popejohnpwn's Blog

One of the main factors in a gymnast's ability to perform different feats and strength positions is the power of his or her core. Without a solid core, all the strength of the rest of the upper body cannot hold the body up.

One of the most basic core exercises is the L-sit--a position that carries over to the rings as well as the floor, and the strength from the position carries into every other movement.

There are a few basic progressions to this--they are very simple to do, and require nothing other than the floor. For this exercise, you're going to use the same basic progressions you should use for a lot of different static positions (including front and back levers, etc.). Those are:

1) Basic position with tucked legs
2) Basic position with one leg extended, and one leg tucked
3) Full extension into the position

You should be able to hold the progression for around 20-30 seconds before moving on to the next. With practice, this move should come fairly quickly, and will be incredibly valuable in increasing core strength and control over the body.

Alright! Sorry for being away so long..been making a big move, so haven't had a lot of time to get on the internet lately.

Anyway, my workouts have changed a bit--here's how they look:

Day 1:
Iron Cross--5x10 sec. holds
Back Lever--5x25 sec. holds
L-sits--3x30 sec. holds
Planche progressions--varies
Pistols--5x8

Day 2:
Muscle Ups--4x5
Bulgarian Dips--4x10
Hanstand holds--3x30 seconds
Hanging Leg Raises--3x20
Front Lever--4x20 sec.
Pistols--5x8

Day : Rest

This program has been pretty good, and I'm improving every workout! Hopefully I'll be close to some kind of pseudo maltese sometime in the near future...although I know it's probably a long way off.

Hello, Damitchell! Welcome to the forum. You could start off your membership here by introducing yourself in the "Introductions" forum, just so we know a little about you. Thanks for joining, and again, welcome!

Alright, tried a new variant of dips in this morning's workout, and thought I'd post a review here.

Dips should be a common staple in any rings enthusiast's workout, though there are many, many variations. They vary in difficulty, as well, allowing for a wide scope of fitness levels.

First off, dips are one of my strengths. That being said, the simple change of direction of my grip made a simple exercise into a crazy-difficult move. Don't let that discourage you, my friends, for its benefits will carry over into other strength elements. Here's a picture of what they should look like:

I highly encourage all of you to, once you can pull off a good number of regular dips, to give these a try. You won't be sorry!

So far, my workouts have been going great--with minor changes to the schedule you see above. Mainly, that I have increased the number of sets of iron cross work, and removed the rows. This has resulted in me achieving the iron cross, after only a few months of training on the rings. I'm stoked, and am now working on the maltese (though it will not come as quickly as the iron cross...). I'd post pictures if I had a camera...but I don't. Once I do, I'll be sure to get a photo of it up.

Other than that, no real significant progress has been made...though I am going to try a new exercise I heard about today--dips with palms facing forward, instead of toward the body. I'll post a description later in the rings forum, and my reaction to them.

Welcome to the forum! Gymnastics training can definitely benefit you, and with the inclusion of olympic lifts, you're bound to see some great strength gains.

Technically speaking, you don't necessarily NEED anything at all--you can do muscle-ups, pullups, dips, planche work, and tons more with just that bar and the ground.

Using the rings, however, will give you better strength gains, as well as working on all the stabilizers that you can't work using a stationary bar. And if your goal is strength for wrestling, your stabilizers play an important role in taking someone down, etc.

You can hang rings anywhere--I myself hang them from the beams in my garage, though you could easily hang them from that pullup bar, a tree branch...there are a lot of options.

And for future reference, the whole of this forum is dedicated to training without the use of a professional gym, as the average joe doesn't have access to one...

Again, welcome to the forum, and thanks for introducing yourself!

I haven't touched a weight myself in...almost two months? Something like that, and I'm getting great results. Ring training is definitely a good way to go in terms of convenience/a good workout.

Here's a fantastic article on working up to an iron cross--I use a lot of these progressions myself and have seen great results.

http://www.cathletics.com/shorties/index.php?show=shorty&shortyID=32

L-Sits are a great exercise for the core, and a movement that is replicated on the rings. Here's a video of L-Sit walks:

They're killer for the abs, and like I said, have a great carryover into rings training. Try them out!

Alright, over vacation I did some abbreviated workouts:

Workout 1:

Flyes--3x10
Ice Cream Makers--2x10
Front Lever Pullups--2x7
Back Lever Holds--4x20 seconds.
Dips--4x8
Pistols--5x10

Workout 2:
Pullups--4x12
Iron Cross Progressions--3x15 second holds
Rows (w/ false grip)--4x15
Jumping Pistols--3x12
Planche Progressions--3x20 second holds

I did two of each of those workouts, and I was pretty sore the following days!

Looks like I'm advancing on the iron cross progressions, but still at the same place with my planche training...:(

Alright, so, for those already here or those joining during the week of the 23rd, I, the admin, won't have internet access, so I won't be here to check up on the forum. However, to those who join, welcome! And for those who are here, go ahead and post stuff, just know that I won't be able to get back to it until around Friday.

See ya this weekend!

I love that feeling. If you're interested, you can post your workouts in the "workout programs" section for some more feedback. Good luck with the training!

Awesome man--most people starting out can't even hold themselves up in a support, let alone do several dips, etc. I've also heard variations on the 15 pullups and dips rule, but once you're around there, you should probably try for the muscle up or at least work on negatives through the transition.

As for increasing the reps on pullups and dips--the fastest way to do that, is to do pullups and dips. If you're having trouble advancing, you can jump up to the top of the movement and go through the negatives--so, just hold yourself up and SLOWLY lower through a pullup/dip. It's been shown that your decentric (I think is the term) strength, the strength through the negative movement, or the part where you're not contracting the muscles, is much higher than your CONcentric strength, which would be the actual pulling or pushing up in the dip.

The front lever mostly uses the lats and rear delts--so, pretty much all of your back muscles, esp. the ones running down the sides, and the back of your shoulders. Strengthening these muscle groups can definitely help you speed through progressions and/or skip them, depending. For example, I pretty much skipped the tuck/advanced tuck of the front lever, just because back used to be my favorite bodypart to work.

The planche uses the triceps, anterior deltiod (front of the shoulder), and chest, as well as puts a lot of strain on the wrist. You can strengthen these muscle groups, but due to the odd wrist angle and tension, I feel that the progressions are what'll work best for developing a strong planche.

In both these cases, a strong core will help you achieve the positions faster.

Not on rings, no--just on the ground for now. For back levers, I started out with the tuck, which means just rolling into a ball and going back into the position. Then, I untucked my legs a little, and slightly straightened out my back. Third came the one-legged back lever, with one leg tucked in and one straight out (since I'm not very flexible, I couldn't do the straddle, though that's supposed to be the next progression), and then just straightened out into it.

For front lever, I did basically the same thing. Skill progressions for the basic static holds (back/front levers, planches) are all the same, really. However, I sped through the progressions due to a background in bodybuilding and strength training, so, don't get frustrated if you don't get it as fast as I did. It takes time, and patience, more than anything.

So far, I've only done the rings for about a month, but due to my bodybuilding background, I have developed the front lever/back lever, and an advanced tuck planche (working on the straddle). I can do pistols, also, and a couple pistol jumps. I'm working on developing the iron cross, as well, which I'm hoping will come before the end of the year (with my progressions going as well as they are, I think it's feasible). So, that's on my to-accomplish list this year, as well as a muscle-up (I'm close, but the transition is killing me right now.) Before I started rings work, I used to incorporate handstand holds into my shoulder routine as a bodybuilder. Despite not having accomplished more technical skills, I have done plenty of research on them. Do you have any specific questions?

Anyone talking about a diet first thinks of the word "Carbs." Often, carbohydrates are looked at from a negative point of view, with diets like Atkins and South Beach being the popular fads nowadays. HOWEVER, applied properly, carbs can be and are a great tool.

First, carbohydrates are necessary for energy. Your body takes in carbohydrates and converts them into glycogen, and stores them in the muscles for immediate use, and fats for long-term storage. Without carbohydrates, you wouldn't have the energy to work out at your fullest, and you would go through the process of converting protein into glycogen, which is less efficient, yada yada.

Anyway, the point is--if you use carbs right, you can increase energy, performance, and keep your bodyfat percentage low. The right carbohydrates are "complex carbohydrates", which basically means that it takes more for the body to process them, and is thus healthier and not converted into fat as easy. "Simple carbs" are processed very quickly and rush through the bloodstream, and take less work for the body to process, meaning there's more potential for it to be turned into fat.

Simple carbs often have a high sugar content. When sugar is taken up by the body, it spikes insulin levels, and when that happens, the brain tells the body to start storing more fat. Avoiding simple carbs and sugars will prevent the direct conversion of the carbs to fat, and instead store more in the muscles.

Here's a list of good carbs and bad carbs:

Good:
--Wheat bread/whole wheat products
--Fruits
--Vegetables
--Beans
--Nuts/seeds

Bad:
--White bread
--Carbs from sugar
--Fruit juice
--Soda
--processed grains (white rice, etc.)

Eating from the good list will ensure that while having high energy for your workouts, you'll keep bodyfat low.

Exercise is critical in an athlete's or fitness enthusiast's journey to achieving their goals, however, none of that exercise will do anything without the proper diet. As a former bodybuilder, I'm rather knowledgeable (not to toot my own horn) on the specifics of proper nutrition for athletic performance. Here are a few keys to getting the most out of your workouts:

Protein: Number one in terms of importance for achieving your exercise goals--proper protein intake. When we exercise, muscle tissue breaks down, and it's the body's job to rebuild that muscle bigger and stronger, so that next time it has to go through that stress, it can handle it with ease, and avoid breakdown.

How does it rebuild that muscle? With protein. Protein gives the body more building blocks with which it can rebuild the muscle and recover. So, not only will you speed up your strength advancement (and muscle-building), but you'll recover faster with more protein. How do you effectively up your protein?

1) Eggs--they have a 100% Biological value, meaning that all the protein you get from the egg is absorbed, and none is lost in the digestion process. For a way to get your egg protein without the fat, remove the yellow yoke, and just eat the whites.

2) Lean meats--
--Chicken: One of the best sources for high quality protein without the fat that comes with beef, pork, etc. That, and chicken can be used in hundreds of different dishes, allowing you to eat a lot of it without it getting old.

3) Fish--Fish is well known for it's ridiculously high protein content with ZERO fat. Tuna and salmon are both great, delicious choices in terms of fish.

4) Nuts--peanuts, almonds, cashews, and many other varieties of nuts contain a lot of bang for their buck. Loaded with protein and essential fats, nuts are a great snack that's good for you.

5) Dairy--for those that aren't lactose-intolerant, dairy can be a great dietary supplement. Drinking a glass of milk inbetween meals can keep hunger at bay while providing your body with important protein and calcium.

Those are my top five sources for protein, that are easy to add to your everyday diet. Questions? Comments?

Here's a video of one of my favorite rings specialists--Yuri van Gelder, from the Netherlands. Probably the most muscular gymnast around, he pulls off some incredible strength moves. Check it out:

One of the first concepts stressed to starting gymnasts is the importance of flexibility. Flexibility does a number of things. First, it reduces the risk of injury. Inflexible joints and muscles are more prone to injury, as extreme stretching of the joint or muscle could easily result in a tear, break, hyperextension, and many other injuries. By increasing the threshold of our muscles and joints in terms of their flexibility, we decrease the chance that our actions will greatly exceed this threshold, which would be bad news for our bodies.

Flexibility also allows us to do different skills and their progressions with greater ease, giving us faster results through our training. For example, to advance from the advanced tuck planche position to the full planche position, one usually goes through the "straddle planche." That involves holding the full planche position with spread legs, to increase leverage and making the hold easier. With more flexibility, one can more easily and further spread the legs, resulting in a faster progression. Someone without much flexibility in the legs and hips will have a harder time strengthening the straddle planche due to the reduced control over the amount of leverage they have.

There are several types of stretching to increase flexibility.

Dynamic stretching--involves the swinging of limbs gently through your range of motion to loosen up the muscles in terms of their ability to move dynamically (ei. jumping, swinging, etc.).

Active stretching--involves the static hold of a limb without assistance(the leg, for example) to stretch antagonist muscles. For example, if you were to lift your leg to the side, the muscles contracting the leg to hold it up allow the antagonist muscles to stretch and loosen up.

Static stretchig--the most commonly-thought of method of stretching, involving holding a limb, etc. in a static position for a period of time (against some resistance, like the floor.)

Obviously, dynamic stretching is the most applicable to gymnastics training, as swinging, jumping, and other active elements are heavily involved. Next in line would be active stretching--holding the legs in the air, etc., especially on the balance beam and rings (L-sit). Lastly in terms of importance is static stretching, as there are hardly any movements (aside from the splits) that are actively used in gymnastics in fixed positions against resistance.

With this in mind, a good dynamic warmup prior to training is the best option for allowing an athlete to both perform better during training and avoid injury.

Just so everyone's on the same page in this section, here's a link to a list of rings skills, including names, pictures and videos of the skills being performed. If you're unsure of any exercises or skills discussed on this forum, refer back to this list and it should be there.

http://www.drillsandskills.com/skills/Rings/

I thought I'd start off this section of the forum with my own workout plan. I am currently working through an elbow injury, and thus am taking it slow/working my way back up to my previous level. Basically, I work a two-on one-off schedule, which works well with my individual recovery needs and time constraints. Here's what it looks like:

Day 1:
Warmup
Ring pushups/flyes--4 sets, reps between 6-12
Dips--4 sets, 8-15 reps
Front/Back Levers--4 sets each, static holds of 15-30 seconds.
Pistols--5 sets of 5-12 reps

Day 2:
Warmup
Pullups--5 sets, 6-12 reps
Iron Cross progressions--4 sets, holds of 10-15 seconds
Handstand--Static holds for a total of 1.5 min.
Planche progressions--4 sets of 15-25 second holds
Pistol Jumps--3 sets of 12 jumps

Day 3: off

I feel like this is a good program to work on different skills, and that is a good total body workout without having to be too long. The rings lend themselves to incredible difficulty, so less is needed than I did when I was bodybuilding. It's still a little hard not going all out for 25 sets for one bodypart...

Handstands are incredibly important for gymnasts, as every event includes handstands or needing strength in handstand positions (launching off of the vault, etc.). Also, the increased strength in the shoulders and arms helps stabilize the body through other advanced movements. Here are some guides on achieving a handstand:

http://www.beastskills.com/Handstand.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Handstand

The handstand also introduces individuals to the idea of balancing the whole body, and focuses on core strength and control.

I'll start. I'm a former bodybuilder turned gymnast, and I mainly focus on ring strength. The reason I switched from bodybuilding to gymnastics training, was because I had muscle that wasn't as functional as it appeared to be. Looks aren't everything, so I've switched over to try to master my own bodyweight on the floor and on the rings. That, and being really heavy wasn't comfortable, and I lost a lot of flexibility due to the nature of my training, which wasn't fun when doing anything active. Anyway, that's my story in a nutshell.

Here are some links to sites that sell gymnastics rings--I've got a set, and they're fantastic. Check out:

http://www.trainingrings.com/

The following links sell rings for only about 45 dollars, for a limited time.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170230366674

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170230368804

Or, you can get the really cheap ones here: http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZgymnasticsQ20pvcQ20ringsQQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ

The last link leads to some PVC ones for sale on ebay--I don't know that they'd stand up to the same loads as the others, but it's there, just in case.