HBP/PE13 (Ring Dip)

As I'm not able to train the previous progression until my skin heals near the elbows (abrasion from PE12) I did a few sets of ring dips instead. Once you get used to the instability they feel ok. Here are the first and last sets.

Hi @Petri Widsten,

Very nice depth but on both videos I don't think your elbows are locked. As Coach Sommer says: "almost straight is still bent". My tip for you is to try to pause a bit on top to make sure you lock your elbows properly and pull the rings a bit closer to your waist to avoid the unnecessary shaking. Shaking also does not indicate mastery.

5 hours ago, Leo Trinidad said:

Hi @Petri Widsten,

Very nice depth but on both videos I don't think your elbows are locked. As Coach Sommer says: "almost straight is still bent". My tip for you is to try to pause a bit on top to make sure you lock your elbows properly and pull the rings a bit closer to your waist to avoid the unnecessary shaking. Shaking also does not indicate mastery.

Hi @Leo Trinidad

Thanks for the tips. I'll try to bring the rings closer to my waist as you suggest. As for the elbows, I was focusing on locking them at the top but it's hard to tell from the front view. Next time I'll include a side view so there's no doubt (unless the straps obscure the view). I expect to have the shaking under control after a few more sessions - now I'm too used to the stability provided by PBs.

My personal observation it is, for now, to reduce the distance from rings to the body but still externally rotate the rings.

Increase the straps length and if necessary bend the knees a bit.

2 hours ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

My personal observation it is, for now, to reduce the distance from rings to the body but still externally rotate the rings.

Increase the straps length and if necessary bend the knees a bit.

What's the benefit of longer straps, Alessandro? At first I tried RDs on the very long straps that I use for Bulgarian PUs and could do them but there was swinging back and forth that made them awkward.

2 hours ago, Petri Widsten said:

What's the benefit of longer straps, Alessandro? At first I tried RDs on the very long straps that I use for Bulgarian PUs and could do them but there was swinging back and forth that made them awkward.

Exactly. The longer the straps the more unstable. Will require more strength to keep the rings still. You'll also find it harder to RTO with completely locked elbows with longer straps. 

17 hours ago, Jin Liu said:

Exactly. The longer the straps the more unstable. Will require more strength to keep the rings still. You'll also find it harder to RTO with completely locked elbows with longer straps. 

What I found was that I needed to stop longer at the top after each rep to stop the swinging before a new rep which added to the TUT. The actual dip was the same as with shorter rings while the RTO was a bit harder.

My plan is to lengthen the straps a bit as per @Alessandro Mainente's suggestion and, after reaching mastery, re-master them on the superlong rings :-).

@Jin Liu and @Petri Widsten,

You guys are correct. As Alex said, longer straps will make it more difficult because of instability but you'll have to deal with whats available. Also bending the knees will help you a lot with the instability. 

I've taken the advice aboard and here's my 5th set with revised form. The second video shows a couple of extra reps from a side view to show that my elbows are locked.

@Leo Trinidad @Alessandro Mainenteis my form acceptable now?

Hi @Petri Widsten,

Form is much more clean and better. Remember that you need to eliminate the shaking for mastery. If you proceed without eliminating the shaking then you'll probably have a hard time in the next progressions.

9 hours ago, Leo Trinidad said:

Hi @Petri Widsten,

Form is much more clean and better. Remember that you need to eliminate the shaking for mastery. If you proceed without eliminating the shaking then you'll probably have a hard time in the next progressions.

Cheers, Leo. I'll be training this alongside Russian dips (when I can train them again) to consolidate the RTO. I might also train RTO support by itself to make it rock solid before I take the show to long rings for remastery.

@Leo Trinidad@Alessandro Mainente

These are feeling easy on the short straps and I'd like to remaster them on long straps if you think I have enough stability for the switch.

Hey petri it is not completely clear if yout elbows are completely locked. if yes spend couple fo seconds on the lock out position before beginning the following reps.

Hi Alessandro 

Yes, they're locked. No problem extending the rto time. One more session on these straps before switching. Thanks for checking. 

On 28/08/2017 at 3:02 AM, Alessandro Mainente said:

Hey petri it is not completely clear if yout elbows are completely locked. if yes spend couple fo seconds on the lock out position before beginning the following reps.

Some reps with longer rto...

NIce work Petri.

So I switched to longer straps for 5x4 reps and recorded the last one. Felt pretty good once I adapted to the instability but what do you think of the first three reps? Unfortunately in this set I started to swing at the end and didn't manage to lock out my right elbow in the last rep. I also did an extra rep for a side view.

If the form is ok I reckon I need 1-2 sessions to bring the reps to 5x5 and maybe extend the rto slightly.

@Alessandro Mainente@Leo Trinidad

Nice work, Petri! As you get tired, you do not get the elbows completely straight at the top of your dips. Keep working on locking out the arms on each rep. You're doing a great job, keep it up!

I agree, you're doing great.  But still elbows do not appear locked at top.  Really focus on getting that full ROM.  Well done, and tremendous progress from the first post to the last.

1 hour ago, Jeffrey Bittner said:

Nice work, Petri! As you get tired, you do not get the elbows completely straight at the top of your dips. Keep working on locking out the arms on each rep. You're doing a great job, keep it up!

Thanks Jeffrey. It was the swinging rather than fatigue in the end. I should've stopped it before trying to lock out. A lesson learnt.

@Douglas WadleI added the side view to show elbows are normally locked.

Hi Petri,

I agree that you need to work on locking your elbows. Even though this is bent arm strength, the top position is straight arm strength and you need to work on your straight arm strength in order for this to be easier.

Hello @Leo Trinidad @Alessandro Mainente @Jeffrey Bittner

here are some reps from different angles. 

Hey Petri, my impression it is that the elbows are not completely locked. from your dislocates seems that they can reach the 180°, am I correct?

7 hours ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Hey Petri, my impression it is that the elbows are not completely locked. from your dislocates seems that they can reach the 180°, am I correct?

Hi Alessandro 

Well, I feel the elbow joints locked and if I zoom in on the left elbow in the rear view video I can see  the joint is at 180 degrees. What am I missing?

Hi @Petri Widsten, I think you are doing a great job. It's very hard to do RTO with completely locked elbows when straps are long like yours. My RTO is not great, but I've been working on getting the perfect RTO, so I understand where you are coming from. I've done some research to help me understand what completely locked elbows look like.

The ppl in the 1st pic below all have completely locked elbows. No doubt about it, either from just the front view, or the side view. The people in the 2nd pic, however, seem to have pretty straight elbows, but they both have a microbend. The 3rd pic is taken from your videos. In the side view, I think your forearm is aligned with the strap, but your upper arm is leaning forward very slightly, indicating a microbend.

Here's one thing I tried in the past that really helped me feel the difference in the elbows: lower the rings to the height where your toes can barely touch the ground in a support position. With your toes still on the ground, get into the RTO support position, and really really lock out your elbows (to the point that you are going to hyperflex them), then lift your toes up so you shift your body weight into your hand. You will feel a LOT of loading in your biceps and elbows. The first time I tried this, it was a world of difference, from what I once considered straight elbows. 

Say you have the perfect RTO with shorter straps. Now you increase the length of the straps, I'd do RTO with hands very close to my body first. Make sure I can hold like that with completely locked elbows, then widen my hands out slowly. Once you can hold an RTO like in the last pic, no one can argue you don't have locked elbows, ever.