Search the Community

Hey guys, I am starting the intermediate one program, and I have been weight training for two years now. Should I choose the easiest progression that I cannot do, or the hardest progression that I can do? For instance I can do about 13 wall supported headstand pushups, 15 dips full rom, and 6 ring dips full rom, but these progressions are way ahead of pseudo-planche pushups - which I find it challenging to do 10. Thanks, Madhav

Just beginning rings one. For exercises such as the “strap ring plank” and “strap fly” where there are support straps attached to the wrists/forearms from the rings…. Is there a specific type of strap to use or are they just using the “tails” from the straps that anchor the rings? Is there a demo on the correct way to set up and adjust the strap support for the arms so we can set up properly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKcwr9ANfX8 ANOTHER ONE VIDEO FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES. SOME TIMES IT WAS MUCH BETTER. WAITING FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THANKS BEFOREHAND.

Hi everyone, I have read on this forum that nakayama is a pre req for azaryan but for me azaryan is much harder. How many nakayama i must do for begin azaryan ? Wath is your tips for azaryan ? Now i just do azaryan to cross on strap, i read azaryan to support is good drill too. This is my nakayama https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp_yxu_gUZg/. Thx for your ansers and knowledge.

Hi every one, Since january i work nakayama, i have slow but good result, i'm able to do nakayama with wrist strap now but i seem's to be impossible without i lose the false grip, i don't sure if my form are correct, i need your expert eyes. this is a video of my nakayama. https://www.instagram.com/p/BhzGZNQHDA4vpD-i5JinMzbPv_l689EeCJhiwY0/?taken-by=swannbuttel Thx every one

Hi folks, I'm getting all these and would like to know the thoughts of someone experienced. Are these ok or is there anything better / anything else I should be getting? Gymnastic Rings https://www.amazon.com/Pellor-Gymnastic-Workout-Exercise-Buckles/dp/B00DW2DJOM/ref=sr_1_3 Wall bars https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Gymnastic-Wall-Bars-Including/dp/B0765SC5S8/ref=sr_1_3 Parallettes https://www.amazon.co.uk/EDELKRAFT®-Parallettes-Handstand-Pushups-Multifunctional/dp/B01NCTUK5S/ref=sr_1_2 I already have dip bars and a pull up bar to hang from the door. Also how the heck do I fix the wall bars without fixtures (not included)? I guess my questions is: where do I buy the fixtures and what do they look like? I don't have a drill so was thinking of using something like TaskRabbit... Thanks in advance

Hi, I am planning on including a ring setup and rope climb on an outdoor structure. I am thinking of hanging it up from a bar somewhere between 12 and 16 feet high. Are there things I won't be able to do at 12' that I could do at 16', and if there are, what are they? What is the minimum height to do different exercises that can't be done at 12'? I am about 5'7". Thank you, Micha

Hi every one, I have recently play with pineda on rings, with 2 month off training i can do it with bent arm ( like a wide muscle up ). i would like te bo able to do it with almost straight arm ( 0.1 fault in FIG code) do you have some exercice or tips for correct this probleme, maybe pineda feet on the block push to iron cross ( same exercice for iron cross press ) or iron cross lower negative to front lever ? Best regard from france

Hi All, Looking for any assistance for coaching Kip to L sit on rings. He has progressed through rings programme to 4 sets L hold on rings, back lever and muscle ups done. I believe problem is technical understanding of skill. I cannot find any drills for athlete and would appreciate advice or link to video of progression. Video of progress of shoulder flex with programme

Hi every one, My goal for this year is to be able to perform 2 D element on rings. ( pineda, azaryan) , i have 8 iron cross press, and 12 sec cross hold max, i can press cross with 10 % off my bodyweight. I continue to work my static strenght on iron cross from 2 different way : first with classic static hold, second at the iron cross position with zero tension press cross hold ( wrist strap ). I work muscle up wide to iron cross for the transition for pineda and pineda on strenght trainer ( i do assisted victorian press too with leg on the support for stregnhtening shoulder extension ) Azarian is more difficult for me, i can do it with strenght trainer ( lvl 5 /10) but i can't able to do simple azarian support on ring ( i do back lever to cross without bounce on strenght trainer and back lever press maltese press planche with leg on the support ) can i have some advice / opinion for continue to progress This is a video off my best azarian : ps : I have read all topic on this forum about d crosses etc

For ring swings, what are your opinions on required or adequate strength levels necessary to safely maneuver learning ring swings? Obviously, there are some different levels to this and a lot to consider, but I'm curious what people what other people who have gone through the gymnastics skills and progressions for rings and are familiar with high level ring strength and development think. Ie. What strength is required for each strength level listed below? How many pullups should one be able to do? What kind of weighted pull up and relative strength should you have before you attempt ring swings? How long should your full front and back levers be? Where is your rope climb progression at when one could start? These aren't perfect questions or the end all be all, just giving you all an idea of what I'm trying to get at. Now, I'm sure many of you are going to simply say "When you've mastered all of foundation (past f4), only then can you even attempt rings". I think that's a bit short sided, sure, I would agree that someone who has worked all the way through foundations and the rings programs will definitely be better off, but my point here is more of a hypothetical random thought. Someone doesn't need to spend years going through all of foundation and rings. For instance, I think a person with baseline levels of strength is ok to start doing low level rings swings, like leve 1 (refer to the levels below). That same person could not do high level swings (like ring giants, bails, etc.), but that should be obvious. I realize this might be vague, so let's say for instance you have a 6' 1" male, 25 yrs old, 200 lbs, athletic background, and is getting into gymnastics and wants to learn ring swings. What are appropriate strength levels for him? Lot of variability and factors to something like this, I know answer is always "it depends". Just looking to see what other gymnasts and coaches think and what they'd recommend. level 1: basic swing-body tight, letting the body simply pendulum back and forth to get used to the movement, feet never going past say 30 degrees on each side (front/back swing) from the ring tower uprights. This level wouldn't require much strength at all since your swings at such a low intensity, but I'd want someone with a baseline of pull up/rowing/grip strength. Most people should be able to simply jump up and try these first time though, or just for fun. Level 2: actually starting to learn the rings swing: turning rings out/in, correct body position, maintaining pressure on the rings, etc. Let's say smooth swings with feet/shoulders rising to ring height Level 3: Higher ring swings: high enough to comfortably swing into front and back uprises without arm bend Level 4: Learning swinging skills like dislocates, inlocates, felges, swings to low level strength, etc. Level 5: Being able to consistently accumulate volume on level 4 swings without damage to joints and connective tissue. This is an important distinction: it's one thing to be able to do a smooth dislocate, but that dislocate is still accumulating fatigue and trauma on the connective tissue. No matter how technically sound the swing, the body is still being exposed to several times bodyweight on each swing and this for generally a handful of swings/reps each turn and then taking multiple turns in a session or practice. So, this level can do level 4 swings, but can now comfortable tolerate these swings with volume. Sort of like if you deadlift a 1 RM: yes, you can do it for sets of 1, but doing too much volume is physiologically impossible at this intensity of your max (you can't do 10 reps of your 1 rep max in one set, otherwise it wasn't your true 1 rep max, duh). Level 6: Learning giants/handstand bail swings. This is essentially the highest force the body will encounter WITH SWINGS (for those of you that were gonna mention the amount of torque on the shoulder/elbows in say, a cross, or maltese) and requires much prep over a long time in conjunction with sound swing mechanics and technique. Level 7: able to consistently and safely accumulate volume with level 6 swings without adverse effects (ie. injury, discomfort). Things that affect the strength and prehab required: 1. weight: a heavier/more muscled person will have more force exposed to their body in their swings. This strength will simply take longer to build due to their higher mass. 2. Biological age: all things being equal, an 18 year old will be able to adapt to this stress better than a 60 year old 3. Training age: if someone grew up doing gymnastics, they will have most likely have an easier time adapting than someone who started gymnastics at 25 and is rushing through the skill and strength stages. Most adults don't realize that these kids take years of consistent coaching, training, and skill progression to reach their current level and will try to blow through them all. Makes sense, more time spent doing something, the better they will generally be. You throw enough darts at a board, you're bound to get a bullseye. 4. Injuries: more injuries, more severe injuries will take longer to build/rebuild the necessary strength over time, a highly detrained individual, or some debilitating injuries so severe that they will never be able to do these things, etc. 5. Many other factors of course

Hi people! I hope you can help me out with this one cause it is really bothering me I started back in May last year with working on the ring muscle-up. I teamed up with a really great coach and he pushed me quite far - ive honestly never been in a better shape. I almost got the Front-Lever down, practicing my Back-Lever, can do up to 17-18 pull-ups in a row, currently doing 5 sets of 8 dips with +15kg and yet ... no ring muscle-up. The transition is killing me and i can barely get it to work. It bothered me so much that after 6 months of practicing i just stopped all together. Im currently working out only in bars in which ive done Muscle-Ups a couple of times, but with a great amount of kip. I read a little on the forums and i also saw a couple of videos and honestly i just wanna go back at this beast. The only annoying thing is everyone is talking about muscle-ups as if kipping is okay. I dont get it - i dont want to do a kipping muscle-up. I want a clean strict one. Can you guys please throw me your top 3 tips/exercises at me so i can get back into it? I really want to nail this thing so i can move onto other fun things in the rings

Hi guys, I've left aside iron cross work for a bit more than a month. All this time, I've been putting a lot of work on One Arm Pull Ups (OAPU) and yesterday, when I tried to do some Iron Cross work, i felt a lot more stable in my shoulders as when i was trying it before. I must say that in this month i also lost 2 kg (by eating less quantity, I was kinda eating more than I needed) and feel a lot lighter. In any case... the only thing that I changed in my training is the introduction of OAPU work. May it be very beneficial for Iron Cross? Kind regards!!

I saw athlete Chen Yibing perform iron cross on the Olympics of 2008 and this raised a few questions: 1. Are his elbows bent and pointing DOWN, or are they pointing UP and hyper-extended (bent the wrong way)? 2. Is the correct form to have elbows pointing up or elbows pointing down? 3. Is the false grip he uses allowed for iron cross or is it considered cheating? Will doing iron cross without false grip give you more points and higher scores in the competition? 4. Where does iron cross stand in terms of difficulty rating compared to the other straight arm still rings static positions? For example is it considered harder than planche? In order to make sure we are speaking the same language I've added pictures of the possible positions. The the pictures are elbows down, elbows back, elbows up, in that specific order from top to bottom: EDIT: added athlete's name and event EDIT: added pictures of possible arm positions

Howdy. I have some new rings I need to install in a basement room and the ceiling is exposed floor joists. What's a good way to safely install a set of rings? I've seen various things online, some say use an eye bolt screwed into the bottom of the joist, some say put a bolt through the joist. Thanks.

Hi every one, I ask myself about Maltese on rings... I work iron cross/ cross pull and straddle planche but i see many gymnast unable too perform a planche but very strong on maltese. So i decided too begin maltese work in addition to my planche training. Wich exercice is unavoidable for mastering maltese ? With wich exercice i can begin maltese ? I think one exercice for understand the body line like board press and one exercice for straight arm strenght like maltese press on low ring, maltese lean too maybe ? I can try just too support slowly lower to maltese many time ? should i work on isometric too with band ? My goal is perform maltese on iron cross trainer in 6 months, i can do 10 rep on maltese press on low rings with strap on wrist and hold maltese on board for some seconde. Thx a lot

Hi every one, I want to do galimores on rings, i have a good front lever to adv tuck for 5x5 good rep, i can hold 5x15 adv tuck on ring at my own bodyweight and 4x 10 sec weighted with 4 kg ( i actually don't like to weight the ADV tuck on ring because i can't feel the good position). I can't hold straddle planche on the ring i just can make in the position for a little moment ( l sit to straddle ) I'm confuse of wath type off exercice i must do, bodyweight adv tuck for 3-4x20 sec ? weighted ? more l sit to straddle ? Thx for your advice

Guys, what do you think about the way I executed this movement? I'd like you to spot the mistakes . Because my friend says I'm not using enough momentum and that I'm relying more on strength. Also I'd like to know your opinion about how much work I need to get to the full cross(based on the not complete cross I did at the end) Here's the video:

Hi guys, should lifting exercises be integrated in the strength for rings? What is a good balance between lifting exercises and specific strength moves training? I was training with Gregor in Slovenia when I was living there and he really put a lot of emphasis in developing strength for maltese and planche through lifting exercises. He told me that a person is able to hold a maltese if he can lift a 60% of his bodyweight in a maltese simulating exercises with both weights. But what is actually the real ratio for bodyweight and lifting training for the best progress? US gymnasts, for instance, look really jacked and pumped, but then you see them perform and... Meh. I would say that they dont really achieve high levels of relative strength. Instead, you see many quite "skinny" gymnasts performing much more difficult skills. Are weights even necessary? I see bigger progresses by doing for example maltese leans on rings than maltese simulations with weights... What do you think?? Thanks in advance

Hi guys! Once again a topic on rings I was wondering if some basic leg training in order to increase testosterone would eventually help to gain more strength on the rings. I know that heavy legs drag you down in the levers, planche and maltese work, but would bodyweight exercises for legs be beneficial? I've seen that, for example, Yuri van Gelder (one of the strongest rings gymnasts) has quite defined legs and they dont seem to disadvantage him. Legs trained with weights and low repetitions would make me just heavier, but what kind of impact would have a bodyweight leg workout in my ring performance?? thank you in advance Oscar

First post here and I imagine some other tutorials have floated around on this over the years. Anyway here is a tutorial on how to make a rings training harness. I hope it helps some people out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5LRn30k8TY Thanks,

Hi guys, I've just started a push/pull/leg/push/pull training regimen and I find it interesting so far,although I have some questions. 1) First of all Straight Arm Strength. I tried to group exercises based on their motion e.g. I put HS, press to HS and planche practise to push days and front-back lever to pull days(idk why, it just seemed logical), but I'm a bit confused since even on push days the biceps are under a great amount of tension -especially during planche. It is followed by pull day where obviously the biceps are working hard. This way they cannot recover properly(?) So, my question is, should I stop doing straight arm exercises (which sounds dumb) or the body can handle this amount of stress. Or what the heck should I do? 2) I also put core on pull days, since they are mainly doing a pulling motion but I find exercising my core only two days a week not enough. So do you think that I can do it maybe three times? Or again what should I do? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Hi every one, Just one question for my curiosity, i see many gymnast with impressiv shoulder striation, almost every rings specialist have this type off physique. How do you explain this developpement ? Isometric work ? Density muscle ? Wath is your tips for achieve this goal in bodyweight training ? Best regard

My ceiling is 13 feet (4m) high, and I want to be able to reach the floor with my rings. Would it be better to use chains down from the ceiling, or a high tensile strength cable? I like the look of a cable but will freely admit that it would be silly to compromise safety for aesthetics.

Hi! So I don't have an option to train with a spotter, this is why I got myself a new toy - Dream Machine (50/50) Can anyone tell me how you should use it to get the best out of your training, how do the gymnasts use it? How often do gymnasts use it? For what skill works the best? What is the best way to increase intensity on skills like planche, lever, etc (maybe vest, or ankle weigths?) Any information is welcome! Thanks!