Exercise guide
Skin The Cat
- Advanced
- Compound
- Rep-based
- Back
- Shoulders
- Upper arms
- Waist
This advanced gymnastics movement develops exceptional shoulder mobility and functional pulling strength by rotating the body through a full 360-degree range of motion. It builds elite core control while placing a unique eccentric load on the deltoids, lats, and traps.
Reviewed by the Crucible Fit team · Updated June 2026
Muscles worked
Setup
- Hang from a pull-up bar using a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
- Engage your core to enter a hollow body position with legs straight and feet together.
- Ensure you have enough clearance behind and below the bar for full rotation.
How to do it
- Exhale and pull your knees toward your chest, tucking your body as you rotate your hips up and over your head.
- Pass your feet between your arms and slowly lower them toward the floor behind you into a 'German Hang' position.
- Inhale at the bottom of the stretch, then exhale and pull your hips back up and over to reverse the movement.
- Control the descent back to the starting dead hang position with a slow, controlled tempo.
Form checklist
- Keep your arms locked out straight during the entire rotation.
- Avoid using momentum or swinging to get your hips over the bar.
- Maintain a tight tuck or pike position to keep your center of mass close to the bar.
- Ensure your shoulders remain active and depressed, not shrugging toward your ears.
Pro tips
- Think about 'pulling the bar down to your hips' to engage the lats and traps more effectively during the initial lift.
- Squeeze the bar as hard as possible to increase shoulder stability through the full range of motion.
- Spend 1-2 seconds in the bottom German Hang position to build end-range strength and flexibility.
Make it harder
- Perform the entire movement with completely straight legs (Pike position) to increase the lever length.
- Slow down the eccentric phase (lowering) to a 5-second count to maximize time under tension.
Frequently asked
- What muscles does the skin the cat work?
- The skin the cat primarily targets the lats and trapezius, and also works the abs, deltoids, and obliques as secondary muscles.
- What equipment do you need for the skin the cat?
- The skin the cat uses pull up bar.
- Is the skin the cat good for beginners?
- The skin the cat is rated advanced. Build a base with simpler variations first, then progress to it with light load and strict form.