Xtreme Rings Getting Started

I have ordered the Xtreme Rings for myself and a friend. We are sharing the Building the Gymnastic Body book and decided that the Rings are a crucial tool if we want this conditioning to continue once we get started.

We are both XXXIV and have different physical limitations that the Rings seem to promise a little help bypassing. With this in mind, we notice that the progressions almost always lead to Rings as harder variations. Is there any benefit (especially if the rings are more comfortable) to starting with rings in the variations to which they apply? By doing this, will we have a much longer adaptation period or would this accelerate the basic strength foundation we wish to bulld?

I am personally looking forward to a stronger lower back from the conditioning in back lever and planche work.

Starting the journey,

XXXIV

If you think you prepared enough to start on rings then thats fine. If you are ill prepared you are unlikely to make progress.

By now you will have realised that increased difficulty only applies to supported positions, so all hangs, pull ups, rows, front levers, back levers and pulls can be done on rings. In fact it is more comfortable as you can adjust the orientation of the arms.

Also you can perform an easier variation on the rings and pair it with a harder one such as

support holds on rings

dips on parallel bars

(pseudo planche) push ups on rings

planche work on floor/parallets

handstand on rings with feet on straps

handstand push ups on floor/wall/bars

Anyway, im fairly sure coach will tell you that it is always best to build the foundation first.

XXXIV said:

...we notice that the progressions almost always lead to Rings as harder variations.

nickvb said:

By now you will have realised that increased difficulty only applies to supported positions

XXXIV said:

Is there any benefit (especially if the rings are more comfortable) to starting with rings in the variations to which they apply?

nickvb said:

...so all hangs, pull ups, rows, front levers, back levers and pulls can be done on rings. In fact it is more comfortable as you can adjust the orientation of the arms.

XXXIV said:

By doing this, will we have a much longer adaptation period or would this accelerate the basic strength foundation we wish to bulld?

nickvb said:

If you think you prepared enough to start on rings then thats fine. If you are ill prepared you are unlikely to make progress. ...Anyway, im fairly sure coach will tell you that it is always best to build the foundation first.

Thank you. Once the rings come in, we will experiment with the exercises and positions and report what we find. You give us something to consider when we begin using the rings.

The rings came in yesterday (very fast delivery, thanks).

I haven't even been able to get the second set to my friend yet.

So far, so good and just what I needed.

One concern: supporting my weight on the rings puts pressure on the nerve center in my hands (the right palm specifically) and causes a lot of pain. Does anyone have that problam or has anyone worked through something like it?

I can think of one possible solution: wrap a small towl around the ring for padding.

Any suggestions of observations?

I once had pain in the center of the palms when I did lots of handstands on parallettes. I'm not sure if it is the same thing. But I searched the forum and found a similar topic in which somebody said that one would need more flesh on the hands.

If your hands are very skinny and you put pressure on them it might aggravate the periosteum(?!)

Mine was from overuse, so staying away from supports, dips etc helped it. If you got pain after a few minutes it might be something else and you should see a doctor.

If you are big you might need more preparation before starting gymnastics. I wanted too much too soon and as a result spent hours of searching the forum for wrist rehab.

Now I'm working on more muscular hands: thickbar deadlifts and stuff grip training in general

Ring training is a lot of fun but you got to be careful as in every other sport. Especially watch out for your wrists, elbows and rotator cuffs.

Heinrich is correct.

Supporting on something narrow puts a lot of pressure on a focused amount of space.

This isn't so aggravating on a single bar as it is on pommel horse and parallel bars. I haven't heard about this on rings really, because by the time they are strong enough to support on rings, they have already worked supporting on PH and PB enough to get over that.

Thank you both.

It is my weight.

It is a matter of how I hold the rings in a support position.

If I am holding them palms down and circle facing away, I have no problems.

If I hold them palms inward and the circle faces my hips, then the weight is focused in the palm of my hand at a diagonal and that is what hurts. So I am just playing around with getting my weight in the air and doing wide, deep pushups and that sort of thing.

I am just enjoying my new rings, so I am not programming yet.

Oh, and I forgot to re-introduce myself. I lost my account info and so I had to register a new one. It was a quick decision one late night while house sitting. If this is unacceptable, just redirect me. My previous account used the name Kintelary.

So, Kintelary is XXXIV and now has XRings and BtGB. Still working on getting my weight down, but enjoying the Rings with their 1000lb stability.

Anyway, It is quite late and I am going to bed, but I wanted to make the Kintelary XXXIV connection for anyone concerned.

Kint, the straps and cam buckles are rated at over 1000lbs each. I believe the rings were once said to be rated at 1600lbs together, but don't quote me.