How to Improve Butterfly Pull Ups for CrossFit

Butterfly pull-ups are an advanced movement in CrossFit that requires strength, coordination and proper technique. Keep reading this article if you want to know how to Improve Butterfly Pull Ups for CrossFit and master this movement.

The pull-ups are, without any doubt, one of the best exercises in CrossFit.

To do the pull-ups properly and achieve butterfly you must have a minimum of strength and, above all, a total mastery of the technique. The positioning of each part of the body is fundamental to do pull ups well, especially the butterfly style ones.

For this reason, we are going to review some basic concepts and the most important points that elucídate how to improve Butterfly Pull Ups for CrossFit.

If you are starting in Crossfit you will obviously have to do the adaptations of the pull ups at first. Getting to the box the first day and pretending to do butterfly pull ups without having done a single pull-up before is complicated, frustrating and can lead to injury.

You should start doing pull us gradually. You may have to adapt the movement with the resistance bands at first, but that’s okay, it’s actually the perfect way to get started with this exercise.

You will see that the resistance bands have a distinctive color depending on their thickness and resistance. The thicker the band, the more support it will provide while performing the movement. Adapt it to your needs and change the bands progressively, before you know it you won’t even use them anymore.

Many people think that in the pull-up the arms are the ones that perform the greatest force, but they are wrong. Yes, the arms play a key role, but in practice we have to apply the greatest workload from the muscles of the back and core area. Activating this musculature will allow you to get above the bar.

Before working on the pull-up, you must adopt a good posture with our hands on the bar. You will place them about 10 centimeters apart from the shoulders and we will put the thumb in the position that is most comfortable for us, either inward or outward.

The shoulders should go backwards connecting the scapulas so that our torso remains firm, while keeping the elbows out.

This would be the way to master the first step – strict pull-ups. To improve your butterfly, you should also focus on your kipping, because a good understanding of the basics will lead you to the one we want to get you to do – the butterfly pull up.

During the kipping, the momentum of the hips is used to generate an inertial force to help perform the pull up movement to the bar along with the energy applied from the upper body.

The butterfly pull up version is much more efficient than the previous one and is done with a faster movement due to the inertia gained by exerting a continuous circular movement with the body. It is similar to the kipping style pull up because it uses the impulse of the hips and legs, but in butterfly the movement is continuous. It is the best style to perform for WODs where there are many sets of repetitions.

Here are some tips to improve your butterfly pull-ups:

TIP 1: Strengthen your muscles

Butterfly pull-ups require a great amount of upper body strength, especially in the shoulders, arms and back. Perform strength training exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups, shoulder presses and rowing to improve your strength.

TIP 2: Improve your technique

Proper technique is essential to perform butterfly pull-ups effectively. Be sure to maintain a firm grip on the bar, keep your elbows close to your body and maintain a good hip position. Practice proper technique through specific drills to improve coordination and skill.

TIP 3: Do specific drills

Specific drills are exercises designed to help you improve specific aspects of butterfly pull-ups. These drills may include using resistance bands, performing pull-ups with your body leaning forward or kipping with your feet on the floor. Those could be also:

Box butterfly pull-ups

As we said before, once you are able to perform a few strict pull-ups and kipping pull ups, you can start practicing the butterfly pull-ups signature move.

Start by placing one foot on a plyo box. Although you can start the progression by placing both feet on the box, it’s easier to leave one leg in the air so that it allows us to create inertia.

Reverse bicycle kicks

The next step in the progression is the reverse bicycle kicks. Basically it consists of practicing the impulse of the hips bringing the knees towards our chest.

Let’s keep in mind that what you should practice to a greater extent in your progression towards the butterfly pull-ups is the cyclic swing through hip extension because it is understood that you already have a sufficient base of strength. This exercise makes you practice precisely this, the momentum with our body that will allow us to place the body in a more favorable position in each repetition.

Strict fall-throughs

This last exercise basically consists of performing eccentric or negative pull-ups but with the butterfly gesture.

Just as this method is useful to gain strength when we want to get our first strict pull-up, it is also useful in this variant of pull-ups.

TIP 4: Work on your flexibility

Flexibility is important to perform butterfly pull-ups correctly and reduce the risk of injury. Spend time stretching your shoulders, back and arms before and after your workout.

TIP 5: Be patient

Butterfly pull-ups are an advanced movement and can take time to master. Don’t give up and keep practicing regularly. Over time, your technique and strength will improve, and eventually you will be able to perform butterfly pull-ups effortlessly.

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