Ring Pull-up / Chin-up

The complete Fitstream guide to the Gymnastic Ring Pull-Up

Ring Pull-ups Information

The standard, static pull-up is an incredibly effective bodyweight exercise and the ring pull-up even more so. It's one of the best exercises to build upper-body strength and muscular definition, and is a fundamental, primal human movement. 

Many people buy fitness rings primarily for pull-ups, which have many benefits over using a standard static pull-up bar. Whilst a bar or pull-up station will lock your hands in place and limit shoulder mobility, using gymnastic rings for pull-ups will exploit the free movement of the rings and makes the motion more natural and kinder on the joints.

Many people find that they can achieve more repetitions using rings for pull-ups rather than a fixed bar. Some people who have previously injured their shoulders and find it difficult to do standard pull-ups find that they can use rings to do the exercise.

During a ring pull-up you will usually find that the rings rotate and your hand position can change from more of an overhand, pull-up style grip into a underhand chin-up position. Whatever feels most natural and enables you to safely complete full range repetitions is recommended, but hand position will call different muscles into play. When palms are facing you (the chin-up) it targets the biceps and lats more, whilst palms away from you (the pull-up) will focus more upon upper back muscles.

It's also worth noting that the rings distance apart will determine the difficulty and targeted muscle area also. The greater the distance between the rings, the wider the grip, which focuses effort on the lat muscles, whilst a narrower grip works the middle back.

Beginning Ring Pull-ups

The ring pull-up is not an easy exercise and many people can't even do one full repetition, but there are techniques to help develop the necessary strength.

Assisted pull-ups

One technique is assisted pull-up's - in which additional equipment is used to support a portion of your body weight and help make the exercise more achievable, yet still challenging. As you gain strength you can gradually work your way up to performing the exercise unaided using full body weight.

This can be as simple as using a box, chair or bench for leg assisted pull-ups by placing the object underneath the rings and supporting one foot (or two for additional help) on the platform. As you lift yourself, straighten the supported leg for assistance, using as little assistance as possible.

Resistance band assisted pull-ups

Many people have had success using fitness / resistance bands to help achieve the same thing. Essentially using heavy duty fitness bands to help support part of your body weight during the pull-up exercise. These are available at fitness stores and come in various thickness's.

Thread the bands through the rings so the loops hang at knee level. As you hang from the rings put your feet into the elastic loops and the bands will now work to support some of your weight as you do the pull-up. The thicker the bands used the easier the pull-up will be.

Negative pull-ups

Another option to work up to full ring pull-ups is to specifically train the negative (lowering) portion of the exercise. Stand on a bench (or jump into the exercise) to get to the top of the movement and simply lower yourself down as slow as possible to help build the muscles required for the full pull-up.

Body Row

Try practicing the Ring Body Row, an exercise which uses similar muscles to the pull-up but is much easier to do.

Advanced Ring Pull-ups

When you're performing 15+ pull-ups it's time to start thinking about more advanced techniques. 

Weighted ring pull-ups

Adding more weight to bodyweight exercises can help you develop phenomenal strength but should only be attempted when proficient with the non-weighted versions. You should always start out adding small amounts of weight and increment as you get stronger. 

Weighted vest ring pull-ups

If you're a pull-up master and looking for new challenges you can try introducing a weighted vest into the exercise. A weighted vest is a great way to increase body weight when exercising and increasing the intensity of workouts. Weight can be micro-adjusted and is kept close to the body and evenly adjusted. 

Dipping belt ring pull-ups

Alternatively, try using a weight belt or dipping belt for attaching weight plates to your waist when adding serious resistance levels. As the weight is hanging below you rather than over you torso it can be more difficult and unwieldy to manage. 

Dumbells / Medicine ball ring pull-ups

For a simple solution to adding weight to pull-ups try holding a dumbbell or medicine ball with your feet, or between your legs. 

Advancing to the Muscle-up

A natural progression from the ring pull-up is the muscle-up.

The muscle-up is an awesome upper-body exercise that begins as a pull-up exercise and ends with your body being above the rings.

See the full muscle up guide in the Fitstream exercise directory. 

Ring pull-up variation exercises

• Wide ring pull-ups / Narrow ring pull-ups: Adjusting the distance your hands are placed from one another changes the muscles targeted during the exercise. 
• Muscle-up: Half pull-up, half dip, double the intensity. A great exercise to progress onto when you've mastered the standard pull-up. 
• One-arm ring pull-ups: For the seriously strong, single-arm pull-up training! This is a feat that few ever acheive.