Ring Flyes

Shoulders protracted or retracted? I'm sometimes throwing it in for chest in addition to Foundation, i am using straight arms only most of the time.

Protraction puts quite a lot of stress on the shoulder, is it correct/safe? In the top plank position they should be protracted I am thinking but for the rest of the movement I am not sure.

Thanks for your input.

Straight arm ring flyes are not a safe beginner exercise. It's too much stress on the elbows and biceps. If you want to do additional work on your chest, I'd recommend wide-arm push-ups. Where are you in Foundation?

12 hours ago, Joshua Slocum said:

Straight arm ring flyes are not a safe beginner exercise. It's too much stress on the elbows and biceps. If you want to do additional work on your chest, I'd recommend wide-arm push-ups. Where are you in Foundation?

F4. I think i have sufficient preperation, there is no huge stress on the bicep tendon. ive been doing support hold training and back lever pulls for years. lockoffs regularly too, so dont worry since finishing rc i also want to get back my cross.. thanks for your concern but could you answer the question please

On 2/15/2016 at 11:16 PM, John Koliopoulos said:

F4. I think i have sufficient preperation, there is no huge stress on the bicep tendon. ive been doing support hold training and back lever pulls for years. lockoffs regularly too, so dont worry since finishing rc i also want to get back my cross.. thanks for your concern but could you answer the question please

Sure, if you've finished RC mastery then you can probably do it safely. I'd still recommend against using it as a spot training exercise - it's a lot of strain on the bicep tendon for something you're just using as spot-training. Since you've finished RC I'd start working on rings basics like support holds and pushups - they're quite a workout for the chest.

As to your original question, I don't know what scap position is best. The few times I have done ring flyes I fully protracted at the top and held a slightly but not completely protracted position at the bottom.

On 19.2.2016 at 2:36 AM, Joshua Slocum said:

Sure, if you've finished RC mastery then you can probably do it safely. I'd still recommend against using it as a spot training exercise - it's a lot of strain on the bicep tendon for something you're just using as spot-training. Since you've finished RC I'd start working on rings basics like support holds and pushups - they're quite a workout for the chest.

 

As to your original question, I don't know what scap position is best. The few times I have done ring flyes I fully protracted at the top and held a slightly but not completely protracted position at the bottom.

That is what my positioning is too, I let the scaps drift back during the descent. Yes, I'm going to go slow on my rings training. I'm going to spend a couple of weeks building up to old strength, i.e. using straps to reduce pressure on the bicep tendon and also e.g. not jumping into full BL straight away, even though I could hold it easily I'm definitely not going to risk injury. I completely left out rings for over a year now due to focussing 100% on foundation.

1 hour ago, John Koliopoulos said:

That is what my positioning is too, I let the scaps drift back during the descent. Yes, I'm going to go slow on my rings training. I'm going to spend a couple of weeks building up to old strength, i.e. using straps to reduce pressure on the bicep tendon and also e.g. not jumping into full BL straight away, even though I could hold it easily I'm definitely not going to risk injury. I completely left out rings for over a year now due to focussing 100% on foundation.

Normal flyes (cable machine) use retracted scapulae, I believe, to put more emphasize on the chest and less on the delts. Ring flyes, assumig GST, uses protracted scapulae, if I remember correctly. Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong.