Skip This Bodyweight Exercise (PLEASE!)

While there are is an almost endless exercise selection out there for your workouts, there are likely a few that you are cautious of doing or that you skip doing altogether. I’m no different. There are definitely some exercises out there that I will never do again, for one reason or another. In some cases, they bother an orthopedic issue I already have, others require the practice and skill work that I haven’t put the necessary time into, and some are just down right bad exercises.

For me, one of the exercises that I like to avoid is the muscle up. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with the movement, but with a torn labrum in each shoulder, it certainly aggravates my existing orthopedic issues. This comes in the form of the required internal rotation and elevation of the shoulders that causes this pain whenever I try the exercise.

Instead, I like to break down the muscle up into it’s two main components – the pullup and the dip. Both of these exercises are great for building muscle strength and size and are staples of any calisthenics routine. The pullup is the best way to target the posterior chain with a bodyweight exercise selection, while the dip is a great way to overload the chest without having to make use of dumbbells, barbells, or cables.

Does that mean you should stop doing the muscle-up too? Well, that depends on how your shoulders feel when you do them. If you have no problems with pain or discomfort when doing muscle-ups, then by all means, continue to do them. However, if you are indeed experiencing issues, then I would recommend you to follow suit with me and skip the exercise as there is no need to aggravate an existing injury.

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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).