Feedback please! My workout routine

Hello,

I just got my rings yesterday, and I'm designing a new training program around them.

I can do ring dips, ring V-sit, tuck planhce, back lever, one-legged front lever etc but perhaps not some of the more advanced moves. I don't know where to find an entire ring routine for beginners.

Some questions:

How high should the rings be hanging? Right now, I think I could only hang them from a power rack...possibly a high ceiling (about 5-6 meters high, haven't measured it).

Is the workout below enough for my goals? Too many movements? Not specific enough?

For this new cycle, I want to:

Improve planche (hopefully to straddle in 2-3 months)

Weighted ring chin with 50% bw added for 3-5 reps (currently 3 reps with 40% added on normal pull up bar); same for dip

I also want to start training some parkour/free running moves with a friend of mine. That's why I incorporated some plyometric drills in the routine.

My longterm goals are:

Planche

Front lever

Ring handstand push ups

Iron Cross

Here is the routine I put together:

Monday

Power

Split Jerk

clapping (One-arm) push up variations (feet lift-off, pseudo)

Squat jumps

Medicine ball jumps

Tuesday

Strength workout A

Bodyweight leg curl 5*5

Weighted ring dip 5x5

Weighted ring pull-up 5x5

V-Sit up

Thursday

Strength workout B

WORKOUT B

Planche total 60s

Front Lever total 60s

Deadlift 5*5

Pistol 5*5

Friday

Metabolic conditioning

20 mins of

Ring Dips

Ring Chins

Bodyweight squats

Notes and questions:

I can't do the bodyweight leg curl very well, but want to work on it. That's why I added deadlifts to still work the back leg and glute area.

Would it hurt to try to insert training for the iron cross in some of these days? I don't think I can do any challenging variation for it yet...thus it would impact my recovery less (?)

What about sporadically practicing variations of the planche/front lever throughout the day or week? Or should i schedule a workout for them?

Thanks for the input!

Martin

Hey Martin,

As far as ring height goes, I think a power rack will be fine for some movements and awkward for others. For example, it would be great for push-ups and handstand work, but wouldn't work well for muscle-ups (but 5 meters would work great).

I think your routine is not specific enough to your goals and has too many movements. First of all, I'd cut out the power day and the metabolic conditioning day. Just focusing on strength for now will carry over to your power, and I think the metabolic conditioning day will interfere with your strength gains.

Also, you don't mention any handstand training, yet one of your goals is ring handstand push-ups. I think you should include some handstand, planche, and front lever work in all of your work-outs but rarely to fatigue.

Where are you currently in terms of your planche and front lever work? Also, can you perform a muscle-up on the rings? If so, a no-kip muscle-up with straight legs? If not, these are some goals I'd focus on before thinking about the iron cross.

Good Luck!

Hey Jason, thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, I need to adjust my program somewhat. I was advised by coach Sommer to lay off for a while until my shoulder gets better, so unfortunately I can't try out my new rings to the fullest

I gave them a quick spin in the park, to see if it would make a difference from a high tree branch. The level of instability seemed the same.

Question: Why would the met con interfere with the strength? I'm planning to do dips and pull-ups, movements i also work for strength...wouldn't it help those movements/ have a carry-over effect?

If not, can i still do cardio or sports on off-days?

I'm not able to do muscle-ups: I've watched several video tutorials and read up on it, but the skill is too hard for me.

I'm currently able to hang in a low straddle planche, and do a proper extended tuck for about 15-20 seconds.

In the front lever, I can almost hang completely straight, so what I plan to do is practice alternating 1 leg out or bicycling.

I'm almost at a backlever too.

I haven't trained handstands, or hardly. I started on them last year, and got hurt from falling down several times and landing on my knee. After that, the ambition to get a handstand somehow left me...But I guess I need to get it, so I'm going to train with a training partner on it (who can do HSPUs and cartwheels fairly well).

When I get back to training, I'm going to ease back into these movements. I'm thinking about getting the knots in my traps treated via ultrasound or

maybe accupuncture... anyone any experience with either for this type of problem?

Martin

Sorry to hear about your shoulder injury. Don't be in a hurry to aggrivate it some more.

As far as your metabolic conditioning idea, I just don't think that mixing cardio with strength training works that well for most people. Maybe at the more advanced levels, when you want do develop some strength endurance, but I feel like it would be a better idea to focus on developing a solid strength base first. From what I understand, doing some aerobic exercise on your off days, or finishing off your work-out with an aerobic cool-down can help speed up your recovery. But something like rope-jumping or jogging would be better for that.

The muscle-up on the rings is a fairly easy skill to get. I got it within a few weeks or so of purchasing my rings, mainly from working false-grip pull-ups (trying to pull the my hands to my armpits) and ring dips (dipping until my hands touched my armpits) doing 5x5 for both. Other than that, I'd test my ability to do a muscle-up every so often.

Have you worked up to a solid minute on the basic tuck planche and tuck lever yet?

Anyways, good luck with that shoulder!