muscle up

noun, verb — 4 senses

muscle-up

nounalso spelled muscle-up

UK, US /ˈmʌs.əl.ʌp/

Etymology See chin-up § Etymology.

1

An exercise done for strengthening the arms and upper body, in which one lifts one's own weight while hanging from a bar to a position above the bar.

The muscle-up starts from a hang with a high or false grip.1966, Eric Lester Hughes, Gymnastics for Men, page 269:

Related terms: chin-up, push-up, pull-up, pull up

muscle up

verb

1

To train the muscles for increased size and strength.

We spent the summer trying to muscle up for football next term.

2

To force one's way into or through.

There are only about ten tables, so you'll probably have to wait — or just muscle up to the bar like everyone else.2007, Neil Schlecht, Spain for Dummies, page 470:

3

Figuratively To make stronger or more powerful.

Churchill had again thwarted the American impulse to muscle up in the Pacific theater at the expense of the Atlantic[…]2007, Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, page 26:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for muscle-up and muscle up.