he's doing....
Tim Jones

Lauren Del Rosario wrote …

Great video, just what I need.

Billy Howard wrote …

Tucker is the man! Great Video!

wrote …

Jeff thanks for the instruction. I've been doing crossfit since 2005 in my garage but I never had rings and supplemented muscle-ups with pullups and dips. Finally bought a pair or rings and after a days worth of failed attempts I watched this video and got my first two muscle ups about 2 minutes after. Now I can go back and do the workouts as RXed.

Thanks,

Cody

Frank DiMeo wrote …

Nice work!

wrote …

very kind words indeed from you all. i hope the simple cues and focus on points needed will be of help to you. simply consider the shortest distance from a to b as a straight line. yes, it does mean you will need more strength for the stricter movements and a hi pull in the transition to dip and lock out...

but i feel you will have far more success going above those rings in that transition rather than going thru those rings. look at it this way, if your laying way back then pulling thru the rings that isn't up! and up is where you want to go and be when you transition those rings under you for the dip press to lock out. and if you don't have the strength to control those rings - go get some!!

much love,

tucker