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How to effectively evaluate strength in gymnastic ring training?


Francisco Mouro
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Francisco Mouro

Hello everyone! I am new at this forum and, first of all, I would like to thank everyone for the good advice and useful posts already submitted.  

I have a few questions that I hopped to see clarified. I started with calisthenic training about 5 months ago. First, I trained in the bars and then, about two months ago, I moved to gymnastic rings. I mastered the muscle up in both equipment, first in the bar and then in the rings. Then, I wanted to start with other gymnastic moves on the rings. 

 

But a few weeks ago, when I started training for the muscle up on the rings, I started feeling an annoying pain on my wrist around the place were it lands on the ring for the false grip. I read somewhere that it was normal to feel that pain and I continued training, doing  sets of false grip pull ups and muscle ups. Of course, I got to a point were I was injured and possibly with a wrist tendinitis. So I stopped and rested. 

Now I am back, and I've tried the muscle up on the rings for the first time in about 3 weeks. I do not feel the same ache on the wrist, but I fell aches on the hand muscles. I feel them when I close my hand for instance, and although they are not unbearable they are uncomfortable. Is this normal? Can it be related with my previous injury? Or can it be only related with the grip, since I spend so much time doing skin the cat, inverted hang, back-lever, etc?

I have read posts from more experienced people saying that usually these injuries are related with overtraining and the temptation of doing stuff that is beyond our level of strength. I do not discard this possibility and I don't mind to go down a few notches in my training to avoid pain and aches. But I would like to ask if someone knows how to properly evaluate our strength level and how to create a program of training in accordance to the level in which I am.   

Sorry for the long post! 

Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

In all of my years in gymnastics, if theres one lesson I would tell anyone who is looking to get into the sport it would be to be humble to the sport, the skills, and the apparatus. Its really easy to move along too quickly into advanced skills that your body is just not ready for. 

 

However, in your situation i don't feel this is the case.  That wrist pain is normal starting out with the false grip, there's nothing natural about a false grip; it will hurt.  You did the right thing by taking a break, this allows your joints to catch and up and your body to repair. This goes back to being humble, if your hurt, take a break..no matter how badly you want to fight through the pain, its not worth it in the long run. Your body hurting is it trying to tell you to stop, and when doing very demanding things such as ring training, you best listen. Unfortunately aches and pains are sort of part of the sport. If your hands are sore I would simply attribute that to being a grip strength / fatigue.  Go and hold some heavier dumbbells in your hands for an extended period of time maybe even do some bicep curls with lighter weight and extremely high reps, I'd bet that eventually you would feel similar soreness in your hands. I do not believe it is related to the soreness in your wrist, however that is just my opinion. 

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Francisco Mouro

In all of my years in gymnastics, if theres one lesson I would tell anyone who is looking to get into the sport it would be to be humble to the sport, the skills, and the apparatus. Its really easy to move along too quickly into advanced skills that your body is just not ready for. 

 

However, in your situation i don't feel this is the case.  That wrist pain is normal starting out with the false grip, there's nothing natural about a false grip; it will hurt.  You did the right thing by taking a break, this allows your joints to catch and up and your body to repair. This goes back to being humble, if your hurt, take a break..no matter how badly you want to fight through the pain, its not worth it in the long run. Your body hurting is it trying to tell you to stop, and when doing very demanding things such as ring training, you best listen. Unfortunately aches and pains are sort of part of the sport. If your hands are sore I would simply attribute that to being a grip strength / fatigue.  Go and hold some heavier dumbbells in your hands for an extended period of time maybe even do some bicep curls with lighter weight and extremely high reps, I'd bet that eventually you would feel similar soreness in your hands. I do not believe it is related to the soreness in your wrist, however that is just my opinion. 

Andymassar thanks for your reply and advice.

I think you are right, this aches are mostly related with the grip and all the time I spent hanged. In the meanwhile I continued training and sometimes I feel them, sometimes I don't. I have thin wrists and I need to strengthen them. 

Thanks again! 

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No problem man, feel better and take it slow! I wouldn't condone wearing any wrist supports either if you can help it (we do wear them during competitions / if we really need them). You need those joints to build with your body, can't stand on that crutch forever. Happy training!

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