iron cross training question

brad johnson has an article on dragondoor called "gymnastic tension exercises". in this article he gives tips on how to train for an iron cross. he mentions that you can work on the cross at home if you have no rings by placing 2 stools side by side and doing a cross between them and over time moving them further away from each other until just your hands are resting on them.

i tried this yesterday with two stools and it felt to me as if it could work. currently the stools are resting under my elbows and upper arms. at the momment im just trying to get the feel for the cross and master the technique.

does anyone see any problems with learning the cross in this way and would it even work?

It worked for me.

I did negatives from holding myself up and slowly lowering to an iron cross.

Onyx Dragon said:

It worked for me.

I did negatives from holding myself up and slowly lowering to an iron cross.

How did you do that? Since the stairs stay at the same position while hanging between them. (?)

Grtz, Danny.

ye how did you do negatives on a fixed object like a chair? thats one of the problems i can already see with this technique-you cant do any dynamic exercises like cross dips and cross pullouts

Onyx dragon probably meant he did negatives on rings.

I can easily do an l-sit cross on those short playground rings for kids, but can't come close on real apparatus. I don't understand the physics of this, but there's a progressive training method there somehow.

it could work but just realize that the end result is a cross on stationary objects, i'd say if you have rings, work to the cross on the actual rings, you'll get stronger faster.

you should also make sure you have sufficient bent arm strength before working crosses to prevent elbow damage.

Like ts00nami said, this exercise can not be substitute for ring exercise. But can be good addition.

If straps, rope, steel cable or what ever is shorter, then is easier.

Short:easy/Long:hard

ill keep working it anyway and see how it goes. keep in mind aswell this method will be made more difficult by the fact that you have nothing to grip when performing it. i clench my fists tight to create some extra tension

that is not true!!! it's easier, beacuse block where you put on your palms can't move away from you.

Cathal means that because an iron cross on chairs is easier than an iron cross on rings, it will be more difficult to develop an iron cross on rings by training on chairs.

No it won't be harder to develop an iron cross on ring, beacuse this is just pre-exercise for iron cross.

i do plan to get rings in the future and using this method i should have a good foundation laid down to learn it quickly on the rings

SORRY ed x I deleted your post by mistake when I wanted to quote you. If you're good enough, write it again please!

Ido wrote a very good post on Sport Specific Training http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewto ... =1161#1161. I think it applies here as well, I've tried Iron Crosses on chairs and could do them but after trying them on rings (I couldn't do one or even close) I know from experience they are harder but they are also very different.

Let us not forget the post about the physics involved in a an iron cross, we (they! as I was not involved) come to the conclusion that it is/was incorrect due to it suggested that the force being applied was directly down (not taking into account all the other factors), performing an iron cross on chairs you can push straight out and hold yourself up, it's nothing like a real iron cross in terms of applied force as there is (to a point) no movement in any plane in the chair. What I am getting at with this is that using chairs you can't the realness of an iron cross on rings.

Ed

Gregor, luckily I didn't close the page after originally posted it, wheww

Yea lucky me

What I wan't to say is, that with the similar moves you learn your muscles how to work and to squezee.