ring handstand pushups (not necessarily Bulgarian)

I've been wanting to practice HSPUs on rings, but don't know how to get up into them without a spotter. How do I go about doing this? (Heck, how do I get up there even with a spotter?)

I've asked this question before on another forum and at my gym, and I was strongly advised not to even attempt ring HSPUs. spotted or otherwise. unless I could do a free standing handstand on rings or on the floor.

I still haven't developed the skill to do a static handstand yet, but I definitely have the strength to do a few ring HSPUs. Also, the caption for the Bulgarian ring HSPU video states that a free standing handstand is not required.

You should, for your own safety, learn how to roll out of a support as a prerequisite before doing this skill. I have had tears and a shoulder seperation from slipping and peeling out of a handstand or support on rings and if you lose grip of one ring, it means the other is going to be buggered.

You can either press into a shoulderstand and climb up to HS or lower the rings and jump press into a HS catching your legs on the straps and working them inside the straps one at a time. I reccomend low enough and padding underneath them but I set them low and can roll out and catch my feet in a squattish position.

Do you understand how to do the jump press or roll out and land on your feet. I should be going somewhere tomorrow and may be able to have someone take some footage...if I remember and my short term memory sucks.

The video footage would be much appreciated!

I'm not a gymnast, so you're going to have to assume I don't know what you mean by rolling out of support.

First time I tried ring HSPU, I set the rings low, kicked up to handstand, passed right through the straps and slammed down on the other side. (Someone's not nearly as coordinated as they thought.)

remember when you train jump into a handstand, you should always practice pushing only high enough to get your body straight, and not to just blow right through the position and for example slam into the wall behind you.

The same could be said about ring HS's, you could practice jumping up only partially and slowly build up the strength and confidence to go all the way up and catch your feed on the straps if you need it.

Also, look up the press to HS thread, there is a picture of a spider hs, practice that position first, then raise into a full handstand under control, it will definately reduce the amount of opportunities for things to go badly.

I still haven't developed the skill to do a static handstand yet

For what it's worth and not to sound condescending, but I would think that a static handstand would be a necessary pre-requisite to perform HSPUs (rings or freestanding on the floor) with some amount of safety. No one's doubting your shoulder strength, but the HSPU, especially in the rings, requires so much more. Also, might it not be much safer to gain a position of support in the rings, and then press to handstand, rather than kicking up?

Overall though, stay safe!

I agree that you should probably be able to handstands on the floor, or parallettes, and be fairly comfortable with them.

If you are comfortable, I would either lower the rings close to the ground, so if you do have to bail it won't hurt too bad, or else raise them high enough so that if you start to fall you can hold on to the rings and roll out. I worked up the courage on Saturday and tried it with the rings close to the ground. As long as you keep your legs out so they catch on the straps, you should be fine.

As far as rolling out, it's kind of like what they do on the ring strength series videos, where from a support position they lower down and then do what looks like a somersault in the air. I would make sure I could do one of those, because you'll be dropping a lot farther from a handstand position, and it will require more strength to hold on to the rings.

Press to shoulderstand, roll out, up high:

Watch the boy on the left, a few seconds in

What to do, if you peel out of the shoulderstand/HS with rings set low:

How to get into ring HSPU when they are set low:

see how he straddles his legs to catch as he jumps/climbs

Climbing up the straps into HS from a press to shoulderstand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY5u5RlNPyM

It's a really good idea again to be able to press to shoulderstand and roll out before trying a ring HS. Then you can be lazy and jump press to HS and catch the straps.

I'll see about trying that this morning and if it works or causes my power tower to come crashing onto me. I'd like to have an example of the jump press to ring HS to show you.

Doing a jump press to HS on rings and climbing up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_mllmEU358

This is not an optimum ring height but it worked for where the camera was and the jump press. Any lower and I could just kick up to HS on the rings.

I stabilized my ring tower by putting 50lbs of DB on the lower legs and that cycle station on one side of the legs.

Bare in mind that if I didn't catch my legs on the straps straddled, I would land on my back on that cycle thingy. Ouch. However, it works.

Also bare in mind that I'm 5' tall. The tower is just under 7 foot. This setup doesn't allow my legs to be in a great position when in the support position. If I didn't get into the arch my legs are too far behind me to stay in HS. When I set the rings up off the field goal at the football field, it allows a lot more clearance room.

Being in that crappy arch position is a really crappy place to be to push out of. All your weight is off balanced. However, I'm not entirely sure I could do a ring hspu right now anyways since I can only do 1 or 2 on the parallettes.

There is a high possibility and probability I will take this video down after a day or two. Mainly so my undies don't show. :shock:

On a good note, if I lower the rings to the ground, I can fit a HS with legs on straps or free. I hadn't bothered at home because it's kind of a pain in the ass to setup the cycle on it and DB. Once I get some 50lb DB, it shouldn't be a problem and the roomates bitch out about how the room looks. It's stable enough I don't have to worry about it tipping but I still will go to the football field to set the straps long. It's nice to dead hang and the rings shake a lot more on 10 foot straps than 2.

I have updated using the jump press to ring handstand video using much better form. In another video, I did 1 HSPU to 90 degrees but it ain't in this one.

There is still a slight angle in the HS with a slight angle in the shoulders. I forgot to hold it free at the end and then come down.

I was at one point trying to feel for the upper bar with my right toe. If I set the rings right, I can bounce my toes off the top bar to work the free HS with a slight bounce spot.

Of course, I didn't take the video of me falling through the middle. Ouch.