Ring training

Posted by: choonbee

Ring training - 04/18/12 06:07 AM

Do any of you guys use gymnast rings to train with?
I built a pullup rack and purchased a set of rings to do bodyweight exercises with.
Right now I'm concentrating on 4 basic movements; pullups, dips, pushups and body rows, along with hanging knee crunches and L-sits.
I'll tell you, doing pushups and dips on the rings is much harder that the traditional way because of the involvement of stabilizer muscles.
And pullups and body rows are easier on the shoulder joints because the rings aren't stationary like a regular bar, so you can do the exercises in a groove that feels right for you.
Thoughts?
Posted by: gojuman59

Re: Ring training - 04/19/12 11:58 AM


Sounds like a great way to work out. Body weight exercises are the way to go in my book.


Mark
Posted by: choonbee

Re: Ring training - 04/20/12 04:16 AM

Good to see you, Mark.
I agree with you about bodyweight exercises being the way to go, at least for me, anyway.
It feels more natural to me, and the variations are endless.
People ask me about what I do in my weightlifting routine, and I love the look on their faces when I tell them that I don't lift weights.
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Ring training - 04/22/12 05:46 AM

I've come to appreciate bodyweight exercises more this last year. I've had a recurring shoulder niggle that wouldn't go away, and I was doing a lot of weights at the time.

I stopped doing weights for a month (apart from Kettlebells) and started doing a lot of body weight exercises (especially burpees, sprawls and hindu pushups) and my shoulder issue went away.

Seemed to be the bench press that was irritating my shoulder most, have dropped that totally from my workout (am back doing some weight training again), no problems since.

On of my kettlebell instructors is incredibly well versedin bodeyweight exercises, and he has fantastic core strength and great range of motion. I think there is a lot to be said for doing body weight exercises.
Posted by: choonbee

Re: Ring training - 04/22/12 08:52 AM

The only weights that I use these days are two lb. weighted gloves for shadowboxing.
I'll probably get a weighted vest at some point also for certain movements.
Bodyweight movements will build an impressive physique. One look at a gymnast will confirm that, and, as you pointed out, they involve the core heavily, and core strength is a must have for anyone involved in a combat sport.
You can use bodyweight movements to build max. strength, strength endurance, and explosive strength. Lots of possibilities.
My favorite thing about bodyweight exercises is that you don't need any equipment aside from a pullup bar and perhaps a weighted vest, and you don't need to pay for a gym membership for the benefit of waiting for some sweaty ape to finish up on the bench that you want to use.
There's a certain coolness about building a great physique using only the weight of your body.
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Ring training - 04/22/12 02:49 PM

Fair points, but I would say that gymnasts also include some weight training in their training program. When I trained Olympic weightlifting we had a couple of gymnasts come down to work with us and apparently most gymnasts do some sort of weight training to help them.
Posted by: choonbee

Re: Ring training - 04/22/12 04:37 PM

You're probably correct in that some weights are involved, especially for those gymnasts who compete.
I know one thing...doing 4 sets of 4 exercises on the rings, pullups, dips, inverted bodyrows and pushups pumps my upper body like nothing else.
My mid to lower forearms take a huge beating on the dips and pushups because of the stabilization required on those movements using rings. I only started using the rings last week, so it will be some time before my stabilizer muscles are up to snuff.
But there's no rush. I'll get there by being consistent, and I like the challenge and the opportunity to improve myself in different areas. Keeps things fresh.
There's a ton of movements that you can do on the rings. I'm just trying to build some strength on them with basic movements before I try to move on to more advanced movements.
Posted by: peterjohn

Re: Ring training - 04/24/12 12:04 AM

I use gymnast rings to train myself which make me fit and gives strength to my body . I also use some hard training such as weight training and other ways to keep me fit . Do you people also use Gymnastic rings for this purpose .