If you were to ask yourself which athlete has the most ideal and aesthetically pleasing body I would hazard a guess that gymnasts would be somewhere around the top of the list. Yet very few people train like one. A great way to shake up your routine is to throw in some basic gymnastic or bodyweight strength movements. Not only will you improve overall body strength, the ability to better stabilise your mid-line (the core) and general coordination but you’ll also give yourself an interesting challenge should you be bored of the same old same old.
Gymnastics rings can be bought for upwards of £30 or you may be lucky enough to have a gym that has a pair. They are great as a portable training tool and something that I use regularly. Strength Training London clients are all too familiar with basic gymnastic movements.
Here are three ring training exercises to shake up your workout:
Beginner: The Static Hold
It may look easy but for many just supporting yourself on the rings can be a huge challenge. The good news is that the body quickly adapts and learns how to stablise making this an excellent starting point.
Once you have the rings set up you then need to try and stabilise for the first time. Be warned, often the outcome is you looking like a little bird unable to control your wings but your body soon learns how to steady the rings. Practice required.
Intermediate: The Ring Dip
How to improve on the regular dip? Throw in some additional stabilisation to make things twice as difficult.
If you can, aim to get the elbow below the shoulder to work full range of motion. If not then make this your short term goal – keep working the range of motion until you’re there. Focus on keeping the rings close to the body at all times. As you descend you need to scrape them up towards the armpits.
Advanced: Ring L-Sit
This one is difficult enough on normal dip/parallel bars, so that’s often a good place to start.
Once you’re ready to take your dip to the rings you need to get in to the support position (static hold, as above) and then bring your legs up in front of you. Squeeze your quads hard to keep the knees locked and your legs straight. You’ll work really hard to stabilise your body and engage your whole midsection. So much cooler than doing crunches!
I can’t really do a gymnastics ring post without mentioning the Muscle Up. Once you’ve mastered all those above this would be a great target for you next.
For those that don’t know it’s effectively taking a pull up into a dip on the rings. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t deemed a difficult gymnastics move but for most people it presents a very tricky challenge just to get the strength and technique to pull one off.
Now go train like a gymnast and set yourself some new interesting and fun fitness goals.
