I signed up for a gymnastics workshop through my CrossFit box. It’s four classes over two weeks, focused on muscle ups. Both bar and ring, but focused more on ring than bar. Yesterday was the first class, and I feel like it was worth the money just for getting a chance to do a spotted kipping ring muscle up.
The muscle up is something that I want to be able to do, but I know that I’m still pretty far from it. I’m still working on building up my pull up volume and strength. After that will come strict chest to bar pull ups, then kipping chest to bar pull ups, then muscle ups. Oh, and strict dips need to be in there for the muscle up as well. I’m working more on those during Sunday Open hours, but I’m not quite there yet.
So I know that these four classes are not going to get me a real muscle up, but they are a stepping stone. I know what I want to be able to do, even if I’m still pretty far away from actually doing it. When I started CrossFit, I was a person who couldn’t do pull ups. Now, I am a person who can do pull ups. So who’s to say that my current non-muscle up self won’t someday be a self doing muscle ups?
I will continue to build strength and work on technique and someday I will find that self.
Until then, I’ll at least be doing some fun spotted work. We did some spotted strict muscle ups as well as the kipping, and those also felt pretty cool, because I could get the view from the top of the high rings. With the kipping one, it goes so fast that you don’t even realize that you’re transitioning and suddenly you’re on top. So it’s good to know how that should feel, even though without the spotting, I’d be stopped by my own lack of strength and coordination before I even started the transition.
I’m looking forward to doing some more drills over the next three classes, and hopefully a few more chances for the spotted kipping ring muscle ups.