Benefits of Ring Training

[puppetmaster]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but what are the benefits of ring training? There isn't much information about ring training on internet.

[Jason Ingram]

Some benefits I can think of include:

1. improved shoulder stability (if you include various supports in your training)

2. improved core strength (if you include a variety of ring exercises like front and back lever training)

3. increased shoulder flexibility (through skin the cats, german hangs, and deep dips/muscle-ups)

4. most of all, increased upper body strength, as all of the muscles of the upper body get worked very well through ring training!

What appeals the most to me about ring training is the progressions. Instead of endlessly doing the same movements and trying to add more and more weight, ring training has variety. This helps to keep you from burning out on the same old movements (bench press?).

[Blairbob]

They are fun. They are an awesome tool for building upper body and midline strength ( the instability of a ring support fires off all the abdominal/back musculature ).

There is a bit of ring training info out there at ringtraining.com ( who capped on the usage of rings within the crossfit community and wrote a few articles for them ) and at drillsandskills.com by Roger Harrell ( who runs a CF affiliate, wrote a basic rings article for the CF community besides his forum ) besides crossfit.com. There is a bit here and there on youtube.com now as well. Maybe dragondoor has some.

You just have to know where to look. There are also gymnastics videos on rings within the gymnastics circles. However, I'm sure the emphasis is mostly on ring swinging technique and will not be as extensive on conditioning.

[Mark Weaver]

The picture on the front of Coach's book.

[Coach Sommer]

Gymnastically speaking, once you have achieved a foundation of basic strength with the fundamental movements as shown in Building the Gymanstic Body, ring strength training will become THE avenue for the continued development of maximal strength.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[puppetmaster]

I would like to think everyone for their input. I have checked out ringtraining, crossfit and many others, but it seems i can not quench my thirst on the benefits of ring training. Although these comments have helped me out tremendously. Finding out about it has really shifted my paradigm about training!

[kbryk]

Gymnastics will change your training forever, at least that's what we are hoping and in a positive way!