Elite Strength Trainer

Hey guys

I'm looking for opinions on the Elite Strength Trainer from ringtraining.com, I have been thinking of buying it to start working on cross and maltese, since I dont have a coach to spot me. With shipping its gonna cost me a 100$ so would like to know first if you guys think its worth it, whats good whats bad etc etc. Maybe if you don't like it what would you find a good alternative? and maybe what could be a cheaper alternative?

http://ringtraining.com/shop/equipment/elite-strength-trainer.html

Too bad you missed the sale. They were 35% off before '09.

I ordered on a couple days ago. I'll let you know how it is when it gets here.

if you look at the page again, the sale has been extended to mid January.

you can also make a set if you have the tools as quite a few of gyms have their own homemade versions

http://patrickhdonnelly.blogspot.com/2008/08/diy-iron-cross-trainer.html

Thanks for your replies, I saw when you posted that one in another thread to Blairbob, looks pretty good maybe i should experiment with that.. gotta find some prices on the different items. Ill wait and see what you think Matthew, gotta decide before jan 15 cause i'm definately not paying 140 bucks for it

My order has just shipped so I should recieve it in the next few days.

Tyler's right now is 69.95 while on sale. It's regular price will be 109.95. The iron cross training device sold on DGS sells for 129.95, so there is a price difference of twenty dollars between the two and a possible savings of 40 dollars off Tyler's during the sale period. I would buy mine for 70, but I doubt I'd be willing to spend 110. I don't know how expensive the GymNova version, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the same ballpark.

My dad's favorite words, " On-Sale! "

For me it looks very good the first one. For iron cross you can train with elastics too or really short ring cables. For maltese you can put your legs on a chair (or knees-easier) and rings on a height of chairs height (it was described somwere on GB).

I guess i'll end up trying to build my own unless you find it exceptionally good Blairbob and Matthew. Gregor i just started this week using a bicycle tube for cross training, have thought of setting the rings high aswell but its not really possible where i work. Sounds cool with the maltese, think i will try that, if i am strong enough if its possible on top of planche work..

I ordered one, i'm from Spain so when they arrive me may be the sales are gone. For me is a good deal because of euro - dollar conversion. Tubes are good for cross but i think this is even greater because you can measure more acurately the progress.

Ah cool Serotonin. I have thought of the measurement of progress aswell, i thought about drawing lines on the tube where i can do 5x3 pullouts and then when i increase i hold less tube in my hand so it gets longer under me= less help, hope you understand that.

Razz said:

i thought about drawing lines on the tube where i can do 5x3 pullouts and then when i increase i hold less tube in my hand so it gets longer under me

That's good way to meassure. You could switch between diffrent elastics to-from less supple, to more...

Gregor, how did you go about achieving your cross? Did you use cross trainers? Bands? Dumbbell lifts? or just normal ring training?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got mine today, took it to the gym. I had thought about letting one of my lil guys on it but I decided to test it out first and had to figure out how to hang it. I've got some DOMS from Cindy last evening and doing anything on rings was hopeless last night while coaching the adult gymnastics class.

They do not seem to aid training for front or back levers which is too bad because I thought they might. I will have to go back to using different body shapes for lever training. It's problematic to hang upside down at all from them or horizontal. Not a huge issue, really.

Hooked up with the buckle as close to the top as possible, I almost hit a cross. A little bit high, around ribs to armpit, perfectly straight arms and no discomfort with the shoulders rolled forward.

Hanging from the high rings and they were a bit high for me ( I'm short ). I didn't hang them from the low rings because I thought it would be too low but I could probably stand and then bend my feet back.

I could still jump from support, but I did not really tighten the straps from what they come as; just slipped my arms in. Thus they did not engage till I lowered till about 45 degrees from horizontal or so.

I left them at work so tomorrow I will see if a maltese in tuck position on the low ones is possible ( something Steven Low is working on now or doing it with feet propped up ).

I'm not sure if planche can be assisted at all. I will try tuck planche tomorrow or assisted straddle planche on the low ones as well. They won't make supporting any easier.

I'll test cross handstand with feet and legs on straps. I still should be able to play with that. Didn't think of it today.

No idea about working backward roll to support or backward roll with straight arms to support. I wouldn't have enough strength to work this after yesterday and I don't think I'm strong enough yet anyways. I cannot currently pull from hang to inverted through front lever without slightly piking or doing it from a pullup. I have thought about approaching this like bar pullovers by using a block to kick off.

chauinc said:

Gregor, how did you go about achieving your cross? Did you use cross trainers? Bands? Dumbbell lifts? or just normal ring training?

At first try without any help of triners (I also so another case of this, this year in summer from boxer)...If you train proper you can achive a cross with bands or trainer or with spotter.

When I originally trained cross over 5 years ago, I simply went from support and worked on lowering down and pushing back to support. Doing negatives was the same way I got front lever besides hang pull to inverted hang.

I knew no other way nor came up with any other way nor was I being helped by anybody in the gym ( rec gym, predominantly based around women's gymnastics- very few guys around or anybody who knew even the basics of men's apparatus ). These were on high rings ( there were no low rings or inexpensive rings on the market ) so doing it off a block or jumping up would not have worked since I generally did a MU or kip to support ( which was more of a bent arm inverted pullup to dip out to support at best rather than a proper kip ).

Blairbob, and your general opinion is good? In the link below they sell a similar product, and they say it can be used for planches, and there is a video where the kids train cross to maltesse and back lever to cross assisted. Also inverted cross.

http://www.gymsupply.com/index.asp?Page ... rodID=3391

Is it confortable, because i tried a similar aproach with the straps of the rings on elbows (or turning upsidedown the ring so your can hold the rings on the forearm, but is really unconfortable, and you don't have the mesasurament of the progress.

I'm not yet done testing them out and should finish tomorrow night. I will be rested as well from the CF workout DOMS and I wanted to try other things I noted.

Tyler's EST was very comfortable.

I did just try the through the straps with rings on the forearm. It is more uncomfortable with the straps rubbing my arms than the rings on my forearms. I could get to near cross but I think my arms were bending though I thought they were straight at the elbows. My support is fatigued right now. I tried seeing if using this method could help back lever or front lever but I couldn't figure out how to start or jump into it even when I lowered my rings. More playing required.

Here is the thread on CrossFit currently about them. The owner/operator of RingTraining has commented a bit on them.

http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=40896

I really liked how in the video they went from back lever slightly back to maltese press/swing to invert. Being able to do all this stuff would be very beneficial including Azarian ( backward roll with straight arms to cross ). If they helped from planche to handstand or invert cross or maltese to planche and cross that would really be awesome.

I'm going to send an email to two friends of mine who are gymnasts and engineer oriented and maybe they will be able to tell me if I could perform the same maneuvers with Tyler's as the DGS design. Tyler also commented he would ask people he knows, including the JOTCHEV.

Again, I thought they would help with levers and they don't. I don't know if the DGS IC trainer design would help with levers but that extends their functionality. Not, really big since I don't think they will fit small boys all that well anyways.

I noted that even at the easiest setting you have to be able to lower to a fairly wide arm support before the device engages and decreases the leverage in the cross. However, if I put the straps on tightly on my arms instead of just slipping my arms through that might have helped too instead of being lazy. I'm not sure I could strap myself in tightly being just by myself. I was pushed for time as I had to get to TraderJoes before 9pm to get fish oil and OJ. Besides I'm pretty shot now.

Gregor said:

That's good way to meassure. You could switch between diffrent elastics to-from less supple, to more...

Yes i thought of this to but i only have 1 thick bicycle tube and one really skinny one that won't hold anything.

Hmmm no levers and planches is a big minus i think, have to think about that. Tyler said he would make a video of what you can do on there, hope it comes out before sale ends..

You can do levers with bands to assist you...

Aaah yeah totally forgot about that, have tried it before actually. No minus there then!

I am not currently strong enough to get into a wide arm handstand even towards inverted cross with my legs on the straps. Felt ok going down a bit though. Free HS on rings would be easier with more upper body strength and working it more.

I do not have the strength or ability to press from maltese to invert cross obviously. I can lay on a block and walk my legs through it and it felt horrible but my muscles are still sore. Block maltese felt fine. Ring flies was something else I could play with, however just a few years ago I could do these without any assistance device from a pushup position on a block and no arm bend.

I tried jumping to tuck and straddle planche but neither are skills I'm strong enough to work competently. Maybe they just felt weird.

I need to have a partner help strap me in or I will have to use the gymnast teeth into straps method ( gymnasts know what I'm talking about from swinging on straps bars ). I forgot about testing this method so the straps were looser than I'd prefer.

In the future I will use them for Cross training for my boys but I could start training crosses with them at the lowest setting doing jump and hold, negative and hold and then pushing back to support. Bare in mind, my pull and push strength is not impressive so that means a lot of people out there could use these. Even with my longish arms, I'm damn short which means fairly short levers at work. 5'1 at best which is shorter than most competive gymnasts in college or elites. My arms are supposed to be the length of someone around 5'6 or 7 though. I'd have to measure again. My friends call me ape boy.

Currently I can pull or dip with about a 1/3rd of my BW. Double digits PU and PB dips with a poor weak MU. I have not tried dipping or pulling above a 1/3rd but I could see if I could pull or push 2 of my boys hanging on me. Just FYI for those wondering if they are strong enough.

I could see using them in 2-3 years when I would probably have one or two of my boys start training for cross then ( he'll be 12-13 by then ). I rarely see many Level 10's work invert cross or maltese and some level 9's work poorly executed and short straddle planche from a swing. There are some probably out there somewhere. I should ask coach Sommer about that.

I just got my Elite Strength Trainer!

It definitely seems like a good buy. I've noticed though that it doesn't give much resistance in any position that doesn't allow the EST to be near horizontal, this means no levers or planches.

It was very humbling when I set it to the highest amount of resistance and could barely get down to the cross position, and stupid me was to excited to warm up. I think I pulled my serratus anterior a bit...

The EST is pretty comfortable once it is in the right position, but it is difficult to get it as tight as needed without help, as blairbob said.

I'll try to get a short video up tomorrow of me using it and maybe a close up, this is assuming that i didn't pull my serratus. :?

Right now, my pecs and delts, especially where they connect or so frick'n tight. It's probably from playing with all the crosses, especially since I haven't worked those spotted in a long time. It seems I still have some strength as I was doing dips with the boys on my back for weighted dips on PB. It's uncomfortable to even do shoulder scissors where you criss cross your arms in the front like a self hug and stretch them to your sides and back behind you.

I know what you mean blairbob. I'm pretty sore this morning too. I didn't really do a whole lot on the EST yesterday though. I imagine after my workout today my muscles will be pathetically useless.

I would be thankful if you could get a video matthew would like to see the thing in action

Me too. I hope to revice the EST next week (it's shipped from London) so it would be sooner than i thougth. I'll post a video when i got it.