Gym Rings Exercises - simple instruction (2019)

Gym rings exercises - some tips and tricks from practice

For everyone who likes strength training and is looking for a flexible and versatile training device, the gymnastic rings are exactly the right thing. With them you can do indoor and outdoor exercises and the whole body is challenged. Originally the rings were used almost exclusively by gymnasts, but more and more strength athletes, rowers and climbers are discovering this equipment for themselves.

What are gymnastic rings?

Most of them already know Gymnastics rings from physical education lessons at school. The two rings are made of wood or hard plastic and are each mounted on a loop on the ceiling of the gymnasium or a bracket. Not only professional gymnasts or other athletes train on the rings, but also hobby athletes, bodybuilders or people who want to make themselves as efficient as possible through fitness.

Who should train on gym rings?

The training on rings is suitable for beginners as well as for professionals. Beginners as well as moderately advanced fitness athletes will already feel their limits after a few minutes of ring gymnastics. If you are well trained, the rings can be an interesting challenge.

As a beginner, on the other hand, you have to have a good portion of stamina and go through many exercise preliminary stages before you can finally perform difficult exercises such as handstand on the tyres or power-intensive holding exercises. Only if you stay with it continuously and for weeks, you will be rewarded with progress.

This simple looking training form is one of the most demanding in the premier class. In addition to the arms, shoulders and back, the deep muscles of the torso must also be trained to such an extent that they can safely hold the body weight.

What seems to sound easy is made more difficult by every tilting, swinging and wobbling that the special positioning in the ring entails. The gymnastic rings also enable trained strength athletes or ambitious cross-fitters to challenge their performance with new training stimuli. Therefore, high-quality gymnastic rings are an absolute must in gym.

Why train on gym rings?

Training on gymnastic rings differs in several points from training on fixed equipment. Special features include:

• The rings are a mobile device, which gives the workout a high proprioceptive component. It takes a lot of strength and coordination skills to balance the ring movements and keep the body stable during the exercises. Without the deep muscles nothing works.
  
  
• Gymnastic rings are transportable and can be installed inside or outside depending on weather conditions.
• The variety of possible exercises is second to none. You train your whole body effortlessly on gymnastics rings, with pressure, pulling and holding exercises. In addition to upper body and arm muscles, the abdomen, back, buttocks and legs are also addressed here. More variety on one and the same training device is hardly possible.
• Thanks to the fact that the belts are adjustable, the suspension height of the rings can be varied. The longer the straps, the stronger the rings swing and the more strenuous your exercises will be.

What are the advantages of training?

Most people have become accustomed to training with machines and fixed equipment. Often the movements of these workouts are very one-sided and rigid. This is clearly illustrated by the example of the popular breast exercise Dips - also called bar support.

If this exercise is performed on fixed bars, ingots or a machine, the respective training device will understandably always remain firmly anchored to the ground. Dips on gymnastics rings, on the other hand, force you to balance your body, otherwise the two rings will break out to the front, back or sides.

What should you watch out for during training?

The length of the loops is particularly important. These can be individually adjusted. The longer the tapes, the more stability must be applied. Some exercises such as dips or push-ups become much more difficult with the length of the loops as the leverage is greater. The training becomes more effective and the success becomes visible faster. On the other hand, the shorter the loops, the easier the exercises will be.

What are the exercises?

There are many exercises that are suitable for beginners, depending on the length of the loops, increases according to the difficulty of the exercise.

• Reverse Rowing: This exercise trains the strength of the arms and back muscles. The gymnastic rings should hang on belts as long as possible, for example at abdominal height. Now you have to hang yourself under the rings in a supine position - your feet stand a few steps in front of your shoulders, your knees are bent. From this hanging supine position, pull yourself up on the tyres several times until your arms are against your chest.
• Lie support on gymnastic rings: The straps of the rings should be extended so that they hang just above the ground. Then you reach for the tires and walk with your feet into the push-up position. Now it's time to do push-ups. As a tip: the slower you move, the better you have the rings under control.
• Dips: Dips on rings are easy to vary in difficulty, depending on the training level. If the dips are to be lighter, the rings must hang at hip height and then you go into the armrest.
  The feet are placed a few steps behind you so that the body forms a diagonal to the floor. Then you have to let yourself sink forward and then push yourself up again. The arms should remain close to the body.
  The more difficult variant of the dips works the same, but the rings hang shoulder-high.

• L-seat: The L-seat is a holding exercise. It demands the holding power in shoulders, torso and abdomen. The rings should hang at shoulder height and then be jumped into the vertical slope. Then bend your knees and hold this position.
• Roller: This is an exercise that can be really fun. The gymnastics rings are hung at forehead height and then you have to hang on with long arms so that the bent knees float just above the ground. Then the legs are brought slowly into the so-called fall slope, in which one hangs long stretched upside down in the rings.
• Climbing cables: Climbing cables are particularly difficult due to the free movement of the rings. When training, you can support yourself with so-called resistance bands, which take a part of your body weight. The rings must be hung high enough, i.e. far above the head, so that you can just reach them with bent arms. When hanging, the knees float just above the ground. From this position it is necessary to pull yourself upwards several times. The wrists may rotate, this ensures maximum joint protection and an advantage over the pull-ups on a bar.

How to hang gym rings correctly?

You should be on the safe side when hanging up gym rings. You should choose a carrier that you can be sure can carry significantly more than your own body weight. Because during training, the forces acting on the carrier and the material add up. If the rings are fastened with hooks and dowels, it is advisable to inform yourself beforehand at the DIY store which ones are suitable.

Even so, the instructions should be read thoroughly. A suspension height of 2.70 metres is usually recommended. Thus, one has enough leeway to either adjust a short belt length or to choose a long belt. In principle, the longer the belts, the greater the inherent movement of the rings. This will result in more instability and a higher level of difficulty of the exercises.

It is important to make sure that the belts are guided through the metal quick-releases from the rear. Otherwise hanging may be endangered.

What to consider when buying?

Some things should be clarified before buying gym rings.

• Material: Before buying, decide which material the gymnastic rings should be made of. Wood, metal or plastic.
• Outdoor or indoor use: The application area of your rings also decides which material they should be made of. Gymnastics rings that you use outdoors and leave hanging in any weather should ideally be made of plastic. If you use the rings indoors or take them back home with you after every outdoor workout, you can use wooden rings without any problems.
• Belt length: The common belts are made of nylon and have a length of 4 - 4.5m.
• Diameter of the gymnastic rings: Calculate for the inner diameter on average approx. 180 mm or an outer diameter of approx. 240 mm. A thick material diameter of approx. 3 cm provides a good grip and gives a feeling of stability and control.
• Length markings on the belts: To be able to change the suspension height of your rings quickly and precisely, purchase belts with length markings. These markings ensure that you can adjust both gymnastic rings exactly to the same height. In addition, you can note the respective suspension height for your exercises and make your progression during training more conscious.

Turning rings made of wood, plastic or metal?

The material the articles are made of is ultimately a matter of taste. However, each material has its advantages.

Classical wooden gymnastic rings:

• It is aesthetic and blends wonderfully into your living environment.
• The grip of wooden gymnastic rings is unsurpassed.
• Wood heats up when you touch it and adapts to your body temperature.
• The hand sweat is absorbed as long as you use unpainted wooden rings.
• Well-processed wooden rings are stable and very durable.
• The prices are between 50 and 80€.

Plastic gymnastic rings:

• Plastic exercise rings are insensitive and durable.
• They are weatherproof, i.e. you can leave them hanging outside because they don't mind rain and snow.
• They do not absorb hand perspiration, but are washable.
• Plastic rings are even cheaper than wooden rings.
• The price is between 35 and 45€.

Metal gymnastic rings:

• Metal rings are not very handy. Therefore they are covered with rubber at the grip point.
• Good metal rings do not rust, but can oxidize or corrode. If you can leave them hanging outside, please refer to the product information.
• In comparison to other tyres, metal rings are usually thin in material diameter. Touching can be unpleasant and you may not find the right strength for your hands.
• They are priced at about 100€.

Result

You train all muscle groups of shoulders, arms and back as well as the deep trunk muscles with demanding exercises. These include classic dips, ring supports or pull-ups.

In addition, the versatile rings for gymnastics are able to support many other important areas of fitness, such as learning new movement patterns.

Even stretching and various mobility drills can be effectively intensified with the creative use of gymnastic rings. Whether beginner, advanced or professional: All enthusiastic athletes benefit in their own way from the ring training. Even children and rehabilitation patients can achieve success with the innovative training tools. Due to all these unrestricted advantages Sport Rings are a must for every modern gym.

To our gymnastic rings