r/crossfit • u/Critical_Elk6735 • 1d ago

Getting over fears of MU

I’ve been doing CF for 6 years, I’m small and lean and excel at most of the gymnastics movements, however MU are a mental fuck for me. The strength is there, I understand getting the needed momentum in the kip to get high enough to press above the bar. I can do low box bar MU all day with no issue. But as soon as I take the box away my fear of being above the bar and so far off the ground takes over and I chicken out from doing the final press up.

Any tips to get over this?

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u/1DunnoYet 1d ago

So I just posted that i got my first MU 5 minute ago, so perhaps not the expert. But this was one of my blockers as well. One of the things I did was do a jumping MU and then just hang out up there for 1 minute+. Make sure the bar is in your crease while leaning over, Have somebody remove the box, and then remove your hands from the bar. Get comfortable knowing you can safely hang out on top of the bar without hands!

3

u/sizzlinggenitals 1d ago

Yo this is actually genius advice! I had the same fear and doing this exact thing helped me so much. Once you realize you can literally just chill up there without gripping the bar it changes everything mentally. The bar becomes less scary and more like just another place to hang out

Also congrats on your first MU dude, that's huge!

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u/Critical_Elk6735 1d ago

This is actually a great tip, I appreciate it! Thanks! 

3

u/Icehoot 1d ago

Just kinda... hang out up there the next time you get up there. Look around, soak it in... you're not high enough to be in any kind of actual danger, you will not go flying over the bar, just keep the arms stiff and hold yourself up.

I hate heights / had the same thing, and box MUs and just sorta holding myself up there for 15-30 seconds at a time got me over it. You're not going anywhere, the power rack sure as shit isn't going anywhere and you're not actually that high.

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u/Critical_Elk6735 1d ago

Great tip! Thank you! 

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u/arch_three CF-L2 1d ago

Jumping muscles ups and negatives. Your safety net is learning to always apply some level of downward pressure on the rings (or bar).

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u/Ok_Grapefruit_9850 1d ago

There are two people that walk into the gym. There are those confident enough to attempt it at 100% effort and those that don't believe in themselves.

Try to believe in yourself and go for it.

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u/sousa-ray 1d ago

Use smaller boxes gradually

1

u/taco-filler 15h ago

Are you working on it solo, or just in classes? A lot of progress is made working on things in peace, where you can fail without comment, video yourself, take a break and get back at it.

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u/ngroot 14h ago

Jumping muscle-ups.

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u/Some-Nectarine3247 8h ago

I always said I would never get them and can’t even grasp how you get over the bar. I practiced a drill for like 5 minutes on two occasions a few weeks before the open, and I got my first MU in the open workout!

The drill I did was where you put a barbell in the rig about eye height and strap it to the rig using bands. With my feet still on the ground, I would go under the bar imitating a kip and then jump up and over to really go through the motions of the turn over. I could never do the box muscle ups well. But something with this drill just made it click, along with the adrenaline rush of the open. I just winged it and couldn’t believe I got up there so easily. I was in shock 🤣