Sam Perkins Academy

9 lessons on how to get your first BMU from a coach who’s helped 400+ athletes go from scaled to RX

1. Technical changes might feel like a step back initially but if what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working then see them out at least for a few weeks

2. We all learn at different rates and have different backgrounds in training, understand your chapter 1 could be someone else’s chapter 20.

3. the ones who progress quickest and continue to overtime take their time at the beginning to ensure their positions are as good as they can be

4. you can tidy them up over time, getting your first one is often the hardest one you ever do, physically cracking the movement is essential for overcoming a mental block

5. BMU are a lot easier to learn if you have a solid foundation of kipping pull ups, toes to bar and strict strength. Doing them too soon is a really easy to make yourself feel useless

6. if you feel like you’re doing this take a step back from attempting full reps and work on your drills, build the bank of good reps, it doesn’t matter if that’s from a box or a band at the beginning

7. you’ll feel very little progress for weeks and sometimes months and then the session after you say ‘will I ever get these’ you’ll have a breakthrough, stay in the fight.

8. frequency is important, but so is not burning out.

9. Might sound silly to save but saving more ‘3 steps to learning a BMU’ posts might not be the best use of your time if you’re still stuck after months of doing exactly that. There are a few core ones that work really really well, stick with those and develop physical qualities at the same time.

And hit the follow button for more help with going from scaled to RX

Please don’t make this mistake with kipping gymnastics in 2026

And that’s starting everything from a deadhang position

It is the gymnastics equivalent of of trying to do a pause back squat instead of a regular one

You generate way less power & make it harder to learn how to do the skill efficiently

And it applies to all skills

The only difference is WHERE you start them

For the TTB & BMU start one step behind the bar or wrists underneath it when the arms are out in front

For the PU & C2b start directly underneath

But on both make sure you jump into hollow

And the wall touch drill is all you need to help learn it

This drill mimics the exact position you’re going to start your movement in

Just make sure you are able to land and not move when done correctly

And if you found this useful then hit the follow button for daily help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

Chalk & Wifi - Episode 1

The series where I take you along on my journey to doing my CFL4 and building my online coaching business

But why go back to in person coaching?

Well firstly I’m not fully back, and certainly not giving up online. Currently I just cover & help out when they need a hand but am looking to gradually pick up more

But when I was in Sydney working over Christmas it made me realise that I’m better online when I work in person, and I’m better in person when I have my online work to do

And because the best coaches I know are the ones who
1. Have or have had an online presence
2. Can also spit serious coaching rizz in a class of 20/30+ full of people from every walk of life

Never just one, both.

And that’s what I’m looking to do

Im in a pretty unique situation to have one of the 🐐s in the game as my good friend & mentor on this journey and I want to make the most of it

I’m not going to coach forever but like anything I try and do w I’m going to do it to the absolute best of my ability

And for me gaining mastery in coaching crossfit specifically requires doing the hours in person, going through the CrossFit certified courses, remaining a student of the game all whilst building my online business

Over the last 6 years I’ve worked with 400+ athletes all around the world which is a crazy sentence but I want to reach more and do it better

So here’s to the chalk & wifi series where I document becoming the best coach I can be, both online & in person

Follow along for more

6 to 10 Unbroken Ring muscle ups in a session with one change

Ok technically there were 2 changes as we tidied up how he linked his reps together too but that’s for another post

I know of too many people that have fallen through the rings before, thankfully not many have hurt themselves but It’s still dangerous and can stop people from giving them another go despite being very capable

The fall through the rings happens most often when people rely too much on a long and high scoop of the feet to generate height

Which means they have a huge ‘swing’ from underneath to on top of the rings

Which you get away with on the bar because no matter how hard you try it’s probably not going to move

But the rings will.

So grab a PVC pipe

Set it up with a mate or with a box and stack of plates and set it up so it’s around waist height when hanging from the rings or about 4 o clock on a clock face

And then don’t kick it

I like to also use the cue of ‘kick the floor, not the wall’ to help direct an athletes focus towards keeping the feet low and hips high

And if you found this useful hit the follow button for regular help with taking your gymnastics skills from scaled to RX

Still can’t do a muscle up but know that you’re strong enough?

Then try this 5 step progression that I’ve used with 100s of athletes over the last 6 years of coaching

And if you still can’t do them then follow for daily help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

Should you bend your legs or keep them straight on toes to bar?

Well it’s not quite that simple as to which one is better

Instead try asking these questions..

Which one is a better choice for the workout you’re doing?

Which one is more efficient?

Which one is quicker?

There’s a time and a place for both and knowing you can execute both is an important part for someone looking to get the most out of their fitness

Personally though I believe the straight leg is the one you should aim to execute in training because of how id you train hard you’ll generally compete easy

The higher mobility requirement and greater compression strength necessary is extremely useful and will in turn help your ability to do the faster bent leg method when you need it

It can’t be said for learning it the other way round

And if you found this useful then make sure to follow for help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

If you struggle to link toes to bar together then steal this drill

(But make sure you hit the follow button first)

It’s certainly one of the more niche drills but it works so well

Its the low band banded toes to bar

To set it up correctly make sure the band is around the bottom of the calf when hanging from the bar

From there get cranking on your reps.

I like to use this as a primer / extended warm up for athletes before their main ttb work

It’s great because it does a lot of the teaching for you

1- spend too long in arch position? It’ll throw your rhythm off

2- donkey kick / bend the legs excessively? You’ll miss the band completely and end up kicking it when coming into hollow

Proprioceptive / condition based drills like this are great for helping athletes to feel what they need to be doing. Cueing is important but for some it has its limitations in getting them to feel what they need to be doing which is where drills like this can be useful.

And if you found this useful then hit the follow button for daily help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

Get linked Toes to bar together by making these 2 changes

Honestly I’ll stop making a post about number 1 once I stop getting sent videos of people doing it

But please whatever you’re doing, leave your ego at the door and stop rekipping between reps, it’s won’t help you link them together

Instead, do this

1- start your reps with intent

Stop just jumping up to the bar W***y nilly

Instead take a step back, wrists under the bar and then jump into hollow

Much better, now for number 2

2- try the leg raise + ttb complex

If you can build this up to 5 unbroken reps then I’m confident you’ll be able to link together full TTB

Just make sure to snap quickly between positions and if you lose your rhythm, drop down, rest and repeat

And make sure you hit the follow button for daily help with taking your gymnastics skills from scaled to RX

How much time does butterfly chest to bar actually save?

Well you’re about to find out as the I take 2 identical athletes with equal skill level and race them to see who can do 16 reps for time quickest

Spoiler alert - butterfly wins, but it’s not as simple as that

They’re only quicker when your skill level in both is even

A lot of people make the mistakes of seeing their favourite games athlete do butterfly pull ups and immediately think they need to learn them too in order to improve their performance

But what you don’t see is the amount of time those athletes have put into building themselves up over time. Building their endurance in the basic positions of hollow and arch, taking their time to learn the timing of kipping well before advancing onto butterfly and continuous work on their strict strength

In short. They’ll also very good at kipping pull ups

Generally I wouldn’t advise learning butterfly until you can demonstrate really solid technique on repeatable double digit sets of kipping chest to bar or kipping pull ups

If you can do that, then sure they’re worth it, but they’re not the be all and end all

Point being, don’t run before you can walk

An athlete with good kipping chest to bar will smash an athlete in a workout who’s doing butterfly in 2s, 3s and 4s.

And if you found this useful then why not hit the follow button for help with taking your gymnastics from scaled to RX

Make these 2 changes if you want to link together toes to bar in 2026

There’s a huge gap between being able to physically get your toes to the bar and then linking them

And unfortunately just doing more reps where you swing the toes to the bar isn’t going to cut it

Instead make these 2 changes and you’ll get there (permitting you’ve got the prerequisite strength or a handful of pull ups and a couple seconds in an L-sit)

1- learn how to use the upper body correctly

The toe drag drill is my favourite drill to use with athletes to help teach this

To execute it properly
- quads squeezed
- toes pointed
- rib cage down

Then keeping straight legs push down on the bar to get the toes on top of it landing in a hollow position

Positions over height here. If you can get 3 in a row at one height then you have my blessing to go up

2- positions first, speed second

It’s a dynamic movement, make it one

I always cue athletes that as soon as they hit the arch position to get out of it

Doing this should ensure you get the most out of your kip

3- make sure you’re following for daily technique tips, drills & progressions to help take you from scaled to RX