Movement Tip: The Butterfly Pull-Up

Like the kipping pull-up, the Butterfly Pull-Up, demonstrated here by CrossFit Seminar Staff member James Hobart, uses momentum to lift yourself over the bar. The difference with the Butterfly Pull-up is that instead of pushing yourself back from the bar at the top of the movement, you following the momentum of your pulling movement down and forwards under the bar. This allows you to perform the pull-ups faster, but is still subject to all the cautions we discussed earlier about building up the necessary strength and flexibility in your shoulders and upper back before asking too much of your shoulders.

Points Of Performance

• Position hands on the bar wider than the shoulder
• Start hanging with arms extended
• Initiate swing with shoulders
• Alternate between arched and hollow positions
• From the arched position, drive legs towards the bar
• At the same time, push down on the bar with straight arms
• Then pull with the arms
• Pull the body up until chin is higher than the bar
• Allow torso to move forward while descending
• Legs move back, placing body into arched position for the next rep