Developing slow transition in muscle-up
I am working on developing the muscle-up: www.beastskills.com/tutorials/tutorials/53.
I can perform a muscle-up at speed, but I am working at making the transition from pull-up to dip as slow as possible without relying on momentum generated in the earlier stages of the pull.
By performing an assisted pull-up with 'straight arms' (an open elbow) I can simulate the the motion of slowly transitioning to the dip phase of the motion. I can rise in a straight arm pull-up slowly to a point where my elbows are level with my hands with around -26kg of assistance, at a bodyweight of 72kg. My standard pull-ups are reasonable strong but do not take me as high as I imagine necessary for a slow muscle-up.
What is the most effective way to develop the necessary strength at the top of the pull?
I feel that the benefits from performing standard pull-ups are plateauing in terms of developing strength at this range of motion.
Should I:
Work muscle-ups at speed without assistance, using the momentum to transition?
Work straight arm pull-ups with assistance (and if so what progression should I aim for, e.g. static holds, reduced assistance)?
Build strength through some other movements (e.g. pull-down)?
I'm not entirely sure what muscle groups are involved during the slow transition. It feels like my biceps and triceps are engaged antagonistically to hold the arm straight, and that some muscles under my arm pit and sides of my thorax are tensed when performing the movement.
I suspect a variety of exercises in conjunction will be useful to improve this.
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I'm always a believer in training a skill by practicing that skill, or as close to it as you can come, rather than something different that seems complimentary. Certainly the transition from pull-up to dip is the hardest part of a muscle-up, and I believe that it is at least as much technique as it is strength: when I was learning muscle-ups I found that I was able to get them rather suddenly when something "clicked" about making that transition, rather than gradually coming closer and closer as I got stronger.
So, I'd suggest doing them as you can - quickly, for now - and just trying to focus on gradually slowing down. You can still train the negative slowly.
I was able to go from not being able to do a single muscle-up to being able to do 5 or 6 at a slow pace by practicing close-hand pullups (i.e. pullups with your hands close enough to be touching).
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