Brakeobx Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Hello all. I am a gymnast on a college club team and have never had a formal coach or any formal training...so I'm stuck with a love for the sport and desire to grow, but no resources to help me. I've become very comfortable on rings, and although I'm still a little ways away from completing Coach's list of things to master before training a cross, I'm actively training the whole list with lots of stretching and no undue injuries or pain and making significant progress. I know I don't have nearly enough muscle or tendon strength to actually train an iron cross, and I completely don't intend to, as I love my elbows dearly. However, I find that using MASSIVE amounts of resistance with bands and lowering to a cross is a very fun and relaxing exercise. It's literally almost a challenge to go/push down all the way because I use so much resistance, knowing I'm not ready to actually attempt such a strenuous move. Most of my knowledge of rings comes from personal experience and research, which I kinda hate. I have heard the shoulders should be rolled forward for a cross, the elbows down and locked, and the head neutral. I know there are a million other factors about which I know nothing, such as protraction, shoulder girdle, angle of hands, etc. Like I said above, I don't intend to actually train the cross at all, but I will probably continue to do my cheesy super-resistance holds because they are exhilarating and relaxing, and I feel literally no discomfort anywhere doing them. But while I'm at it, I'm a huge fan of perfected and safe form and would rather have a very good idea of what I'm doing while I'm doing this, even if I'm handling little to no weight. I hope to one day far in the future train the cross when I am ready, and if I am developing habits right now, I'd like them to be good ones. I was wondering if anyone can give me a basic run-down of all the key points of proper cross form, including information on angles of joints, physiology, common errors, and basic anatomy. As I'm looking for a pretty in-depth description, I would even love to just be pointed to a very good book or resource that has this information. I promise I take my health very seriously, have read many of these forums about prerequisites, and am not doing anything stupid. It is mostly out of a love for knowledge and the sport and innocent curiosity that I want to know how a cross works. While I understand how discouragement can be a great thing, I swear I have zero courage or intention to train a cross already, and would really just love some information. Any help, info, or direction would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks,-Hunter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDERIC DUPONT Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Welcome to the forum Hunter.Although i am not qualified to give you any advice on iron cross training/prepping (way out of my league), I'd like to draw your attention to the upcoming rings series that will soon be published. From recent postings from Coach and his team, the rings series require Foundation 1 and 2 as prerequisites - maybe you will want to take a look at these courses and get a headstart on your competition. [edit] here is a link to an overview of the whole curriculum:https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/12862-the-gymnasticbodies-roadmap-and-curriculum/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Slocum Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Coach Sommer wrote an essay on the Iron Cross a few years ago. It shouldn't be too hard to find with a few minutes of searching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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