Reaction Fitness Collective

⚡️The way you mount the bar will vary slightly depending on what movement you are working on!

💥For smaller movements (pull ups, TTB, etc.) the mounting phase should remain tight and in the vertical plane. The tighter the window, the snappier the movement.

💥For the bigger movement, the BMU, since our goal is to get on top of the bar we will need a little bit longer loading phase. In order to accomplish this, you want to keep your hips behind the bar for a split second longer, holding the hollow for as long as possible before moving to the extension phase (superman).

⚡️This will allow you to get AS MUCH power out of the superman as possible- resulting in a snappy and powerful transition over the bar.

Patience = power.

Give this a try!

⁣For this drill, focus less on what your legs are doing and more on what your arms are doing (or not doing) ➡➡⠀
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Imagine you are karate chopping 🥋 the bar, using the pinky edge of your hands 🙌🏽 to engage your lats and pull down on the bar. ⠀
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Focus only on using your upper body💪🏽, as shown in this drill. This will teach you how to engage your lats without relying on your legs for the “swing” 🦵🏽 ❌⠀
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You’ll create the space you need for a more efficient range of motion, as well as the tension you need to maintain tight positions for multiple reps. 💯⠀
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Give it a try!

Wrist position in the catch of the muscle up can make or break your reps! ⠀
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❌ Common fault ➡ broken wrist with knuckles forward and elbows back. This is an unstable position that forces internal rotation of the shoulders and makes it very difficult to dip out with control (think barbell press in the fingertips…not ideal!)⠀
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✅ The Fix ⠀
➡ Option 1: False Grip! Hold the rings in a super deep false grip, allowing your knuckles to stay on top of the rings and elbows easily rotate to the top⠀
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➡ Option 2: Gently rotate those knuckles down to the ground, allowing your elbows to stay tight and close to your body. This sets you up for a solid and stable position for your dip out of the MU.⠀
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Good luck and have so much fun!

This is a unique drill to help mix up your traditional handstand practice 🖐🏽⠀
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This is great for having fun, but also helps to identify any midline weakness or instability.

If you struggle with low back pain or fatigue after handstand work, it may be the result of “dumping “ in the low back- ultimately putting your body in an unstable position❌⠀
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Try this drill and notice if your low back collapses. Focus on keeping a VERY tight midline, moving as one unit to keep the position solid💯⠀
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Start low, and gradually work your way up to the full inversion‼️

⁣Keep your options open!⠀
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We generally have two options when it comes to the TTB movement: a slow and smooth option and a tight and fast option.⠀
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The slow and smooth option is great for longer time domains and/or bigger sets within a workout. For this movement, try “doing less” by relaxing the swing and letting yourself settle into the pendulum-style swing.⠀
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There’s space for breathing here plus you can relax your grip on the back side and re-grip if need be.⠀
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The tight and fast option is great for high speed scenarios: knocking out the last few reps of a workout or even moving through small, quick sets.⠀
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For this style, everything has to remain tight throughout, not leaving much room for breathing or re-griping.⠀
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Focus on maintaining a tight midline, a tight backside, and a tight downward pressure against the bar. This will get you through some reps in no time! ⠀
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Each of these have their benefits, try working through the different styles so when it’s game time you’ll be ready!!

The best way to introduce this into your repertoire is by taking small gradual steps:⠀
1️⃣ Isolate the upper body with small circular pulls. This focus should not be on the height of the pull but rather the rhythm. Stay smooth with it!⠀
2️⃣ Isolate the lower body with small circular leg swings. Focus on actively bringing your legs behind you and kick forward much like you would kick a soccer ball⠀
3️⃣ Put steps 1 and 2 together! Again focusing not on the height of the pull but simply on the rhythm. ⠀
🔎 Start with these three steps and remember patience is key with this movement!⠀
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🐛 to 🦋 = 💯

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This is a great drill for teaching athletes how to shift weight from left to right- similar to the weight displacement needed in the handstand walk! ⠀
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1️⃣Start with belly facing the wall as this will reinforce solid body positions and neutral core ⠀
2️⃣Drive into the ground as you shift slightly to one side, allowing enough room for your opposite arm to rise up and on to the plate. ⠀
3️⃣Focus on “arms straight” as this will allow your lats to engage throughout and create a much more stacked position (as opposed to the bent arm, internally rotated struggle bus position)⠀
4️⃣Slight shifts from side to side is all you need! ⠀
5️⃣Once you’ve mastered this, try belly facing away to simulate the freestanding handstand walk position a little more closely.⠀
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Good luck and have fun!

⁣This is a helpful drill when trying to find the “rhythm” of connecting or stringing together multiple reps of Kipping pull ups. ⠀
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A perfect example of “less is more” I want you to focus less on the “pull” portion and more on the “when” portion. ⠀
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1. Find your hollow/arch positions (like REALLY find them) 🍌 ⠀
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2. Notice the moment of weightlessness on the backside (it’s quick, so pay attention!) 👀 ⠀
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3. That’s your cue to bend the elbows! 👍🏽 ⠀
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4. Maintain your hollow body throughout the “bend” phase 🍌 ⠀
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5. Resume your swings 🔂⠀
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There should be no change in the body positions when you start pulling- the only difference is adding a slight elbow bend 💪🏽

⁣A common fault we’ll see is when athletes rotate shoulders inward and start creeping closer to a bent arm pull in the TTB ❌⠀
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When the shoulders are rotated inward, the lats are less likely to engage, putting unnecessary pressure on the shoulders and midline to make up the difference. You’ll see this a lot with the old tuck-and-pull style of TTB 🙃⠀
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Instead, cue your athletes to the “knife edge” of their hands, the pinky edge, mimicking a kind of karate chop against the bar 👋🏽 This reinforces an external rotation, puts the shoulders down and back, and lats fired up 🔥🔥⠀
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Give it a try next time you see TTB pop up on the whiteboard!

⁣From Vertical to Horizontal… how to adjust your pull to transition to the Bar Muscle Up 🤩↗️⠀
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Try this 3-part drill to help you feel (and see) the difference in pulling positions from a vertical pull up position to a more horizontal BMU pulling position🤙🏽⠀
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The goal here is to be patient enough to allow your body to rise up a little further each rep, leaving more space for your hips to drive you up and eventually over the bar 🤸🏽‍♀️⠀
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Give it a try and as always hit us up with any questions or tips you'd like to see! 👀