The Muscle Up is a very cool bodyweight exercise…it’s a two-part movement that basically has you doing a pull-up then a dip/pushdown type movement to get your body up over the bar.

It’s a TOUGH exercise, requiring a lot of strength and co-ordination (and high ceilings) but the results you can get in your back, arms and shoulders are phenomenal!

So what do you do if you either don’t have the strength to do a full-on muscle-up or don’t have high enough ceilings to do one either (which is my problem).

You do THIS modified version of the exercise, which takes up some of your bodyweight and lowers the height so it can be done even in a basement. And, when done using a power rack, also has the advantage of being able to roll the bar forward as you transition.

This modified version will primarily hit the triceps (you could almost call it a bodweight pushdown). By setting the bar higher, you can do the pull-up part of it better but you won’t be able to push yourself up over the bar with your feet set on the bench (you’ll see with the setup).

Here’s how the setup goes…set the rails in the power rack to about the level of the bottom of your ribcage. Set a bar on top of the rails. Set a bench parallel to the bar just a few feet back from the bar.

You can adjust the bar height and bench distance once you get doing the exercise.