How to do the Back Lever

The back lever requires a high level of strength and conditioning to achieve and is not for absolute beginners but will require some foundation bodyweight strength.

Read the progression exercises section below to learn how to work up to the full back lever hold. 

1. Grab the bar and assume an upside down tuck position.
2. Continue to pass your knees up and over your head and down into a 'skin the cat position'.
3. Raise your legs up to an upside down position (inverted hang). The body should be straight and fully extended at the top of the movement (when just starting out you may have to raise your legs in the tuck position although keep them straight if possible).
4. Lower the body, leading from the toes down to a horizontal hold, parallel to the ground. Hold this position.
5. Raise the legs back to the stating inverted hang position.

Notes:

• The back lever can be performed on a static pull-up bar or gymnastics rings and is largely down to personal preference although rings don't have the bar in the way so you can move the legs straight into an inverted hang instead of passing under a bar.
• Keep the body tight with muscles engaged at all times.
• The back lever can be a dangerous exercise when first starting out because if you drop from the bar you're plummeting face first to the ground. Make sure you land on your feet if you dismount.

Back Lever Guide

The back lever is a foundation gymnastics strength movement (rated as an A skill on the gymnastics scale from A - F, F being the most difficult) and a good starting point for those that are competent with pull-ups, dips, and muscle-ups, and looking for their next progression.

This strength hold forms the basis of more advanced exercises such as the planche or maltese cross and in training for it you'll develop muscle mass and strength that will serve you well in your training.

In training for the back lever you will learn the basic strength and gymnastics skills necessary to generate total body tension, control and coordination.

Back lever progressions

The key to the back lever is body tension. Keep muscles tight and engaged, locking the back and arm muscles together is essential.

The following progression exercises are recommended to build the necessary strength for the back lever - 

1. Skin the cat - practing the skin the cat position will help you build basic strength and practice orienting your body in preparation for the inverted hang.

2. Tuck back lever- train the tucked back lever (knees to chest) to take some of the weight out of the skill and make it easier. 

1. One-legged back lever - when your tucked lever has progressed try training with one leg extended at at time. As you gain strength begin to slowly extend both legs until you work up to a full back lever.
3. Back lever! Good work, you're on the way to body weight excellence.

Back lever related exercises

After mastering the back lever you should be in good shape to tackle these exercises next - 

• Front lever / rings front lever

A guide to front levers using rings

The front lever is a fundamental gymnastics strength hold that build a strong torso.

For an indepth review of the front lever with progression exercises and detailed body positions checkout the bar front lever article. Here we look at the use of fitness rings to help achieve this hold. 

Pull-up bars or rings for the front lever?

Much of the choice between rings and static bars for the front lever is down to personal preference and past training style.

However, as the rings can freely move and aren't fixed in place like a bar, some people find rings more comfortable to use and make quicker progressions to the full lever hold because they can manipulate the rings to their strongest position. 

How to do the front lever on rings

1. Hang upside down from the gymnastics rings with palms of the hands facing downwards. Squeeze the rings and push downwards to engage the body and create muscular tension. 
2. Lower the body down to a horizontal position, parallel to the ground and body facing upwards. 
3. Maintain the hold as long as good form will allow. 

Notes:

• As you develop in strength try to move into the front lever from a deadhang rather than lowering from inverted hang. 
• Keep the body stretched out and point the toes, ensuring that you do not bend at the hips.

Front lever progressions

The following progression exercises are recommended for the front lever - 

1. Pullover
2. Inverted rows
3. Weighted pull-ups
4. Tuck lever
1. Negative tuck levers
2. Tuck lever hold
3. Tuck lever rise
4. Tuck lever pull-ups
5. Skin the cat
6. Single leg front lever
7. Straddle front lever
8. FRONT LEVER!

Band assisted front lever

Resistance bands can be a useful aid to finese the front lever by supporting some of your body weight.

Advanced ring front levers

If you're looking to progress from the front lever here are some advanced variations - 

1. Front lever pull-ups on rings - whilst in the horizontal front lever position pull-up to the rings. 
2. Ice cream maker
3. One-arm front lever

How to skip

1. Hold the rope with your hands out to the side of the body and elbows tucked in. 
2. Using a circular wrist motion, swing the rope continulously over your head and under your feet, pushing off with the balls of your feet as the rope approaches the ground.

Notes:

• Jump around 2cm off the floor and ensure that the knees are bent at all times. 

Skipping guide

A skipping rope is a cheap and effective investment in your fitness.

Lose weight, strengthen your cardiovascular system, improve your agility and develop the muscles in your legs, abs, back, chest and shoulders. 

...and you can do it just about anywhere. 

Benefits of skipping

Skipping ropes are not just for the playground and there's plenty of reasons to start jump training today. 

• Strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system
• Cheap, ultra-portable and convenient
• Suitable for beginners and advanced trainees alike
• Good for fat loss
• Develops multiple fitness skills - agility, flexibility, coordination & balance
• Medium impact activiy considered easier on the joints that running. 

Skipping for beginners

Skipping is an excellent exercise for beginners and can be integrated into your fitness regime at your own pace and intensity. Combined with strength training, skipping can be a great way to build a high level of fitness. 

Start with a basic skipping routine and build up speed before progressing onto the more advanced skills and tricks. Many beginners will double jump between skips when first starting out so make sure you jump cleanly and only once between each rotation, keeping the core body engaged and tight. Also note that the arms should barely move during jump rope training as the rotation some come from the wrist movement. 

Warming up for skipping

To ensure that the body is fully prepared for a skipping workout -

1. start by perfoming an activity to elevate the heart rate such on on the spot jogs. 
2. Stretch out the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves
3. Rotate the ankles clockwise and anti-clockwise of each leg x 5. 
4. Create arm circles, forwards and backwards x 10.  

Advanced skipping

Skipping lends itself to some impressive skills and tricks -

Crossovers

As the rope passes over your head, cross your armse as far across the front of the body as possible, jumping through the gap and over the rope. 

Double unders

Pass the rope under the feet twice with every jump by jumping a little higher and increasing the speed of the rope. 

Other advanced skipping skills include 

• Bell Jumps - jumping forward and back between skips to focus work on the front of the thighs
• Skier skipping - side-to-side jumps between skips to target the inner thighs
• Running step - keeping the knees up in front to train lower abs.

How to do the Front Lever

The front lever is rarely achieved without appropriate strength and gymnastics training. See the progression exercises section below to learn how to build up to the hold. 

1. Assume an inverted hang position on a pull-up bar or gym rings. 
2. Lower the body slowly down until completely horizontal (your body facing upwards). 
3. Maintain the hold as long as good form will allow. 

Notes:

• More advanced athletes can progress into the front lever from a deadhang rather than inverted lowered hang. 
• In competitive gymnastics the Front Lever is an A skill (from A - F, A being the easiest) and participants are required to hold the position for a minimum of two seconds. 

Front Lever Guide

The front lever is a popular gymnastics hold as it's an impressive display of strength and helps develop a strong core and powerful pulling muscles. 

The body positioning for the front lever is outlined in the table below - 

Front lever progressions

The following progression exercises are recommended for the front lever - 

1. Pullover - at the very basic level, you can build foundation strength using the pullover exercise which hits similar muscles, only under much lower tension levels than a true lever. 

2. Inverted rows - another basic exercise to help train applicable lever muscles and positioning. 
3. Weighted pull-ups - are a good build up exercise to the front lever. During each pull-up try to lean back and touch the bar with your chest to help align the progression. Work towards 20% of your bodyweight added. 
4. Tuck lever - A fundamental hold required prior to attaining the front lever. The tucked version mimics the full lever except the legs are tucked up to the chest (the hips and shoulders remain in horizontal alignment). 
1. Negative tuck levers - hang upside down from the bar or rings and lower yourself through to the tuck position and try to maintain the hold. 
2. Tuck lever hold - after training the tuck negatives you should develop the strength to control and stop the hold. Continue training until you can maintain the hold with hips and shoulders in alignment, parallel to the ground for increasing periods of time (aim for 10+ seconds minimum).
3. Tuck lever rise - at this point you can stop training the negative lowering into the exercise and train by pulling up into the tuck lever from a vertical position. Ensure shoulders are brought back behind the hands to give you the leverage to lift into the movement. 
4. Tuck lever pull-ups - pull yourself up to the bar / rings in the tuck position. 
5. Skin the cat - the natural progression from tuck levers is the strangely titled 'skin the cat' exercise, which sees you pulling the knees up and through the lever position so the body is upside down and moves down to a hanging position. 
6. Single leg front lever - keep one leg tucked into the chest with the other leg extended out to the full lever position. Alternate legs during the hold. 
7. Straddle front lever - extend the hips and straddle the legs apart, the wider the legs, the easier the hold. 
8. Front lever! Congratulations, you're there!

Assisted front lever

If you've worked through the progression exercises and your front lever needs a little fine tuning you can use resistance bands to help support some of your body weight to win the exercise round and sustain the hold.

Advanced Front Levers

Congratulations, you've achieved a great feat to master the front lever so here's some ideas on where to next - 

• Front lever pull-ups - whilst in the horizontal front lever position pull-up to the bar or rings. 
• Ice cream maker
• One-arm front lever

Front lever - related exercises

• Front lever on rings

Knee Raise Instructions

1. Hang from a pull-up bar or gymnastics rings with a grip that's comfortable with your arms and legs fully extended, and feet off the ground.  
2. Raise your knees up towards your chest as high as possible. 
3. Hold for a brief moment and slowly return to the starting position. 
4. Repeat for required repetitions. 

Notes:

• Avoid using momentum or swinging during the exercise. 
• Perform the knee raise slowly and controlled. 

Knee Raise Overview

The hanging knee raise is a great exercise for isolating the abdominal muscles, building strength in the hip flexors and developing the six pack. 

Hanging Knee Raises for Beginners

If you're just starting out with the hanging knee raise exercise it's important to simply perform it with bodyweight only until you've developed sufficient strength and balance to control the movement.

Once you're comfortably achieving 20-25 reps in good form you can progress to more advanced variations.  

Advanced Hanging Knee Raises

• Hanging Leg Raises - raising straight legs rather than knees (increases difficulty)
• Weighted Knee Raises - using ankle weights or a dumbbell between the feet to intensely increase exercise resistance. 

Hanging Knee Raise Variations

• Standard knee raises - performing knee raises from a support position (commonly on dip station) rather than hanging.
• Hanging leg raises
• Weighted knee raises. 

Sprinting for fitness

Sprinting can be summed up as running really, really fast in short bursts of output. It is one of the most potent forms of physical training possible and a key activity for building fitness skills (particularly speed, power, strength, and cardiovascular capacity), developing lean muscle and losing fat.

The intensity of sprints are unlimited and you can never outgrow it as an exercise. Whilst your body is becoming stronger and faster with all out sprint training, the workouts never get easier.

The benefits of sprinting

Sprinting builds...

• anaerobic and aerobic capacity
• lean muscle mass

• growth hormone secretion
• fat loss
• maximum power development

Sprinting for beginners

Sprints generate incredibly high forces and for the beginner can pose a high risk of injury if not approached in the correct way.

Here are some sprint drills for beginners to help lower the risk and develop a base level of fitness...

Build-up Sprints

1. Pick a distance (100 meters is a good starting point). 
2. Gradually accelerate over the first 40 metres until you reach your top speed. 
3. Maintain that speed for approximately 20m and gradually decelerate until you stop at the 100m line.

This sprint drill is good for beginner sprinters because it lets you experience moving at top speed without the explosive start. 

Running Bursts

Another sprint drill to get you accustomed to sprint training is running bursts. This approach introduces higher force levels than the build up sprints but is still less stressful than true explosive sprint starts as you already in motion. 

1. Slowly build up to top speed and then slow down to a medium speed and then accelerate back to top speed. 
2. Repeat this sequence several times.

Advanced sprint training

When competent with standard sprint training and looking to increase the effectiveness and intensity of the exercise you can try some of these suggestions - 

• Beach sprints - good for reducing the impact on the body whilst increasing resistance
• Hill sprints - like sprint training. but up hills. 
• Weighted sprints using a weighted vest or back-pack for increased intensity

Sprinting and building muscle

Long distance, steady-state running is counter effective when trying to build muscle, and even worse, can break down existing muscle mass.  

Short anaerobic bursts of activity, like sprints or intervals actually promotes muscle growth. 

Chronic cardio is for endurance athletes and hamsters. Incorporate sprint training into your fitness regime for effective cardiovascular training without compromising muscle-building goals. 

Consider the differences in physiques between your average marathon runner and that of a sprinter. Intensity is the core factor to developing the sprinters body.

Sprinting and fat loss

As mentioned above, long distance running is not the most effective form of burning fat. Whilst running as an activity is good at burning calories, the metabolism isn't as fired up after the run to continue the calorie burn as it is after a session of high-intensity exercise like sprints. 

Sprinting is an effective means of losing weight because it's much higher intensity, shorter duration running, in short bursts of output.

Sprinting tips

• Where possible run on sand, grass or trail with concrete as a last resort (to minimise impact on the body)
• Aim for around ten minute sprint sessions

Sprinting variations

• Walking - low level, minimal impact aerobic conditioning
• Running - long distance, steady-state running. An endurance activity not as effective for fat loss as sprints and compromises muscles mass
• Hill sprints
• Weighted sprints
• Band resisted running 
• Beach sprints

Sandbag Get-Up Information

The Sandbag Get-Up is an incredible functional strength exercise that really trains the core body, seeing an athlete rise from a horizontal to vertical position whilst suporting a sandbag weight.

The exercise primarily works the core body and abdominals but requires significant effort from the quads, calves and shoulders too.

Benefits of the sandbag get-up -

• Increased core strength
• Increased mobility under an awkward load.

Sled Pull Guide

The sled pull is a true functional exercise that really exhausts the upper body, focusing on the back, shoulder and biceps whilst developing a crushing grip. Essentially, this exercise involves pulling a heavy, weighted sled toward you that is tied to a rope. If you don't have a proper plate loading fitness sled (or even better, a prowler) you can fashion your own using an old tire, or loaded pallet. The amount of friction you get from the exercise will greatly differ between your sled and surface combo choices.

How you train with the sled should depend on your fitness goals. Loading the sled with a minimum amount of weight and training for longer distances will help build endurance and cardiovascular capacity, whereas using heavy weights over shorter bursts will develop strength and power skills.

Advanced Sled Pulls

As your strength and power develops through sled training you can progressively add more weight to the sled to increase difficulty.

Set yourself challenges and when the sled reaches your feet, job backwards until the rope is pulled tight again and repeat the process until you hit a certain distance or complete the set in a fixed time.

This is also an effective exercise when combined with pushes as well as pulls. If you're sled is suitable, or you have a prowler available, you can push the sled away to the end point, jog back to the start and pull it back towards you, repeating the exercise as required. This is a real test of strength and endurance both physically and mentally!

Take a look at this video to see what we mean -

Progressing from Sled Pulls

Introducing the Renegade Row

The renegade row is a highly effective upper body strength exercise that focuses on development of the abs and core due to the amount of stabilisation effort required.

This exercise generates some serious isometric ab contractions that not only develops the abs but will have carry-over strength benefits into other weight training exercises any many of the big lifts. 

Renegade Row Variations

• Kettlebell renegade row
• Dumbbell renegade row
• Renegade Row Push-up Combo: Introduce a push-up between each row repetition for increased difficulty.

Advanced Lunges

When you are competent with standard bodyweight lunges and would like to maintain the intensity of the exercise to continue progress try the following techniques:

• Lunge Jump - for an explosive adaptation of the standard lunge add a dash of plyometrics. 
• Weighted lunge - perform the standard lunge whilst holding dumbbells or wearing a weighted vest for additional intensity. Remember to start small and gradually increase the weight as you improve.

Resisted running guide

Resistance running is essentially the use of fitness resistance bands with one end attached to the body and the other to a fixed anchor point - as a means of introducing progressive resistance to sprint training. The further you sprint from the anchor point the more resistance is provided by the band.

Why use exercise bands for running?

Running with bands will help you develop speed and explosive lower body power, ultimately developing acceleration. The added resistance and explosive form used in the sprint drills helps to build serious strength and endurance in hip and leg muscles. 

The exercise mimics the muscles you would normally use when running but under an increasing resistance level until you cannot power any further through the resistance inflicted by the band. 

Which bands do I need for running?

Resisted sprints are best performed with longer fitness bands designed specifically for running, but you can also link together multiple shorter heavy-duty bands for running drills, linked together using the choke technique (pictured). 

Rope Climbing Overview

Climbing a rope is an ancient exercise. Simple in concept, but highly effective for physical development. There is a reason that the rope climb has been a staple exercise in military training and combat fitness for thousands of years - it is, quite simply, one of the best upper-body strength exercises available to you. 

You will need a decent level of fitness before successfully practicing the rope climb. Many people approach the ropes with the tenacity and enthusiasm of their gym class days, when they scaled the school ropes with ease, only, as an adult to be left in a frustrated puddle on the floor. 

Building up the strength to support this exercise is highly worthwhile as you'll target many muscle groups (arms, shoulders, abs, back...), develop an iron grip and improve your coordination and agility skills. The rope climb has a real biceps dominance - check-out the biceps development of any consistent rope climber and they will be light-years ahead of average gym-goers. 

Rope Climbing for Beginners

Rope climbing isn't an easy exercise and it's typically reserved for the fittest amongst us. You will need to be in decent physical shape to accomplish it, but it's worth the effort to learn.

Solid exercises you should develop competency in to help prepare you for the strength demands of the rope climb are -

• Pull-ups - for developing muscles relating to lifting your own body weight.  
• Push-ups - for general development of the upper-body muscles with particular focus on building endurance levels.
• Sled pulls - for training similar muscles to the rope climb using weights you're comfortable with.

You can also try tying a kettlebell or dumbbell to the end of your rope and throwing the other end over a pull-up bar. You can then pull the kettlebell towards you to mimic the exercise with only a small portion of weight. You can increase the weight as you gain strength until it's not such a huge leap to hoisting your own bodyweight up the rope. 

Advanced Rope Climbing

When comfortably scaling the rope in seconds you can consider some of these more advanced rope climbing techniques  -

Climbing without your feet

Remove the use of the feet when climbing the rope and lift yourself up with pure upper-body strength only for an additional challenge.

Weighted rope climbing

Adding additional weight to your rope climbs is a very effective way of increasing the exercise intensity and maximising development. Please note that weighted climbs should only be attempted when fully competent with bodyweight rope climbs, and you should start small and incrementally add weight.

• A weighted vest is a simple and versatile way of adding weight to your rope climbs. The great thing about weighted vests is that they're safe, comfortable and evenly distribute the weight over your body. 

Other rope climbing exercises

• Climbing rope with feet
• Climbing rope without feet
• Climbing two ropes simultaneously
• Climbing upside down

Substitute rope climbing exercises

Ring Handstand Variations

Other similar exercises to the ring handstand to consider are:

• Ring handstand push-ups
• One-arm handstand
• Handstand walking
• Handstand push-ups

Handstand Guide

The handstand is fundamental gymnastics skill and the perfect exercise to showcase total-body control, strength, balance, coordination and style.

It's an exercise that takes dedicated training to achieve and demonstrates an enviable amount of muscular control from head-to-toe that relatively few possess.

This fantastic isometric exercise is more than something to simply impress friends with and has many physical benefits -

• Muscular definition and strength for all upper-body
• Tightens the entire core, back and abdominals
• Increases tendon strength of hands, wrists and shoulders
• Carry over benefits to all other sports and physical activities
• Balance skills are developed
• Develops an improved awareness and control of body

Learning the Handstand

Learning the handstand requires patience and dedicated training and it can take many months to develop the required strength and stabilising muscles for a freestanding hanstand. Regular practice is essential.

Warning: The handstand can cause serious injury if not performed carefully and with excellent form.

Wall Handstands

One technique is to use a wall to help support your handstand and develop the necessary muscles.

Find a wall with plenty of space around you and preferably a soft floor (grass or a mattress are good options).

Note: You're likely to fall many times!

Stand around four to five feet away, facing the wall, step out and kick up to a handstand as described above, with one leg making contact with the wall, quickly followed by the other.

Keep practicing the movement and use a spotter if possible. Once you're able to kick straight up to a handstand on the wall practice holding it for increasing periods to help develop your strength.

When you're competently holding the handstand you can try the exercise without using the wall. You might need a spotter at first to help you get in position (they can help prevent you from toppling over the top which is a common problem for beginners).

In the absence of a spotter you should learn the following gymnastic techniques to exit the handstand -

• The roll out - bend at the arms, tuck your head in, with chin to chest and roll forward and out of the handstand.
• Pirouette - twist your shoulders and walk one hand around, making a quarter turn with the body. You should now be able to step down without going forward and over.

Controlling the Handstand

The hands are key to controlling the handstand. Just like the same principle as the feet when standing upright (using your heels and toes to maintain balance) you will use the fingers (push fingers to ground when leaning forward) and base of the hands (push wrists down when moving too far backwards) to manipulate your weight and keep you balanced.

Fighting to stay upright as long as possible will help build up the strength and balance that you need.

Resistance Band Handstands

Another effective technique to help learn the handstand is to use resistance bands for assistance training. Choke a resistance band around a pull-up bar or overhead anchor point and wear another band around the shoulders, looped through the anchored band.

This technique should provide you with just enough assistance to help learn the correct handstand shape and stay upright!

Advanced Handstand Training

If you've mastered the freestanding handstand a good exercise to progress to is the hanstand push-up. Read our guide to developing your handstand push-up.

Other more advanced movements include one-arm handstands, handstand walking and the advanced ring handstand.

Handstand Variations

There are many variations and progressions on the basic handstand exercise to consider:

Ring Fly Guide

The Ring Fly is a powerful upper-body exercise using gymnastics rings, which sees you steadily arc your arms out to the sides whilst maintaing static at the elbow joint.

The Ring Fly is particularly effective at building strength in the chest and shoulders but also targets the biceps and core body muscles. You should really feel a good solid stretch in the chest muscles during this exercise and use a slow and controlled movement.

Advanced Ring Flys

The lower the rings are to the ground the more difficult the exercise becomes. Set the ring height according to your strength and fitness levels.

Lower your chest closer to the ground as you gain in strength. Once you can't get any closer you can increase the difficulty of the exercise by raising the feet using a platform, bench or plyo-box.

Beginning the Front Pendulum

If you're new to club training it's important that you first master the Front Swing as this is a more basic variation of the Front Pendulum. 

Advanced Side Swing Exercise

As you become more proficient with club training and build strength, a good progression from the side swing is the Side Semi Circle Swing. 

The Side Semi Circle Swing essentially combines two opposite side swings, taking the club to full extension on either side of the body. As the club descends don't limit the backswing but forcefully drive the hip snap in the opposite direction to the previous repetition. 

Weighted Step-up Guide

The weighted step-up, as the name implies, is a simple movement involving stepping the body onto a raised platform and back down again whilst supporting extra weight. The exercise targets similar muscle groups to the squat but allows you to train with less weight, reducing stress on the lower back and the impact on the knees.

The step-up is an incredibly flexible movement and can be used for warm-ups, conditioning, or strength training exercises. Through altering the weight involved, and the speed, height or number of repetitions you can tailor the exercise to meet your fitness goals.

Please note that the non-weighted version of this exercise should be mastered before introducing additional weight.

Weighted Step-Up Variations

• Bodyweight Step-up: The most basic form of step-up. The non-weighted version of this exercise should be mastered before introducing additional weight.
• Dumbbell Step-up: Introduces additional weight to bodyweight step-up by holding a dumbbell in each hand by the sides of the body. 
• Barbell Step-up: The same exercise as the bodyweight step-up although uses a barbell across the shoulders like a barbell squat. 
• Weighted Vest Step-up: Using a weighted vest to introduce more weight to the exercise for strength training and added intensity. The weight is safely and evenly distributed around the torso.

Ball Slam Guide

Balls slams are great for developing power, speed, strength and coordiation.

The exercise essentially involves holding a weighted ball overhead and throwing it into the ground with as much power as possible (also making it one of the best stress relievers around!).

Advanced Ball Slams

As you become proficient with the ball slam you should increase the weight of the ball used. Dead balls are typically available in a range of weights starting from 3kg.

Ball Slam Variations

If you're ready to move on fromt he standard Ball Slam why not try one of these variations: 

• Burpee Ball Slam: An advanced burpee exercise the burpee ball slam will seriously test your fitness (See standard bodyweight burpee for more information).
  
  • Perform a push-up on the medicine ball, jump the feet in and lift the ball overhead.
  • Slam the ball down to the ground, catching on the bounce if possible.
  • Place the ball back on the ground and jump the feet out to the starting position and repeat!

Farmer's Walk Guide

The Farmers Walk is a simple old-school strongman exercise that builds grip strength and coordinated body effort. The exercise is a great measure of back and grip strength and can be a real test of both physical and mental endurance.

The Farmer's Walk involves grasping a weight in each hand, standing-up and walking. It's used in professional strongman competitions in which the objective can be walking for the longest distance with a pre-allowed number of set downs, or to see who can complete a distance in the fastest time. 

Usually placed at the end of workout because it's highly taxing on the grip, the Farmer's Walk is a great all-round exercise to add into your regime. 

Beginning the Farmer's Walk

It's important that you have the requisite back and grip strength before starting the Farmer's Walk with heavy weights approaching your own bodyweight.

Use deadlifts as an overall preparation exercise and for developing back strength, shrugs for building trap strength, and squats to strengthen the legs and core, to ensure that you can handle walking with heavy weights and maintaining sufficient control. 

General information on the kettlebell goblet squat

The goblet squat is essentially a front squat exercise, but it's a great way to teach people how to squat well and learn correct technique as it ensures a more up-right body during descent and promotes a wide stance squat-between-the-heels movement. It's an easier exercise to perform than the traditional back squat for newbies and a good choice for long-legged folk.

Whilst good for beginners the goblet squat is still a great exercise in its own right and worth integrating into your routine. It's a simple and safe squatting movement, challenges a load of muscle in one movement and really gets the heart pumping. 

You can perform the goblet squat with dumbbells, sandbags, medicine balls and most other weighted objects too, but the kettlebell is perfectly moulded for the goblet squat because you can hold it around the side handles and keep it nice and contained against the chest. 

Kettlebell Goblet Squat Variations

You will also find the following squat exercise guides on Fitstream - 

Bodyweight squat movements: For anytime lower body fitness training without equipment. Good for learning squatting technique.

• Standard bodyweight squat
• Single-leg squats

Barbell Bent-Over Row Guide

The barbell bent-over row is a big body lift that helps to develop a thick, strong back and is suprisingly effective at developing the biceps.

Barbell Bent-Over Row Variations

Try the following variations to the bent over row:

• Close grip bent over row - to focus effort on the middle back muscles. 
• Underhand bent over row - to increase lat involvement during the exercise.

Ring Rollout Guide

The ring rollout is an excellent core body exercise and places particular emphasis on developing strong, lean abdominal muscles. The exercises generates a great deal of tension in the body and requires impressive strength to control. 

It's a very similar exercise to ab rollouts, using the basic ab wheel except you have greater control of your path of motion, of the exercise difficulty, and your shoulders aren't restricted by the narrow-handle grip required for ab wheels. 

Beginning the Ring Rollout

The ring rollout is a challenging exercise so if you're just starting out and struggling with the required strength or on maintaining correct form you can try the following approaches: 

• Perform the ring rollout from a kneeling position rather than standing
• Adjust the rings so that they're higher from the ground and the angle of the rollout is less severe. Continue to lower the rings as you gain strength. 

Advanced Ring Rollouts

When you've got to grips with the standard ring rollout and looking to add that extra intensity you can progress using the following techniques:

• Continue to lower the rings until they're as close to the ground as possible. 
• Add resistance using a weighted vest.
• Perform one-arm rollouts

Bodyweight squats guide

The squat is fundamental body movement that strengthens and tones the lower body. This functional exercise can be performed virtually anywhere with no equipment and little space, and because it's such a basic movement the benefits will carry over into everyday life.  

It's important for beginners to learn the bodyweight squat before progressing to weighted squats. This will teach you the correct technique with a safe load. Aim for at least 100-200 successive bodyweight squats before progressing to weighted versions. 

The benefits of the squat:

• Build muscle: Squats hit your legs hard, requiring multiple muscles to work in unison and stimulates growth.
• Increase strength: Squatting will strengthen your legs and the tendons in your knees like no other exercise.
• Improve hip mobility: The exercise builds and maintains mobility in the hip joint. 
• Fat burning / general health: Bodyweight squats allow you to perform many controlled reps in succession, elevating the heart rate and burning fat. 

How to perform the bodyweight squat

Squats for beginners

Squats are almost synonymous today with weight training exercises (see barbell squat). This is most likely due to many people training for muscle-mass or strength gains and outgrowing the standard bodyweight squat in order to acheive these goals.

However the value of the bodyweight squat should not be underestimated. The exercise can be used to build endurance in the legs, learn the correct technique before progressing to weighted versions of the exercise, burn fat, and can be performed almost anywhere with no equipment. 

If you're new to squats and struggling with this exercise you can build up the required strength using assistance techniques. Gymnastics rings and suspension trainers are particularly effective equipment for this.

These tools essentially support some of your bodyweight to make the exercise more achievable (see Suspended Single Leg Squat as an example). 

Advanced Squats

Bodyweight squats are a beginners movement that many people quickly out grow, especially if training for muscle mass and strength rather than endurance or weight loss. If you're ready to progress from the bodyweight version it's time to add some increased resistance. 

There are many ways to add resistance to a squat. The obvious choice is to increase weight, which can be achieved using a barbell (see barbell squat), by wearing a weighted vest or holding dumbbells, kettlebells and other weighted objects.

Alternatively, resistance bands can be a cheap, effective and ultra-portable method of adding progressive resistance to the squat movement. Simply wrap a heavy-duty band round each foot and over the shoulders to secure in place. 

As with all strength exercises you should strive to make incremental and continuous gains. Make small additions to the added resistance to safely progress. 

Squat exercise variations

• Weighted squats - see barbell squat, kettlebell squat, goblet squat or use a weighted vest, dumbbells or medicine ball. 
• One-legged squat / Pistol squat -  the intense, single leg version of the traditional squat exercise (see single leg squat). 
• Assisted squats - suspension trainers, resistance bands and gymnastics rings can all be used for squat assistance (see Suspended Single Leg Squat for example).

Burpees exercise guide

The burpee is a full-body conditioning exercise that can be performed with very little space with nothing other than your bodyweight. This makes it an excellent impromptu workout or for exercising on the road.

Burpees are a great test of agility, coordination and general conditioning whilst promoting effective fat loss due to the intensity and speed of the movements. 

Essentially the burpee movement is actually several exercises performed together in rapid succession. This simple string of movements means that the exercise can be performed for high repetitions at high intensity, making it a good choice for general conditioning.

Try picking a number of burpee repetitions and record the length of time it takes to complete. Over time you can whittle the time down as you progress. As a starting goal try 100 burpees in under ten minutes. 

Burpees for beginners

If you're not quite up to full burpees and looking for an easier variation of the exercise you can omit the jump movement from the final portion of the burpee. Instead of leaping in the air (step 4) simply rise back up to the original starting position and repeat the exercise. 

Alternatively, simply scale the volume of burpees appropriate to your fitness level by lowering the target number of reps.

Advanced burpees

When you've mastered the standard burpee outlined above the simplest way to increase the intensity and effectiveness of the exercise is to introduce additional weight or resistance. 

You can introduce weight to the burpee by performing the exercise whilst wearing a weighted vest or holding dumbbells (as pictured above). 

Resistance bands also offer an interesting an effective means of increasing the difficulty of the standard burpee. Try wrapping a band round each foot, then over the shoulders. 

Alternatively see the many burpee variations described below to add more complex and targeted elements to the exercise.

Burpees exercise variations

Try these variations on the standard burpee to add some spice to the exercise -

Suspended Crunch Guide

The suspended crunch is one of our favourite core exercises and a superb example of the effectiveness of suspension training. It's an incredibly taxing reverse crunch movement and challenges the entire core body to help control and stabilise the movement. 

Suspended Crunch Variations

• Suspended oblique crunch - For variations on the Suspended Crunch you can specifically target the oblique muscles by powerfully twisting the knees to one side of the body at the top of the movement. Ensure that you alternative between left and right to train both sides of the abs. 

Suspended Chest Press Guide

The suspended chest press builds upper-body strength, definition and shoulder stability, whilst challenging the core body and abs. This exercise is a good choice for beginners and advanced trainees alike:

Beginners benefit from the length-adjustable features of a suspension trainer, which allows you to control the difficulty of the exercise (the closer your body is to horizontal the more difficult the exercise).

Advanced trainees can lengthen the straps to allow the chest press to be performed in a push-up position and benefit from the unstable, independent movement of the handles to increase muscular recruitment and core stability. 

Beginning the Suspended Chest Press

If you are unable to perform standard bodyweight push-ups a suspension trainer is an excellent choice for developing the required strength and bodily control. Changing the angle of the exercise controls the difficulty (by altering the length of the trainer straps). 

If you're new to suspension training, or struggle with the standard push-up, the closer you are to a vertical, standing position the easier the exercise becomes. As you develop strength you can increase the length of the straps to make continuous strength gains. 

Advanced Suspended Chest Press

If you have a good level of fitness and find standard push-ups easy you can perform the suspended push-up as close to the ground as possible. This will mimic a normal push-up but the instability introduced by the handles (which are free to move around, rather than a static grip) increases the effectiveness of the exercise by maximising muscular recruitment and core stability. 

To really add intensity to the exercise a weighted vest is a simple and effective way of adding additional resistance. 

Alternatively, the Bench Press is an excellent choice to build the upper-body with weight training. 

Suspended Chest Press Variations

For variations on the suspended chest press you can try the following:

• Gymnastic ring push-up is a very similar exercise to the suspended chest press but uses gymnastics rings rather than a suspension trainer. Gymnastics rings still introduce the element of instability to the standard push-up exercise. 
• Push-ups - standard bodyweight push-ups. 

Push-ups guide

The push-up (also known as a press-up) is a universal favourite body weight exercise, recognised by almost everyone.

It's a simple yet effective movement that can be used to build strength and definition in the upper-body, with particular emphasis on the chest and shoulder muscles. This is an excellent basic functional movement that can be performed at any time without the need for any fitness equipment. 

We recommend performing the exercise on push-up bars or gymnastic rings (more advanced), which are both easier on the wrists and increase the range of motion on the exercise.

Beginning push-ups

If you struggle with the basic push-up described above there are ways to make the exercise easier to work up to a full push-up:

• Bent-knee push-up: Perform push-ups with knees bent on the floor to reduce the bodyweight involved in the exercise.
• Incline push-up: Perform push-ups with the hands elevated above the feet. The closer you are to a vertical position the easier the exercise becomes. Lower the incline as you gain strength until you are able to perform standard push-ups.

Advanced push-ups

To increase the difficulty of the push-up you can try the following:

Weighted push-ups 

Adding additional weight or resistance to the push-up exercise is an effective way of adding intensity and continuing to make strength gains -

• Use of a weighted vest for push-ups
• Training partner to place weight plate on back
• Also see - resistance bands for push-ups, whilst not a weighted exercise, bands can be used to introduce added resistance to the exercise by wrapping the band over your back and holding in place with the hands. 

Instability push-ups

• Ring push-ups using gymnastics rings increases the difficulty of the exercise and enhances muscular recruitment. 
• Suspended push-up using a suspension trainer for added instability to the basic movement. 
• For a more simple, equipment free method of adding instability simple raise one leg from the floor during the exercise, and alternate the leg during sets. 

Push-up variations

There are many variations on the basic push-up outlined below:

Running for fitness

Long, slow running is almost synonymous with fitness today - perceived by many as the best means to weight loss, we don our headphones and reluctantly climb onto the treadmill for lengthy stints of torturous, monotonous movement.

Whilst running can be a great form of exercise with many benefits, it's important that you approach and apply the training intelligently based on fitness goals. Running is like any other form of exercise - take weight training for example, and your approach to weights determines how you develop physically and the skills that are enhanced (i.e. low reps, heavy weights for strength gains vs. high reps, lighter weights for muscular endurance). 

For the endurance athletes amongst us - long, slow running is obviously a sensible training choice. However, for the rest of us - it simply isn't the most efficient way to burn fat, train safe, and maintain muscle-mass or (for most) even an enjoyable fitness pursuit!

The benefits of running

Firstly you must identify your training goals - are you running to lose weight as part of an overall health and fitness regime, or to increase stamina for extreme-endurance events?

At Fitstream we focus on fitness enthusiasts - those looking to improve health, fitness and appearance. We believe training should be well-rounded, varied and intense. As a result we prefer sprint training or interval work to chronic-cardio as it's less monotonous and not detrimental to building muscle, whilst promoting a well-rounded and athletic body. 

One of the most common fitness goals is to build a strong, lean body which is accomplished by maintaining (or building) muscle whilst burning fat. This can be a difficult thing to acheive and can only be built with the right kinds of exercise and diet. 

Consider for a moment the difference in physique between an average marathon runner and an average sprinter, and genetics aside, it's intensity which is the key to developing the sprinters body. Variable intensity walks, runs and sprint training are much more effective than steady state, mindless running for building an athletic body.

Losing weight

Distance running is not the most effective form of weight loss. Whilst the run itself is good at burning calories the metabolism isn't as fired up after the run to continue excessive calorie burn as it would be following a session of short duration, high-intensity exercise. 

Sprinting is a great way to lose weight as it's more focused, intense running. You're running, but very, very fast, and in short bursts of output. Incorporating sprint training into your routine will maximise weight-loss, enhance growth hormone secretion, build power, and develop both anaerobic and aerobic capacity. It's the ideal choice of exercise to build lean mass and burn body fat. 

Developing endurance / stamina

Stamina is one of the ten key components to fitness and in pursuit of well-rounded athleticism it's not a skill that should be overlooked. We all need stamina - from professional sports people who need to know that they have the capacity to see out the duration of their event, to fitness enthusiasts who require random bursts of work or play at any given moment, for as long as required.  

Most people train for stamina by picking an activity like distance running and practice sustaining the exercise for increasing periods of time to build-up capacity. Whilst distance running is a good method of building up stamina, it shouldn't be used exclusively in your routine to avoid repetitive stress, overtraining or canabalising your own muscle-mass.

Improving health & strengthening the cardiovascular system

Most people incorrectly believe that intense aerobic activity is one of the main factors in staying healthy and that the more miles logged at the highest possible intensity equates to a bigger benefit to health and fitness.

However, rather than blindly running for extended periods focus should be spent on devising a more well rounded and intelligent routine. Healthy workouts should be built around a variety of methods targeted at developing a range of fitness skills (strength, agility, stamina, coordination etc). Try to build a balanced routine that combines anaerobic activities like lifting heavy objects (weight training) and sprints, with more low level anaerobic activity such as walking or swimming. 

If you love to run long-distance that's great. We just don't like to see distance running being mistakenly chosen as the best way to accelerate fat loss or keep functionally fit.  

Running venue

Machines rarely have any worthwhile benefit over real life, old-school training methods and a treadmill will never replace the stimulating, unique and varying environment you live in as a venue for your run.

Why not explore the world around you and soak up more than just the drive to work and your desktop. Take advantage of your surroundings and run on grass instead of concrete (or even better sand, which dampens the impact and increases the resistance!) and make use of hills for sprinting - the possibilities are endless. 

Running and muscle building

Constant, chronic cardio is catabolic and not only inhibits muscle growth but can reduce existing muscle. Real muscle growth will come from activities involving short anaerobic bursts like sprints, intervals or weight-training. 

If you love to run you can incorporate sprint training or varied intensity walking for effective cardio training without sacrificing your muscle-building goals. 

Running safe

Continual long distance runs breed injuries, repetitive impact strains and over training. Try to be mindful of overtraining when training specifically for endurance as running marathons and engaging in high intensity endurance training on a regular basis is a quick way of wearing your body down. If you feel continuously lethargic, unmotivated or get sick a lot you may want to find a more balanced routine.  

Distance running is not the only method of effective endurance training and should not be practised exclusively to avoid potential repetitive stress. Try combining running with other forms of training such as: sprints, skipping, cycling, sparring, circuit weight training or swimming. 

Suspended Single-Leg Squat Guide

The unassisted single leg squat (pistol squat) is a difficult and an impressive exercise that few can acheive without dedicated training.

The suspended single leg squat involves the use of a suspension trainer as an assistance aid to make the exercise more achievable. You should integrate the suspended pistol squat into training to build the required strength and balance in order to perform the exercise unaided. 

Single leg squat training develops leg strength, flexibility, balance skills and increases your vertical jump.

Note: It's recommended that you first master the standard bodyweight squat to learn correct technique and build base strength before training specifically for the single leg version. 

Advanced Single-Leg Squat

Use the single leg suspended squat to build up your strength in order to perform the exercise unassisted. See the full Single Leg Squat for more details in the bodyweight exercises section.

Pull-ups guide

Pull-ups are a fundamental exercise that should form part of everyone's fitness routine.

A primal favourite - the pull-up is a functional movement that recruits multiple upper-body muscles in one swift, controlled action. The ability to pull oneself up with the arms is a standard bodyweight exercise that sadly, on average, few people can do.

The pull-up demonstrates a superior strength to bodyweight ratio. There's no surface taking any burden of your bodyweight, it's just you, the bar, and the coordinated muscular effort of your upper-body muscles to lift you up. 

The pull-up is a hugely rewarding exercise and develops incredible strength, muscle definition, and builds a body that can climb and pull things toward it with ease. 

Regular pull-ups will develop an athletic body, keeping bodyweight down, the waist trim but shoulders wide and full. This increases the waist to shoulder ratio which is a key factor to an attractive physique. 

Pull-ups for beginners

It's not uncommon for beginners to be unable to complete a single pull-up, but don't let that deter you as you can quickly progress to full repetitions using the suggested techniques below:

Assisted pull-up exercises

A basic approach to building strength for the pull-up is to use assistance exercises which bear some of your bodyweight to make the exercise challenging, yet achievable. As you build strength you can lessen the amount of assistance until able to perform the exercise on your own. 

Leg assisted pull-ups

Begin with double leg assisted pull-ups - using a bench beneath the pull-up bar to support both legs during the exercise. Use the legs as little as possible during the lift.

As you develop strength you can progress to single leg assisted pull-ups - using the same technique as doubles but only supporting one leg on the bench, the other leg hanging. 

Resistance band assisted pull-ups

Using resistance bands for pull-up assistance is a cheap and effective technique to building up pull-up strength. 

Resistance bands are available in various sizes and thickness to help support your body weight to make the exercise possible. Simply choke the resistance band to a pull-up bar or gymnastics rings (as shown below) and place your knee (or knees for extra support!) into the band loop. 

As you get stronger you can use the lighter resistance bands for less support. Also note that you can control the amount of assistance offered by the band by altering the length. The shorter the band, the more resistance is applied. Wrap the band around the bar more times before 'choking' to control the band length. 

Negative pull-up reps

Many people have great success building up to the pull-up using negative reps. Use a bench to get up to the pull-up position, or perhaps jump into the pull-up and simply practice the lowering portion of the pull-up exercise. 

Psychological approach

One effective psychological approach to help with pull-ups that many people find helpful is to envisage yourself pulling the bar down to your chest, as opposed to hoisting your body to the bar. 

Advanced pull-ups

If you've mastered the pull-up and looking for some advanced techniques you can try the approaches below to keep the gains coming and develop serious strength-to-bodyweight ratio. 

Weighted pull-ups

Adding additional weight to pull-ups is an obvious way of increasing the intensity of the exercise. You should only try this technique when you're a seasoned pull-up practitioner and joints are suitably up to it, even then, start small and incrementally add weight as you progress. 

There's a few different techniques to adding weight to the pull-up:

• A weighted vest offers a simple and versatile way of adding weight that's evenly distributed over your body.
• A dipping belt allows you to attach various weight plates for weighted pull-ups. In the Fitstream gym we have an old climbing harness that we can use which allows us to thread through Olympic weight plates or sometimes even kettlebells for intense resistance. 
• You can even just hold a dumbbell, or medicine ball between your feet for a bit of added weight, but this can be tricky to control as the weight increases. 

Advanced pull-up techniques

If you're really proficient at pull-ups why not try the following, more advanced exercises:

• One-arm pull-up - very few people can do single-arm pull-ups. A seriously impressive and advanced pull-up exercise and we'll be writing more on this topic soon. 
• Muscle-up (see ring muscle-up) - the half dip, half pull-up exercise. Commonly performed on gymnastics rings the muscle-up is a great demonstration of both strength and technique. 

Pull-up variations

There are many variations and progressions on the basic pull-up exercise to consider:

Box Jump Guide

The box jump is a classic plyometric exercise that demands coordination, accuracy, agility and balance.

The exercise will strengthen and tone the lower body, increase vertical jump height and develop your power output. 

Beginning box jumps

When just starting out with box jumps it's important to start with lower heights and increase as you progress. Going too high, too soon results in very painful scraped shins!

Beginners pointers: 

• Start with a platform height that you can comfortably jump onto. 
• Instead of jumping up, step up to the box. 

Advanced Box Jumps

As you become stronger and your vertical jump height increases you can increase the height of the box to maintain improvement and continuous challenge.

Try the following techniques for more advanced box jump exercises:

• Increase the height of the jump platform
• Wear a weighted vest for intense weighted box jumps
• Increase the distance between your starting position and the box for a longer jump.
• Land in a deep squat and immediately jump back from the platform in one flowing, controlled movement.
• Use resistance bands to add intensity to the exercise. The higher you get from the ground the more resistance is applied by the band. 

Box Jump Variations

As an advanced alternative to standard box jumps you can try the following:

• Side box jumps, in which you jump sideways on to the box platform.
• Depth jumping - dropping from a lower platform first and exploding upward to the main plyo-box. 
• Box Jump Burpees - combining the all encompassing burpee exercise with a box jump for maximum effectiveness and exercise intensity (see standard burpee exercise).

Incorporating Box Jumps into your Workout

Below we outline two different approaches to integrating box jumps into your existing routine.

• Isolated box jump training - adding the exercise at the very beginning of your workout or as a dedicated additional session. 
• Complex training (combination of traditional strength and plyometric exercises together) - adding box jumps as a paired exercise to complement your strength training exercise i.e. Squats followed by squat jumps. 

Quad Roll Guide

The quadriceps are responsible for leg and hip extension and are an easy muscle group to keep in good shape using a foam roller.

Foam roller exercises for the quads will alleviate muscular tension, limber the muscle up, and work out any knots or trigger points for improved soft-tissue quality. 

Hamstring Foam Roll Guide

Tight hamstrings are a common problem and it's a muscle that can be more prone to bad tears, lead to lower back pain, poor posture or limit your sporting performance. 

However, the hamstring muscle is one of the easiest to workout with a foam roller by performing the Hamstring Roll exercise - a great foam rolling movement for loosening the hamstrings and working out any tight spots of muscle.

Thoracic Spine Extension Guide

The thoracic spine is one of the five segments of the spinal column, encompassing the shoulder and chest area.

It's essential that you maintain thoracic mobility to avoid poor posture, unsightly rounded shoulders which can eventually lead to back pain or acute injury. 

Thankfully, thoracic mobility can be easily maintained and improved using a foam roller and the thoracic spine extension exercise, as described below. 

Clean and Jerk Guide

The Clean and Jerk is a highly technical lift, challenging pretty much every muscle in the body and increases muscle strength, size, and endurance whilst developing speed, coordination and agility skills. 

Due to the complexity of the Clean and Jerk it should only be performed by people with a regular and thorough weight training background, and with a weight that you can comfortably control. 

One of two lifts used in Olympic Weightlifting, the Clean and Jerk is made up of two main stages - 

• The clean stage - where the barbell is picked from the floor and 'racked' on the shoulders in a single motion. 
• The press stage - in which the barbell is pushed into an overhead finish position, while moving the legs into a lunge (one leg in front of the other). 

The Clean and Jerk is an unmatched exercise in terms of the physical and mental demands placed on the body and should be approached with both respect and concentration. 

Bench Press Guide

How much do you bench?

The bench press is probably the most talked about weight training exercise there is and is a bragging rights favourite in gyms around the world, but it's more than just an ego exercise. 

The bench press is a fundamental movement for developing upper body strength and an attention grabbing physique. It not only trains your chest, but gives the front shoulders, triceps and back a solid workout too. 

For a full, round chest with functional power the chest press is an excellent exercise to integrate into your routine. 

Advanced Bench Press

For those that want to add additional intensity to the bench press or overcome training plateaus, many people find the use of chains or heavy duty resistance bands particularly effective. 

By attaching chains or resistance bands to each end of the bar you're introducing progressive resistance. Essentially, the exercise get more difficult the higher you lift the bar from your body which increases the intensity significantly in proportions of the lift which typically are easier to perform. 

Deadlift Overview

The deadlift is a key strength training exercise and absolutely fundamental to building a strong, muscular physique. The deadlift will build the lower body like no other exercise, strengthen the entire back and core and hits all other major muscle groups in one simple movement.

This is an excellent functional exercise that relates to real life movement - the ability to bend down and lift something from the floor. Deadlifting will develop strong, healthy back muscles that help prevent injury during every day life. 

Working all the major muscle groups the deadlift is an essential exercise for any strength training regime.  

Dips Exercise Video

The video below shows an example dip exercise and demonstrates the use of resistance bands for progressive resistance and assitance exercises, and a weighted vest to increase exercise intensity. 

How to do dips

1. Support your bodyweight upright, arms straight, hands gripping the parallel bars / rings / dipping station.
2. Lower your body by bending at the elbows. Keep your shoulders close to your sides and the movement steady and controlled.
3. Press your body back up to the original starting position so that your arms are nearly straight but not quite locked. Repeat.

Notes:

• Leg position can be bent, crossed or straight during the exercise.
• To ensure the triceps are targetted ensure your body is straight up and down. Leaning over will bring the chest muscles into the exercise.
• Many people find fitness rings an excellent alternative to a standard bar for dips. Whilst a fundamentally harder exercise, the free movement of the rings allow your joints to track naturally and safely, and enhance muscular recruitment for additional support. 

Dips exercise - general information

If we recommended two basic bodyweight strength exercises it would be pull-ups and dips. Dips are an excellent compound exercise that really challenges the upper-body, working the triceps, chest and shoulder muscles in one movement.

Dips for beginners

It's not uncommon to be unable to perform any dips at all when first starting out so please don't let that put you off! If you're struggling with dips there are many techniques to building up the required strength - 

Assisted dips

Adding assistance to the dip exercise is a basic, yet effective approach to building up strength. This basically involves the use of additional equipment to bear some of your bodyweight to make the exercise challenging, yet achievable for your fitness level. As you become stronger you can lessen the amount of support until you're able to perform dips unaided. 

Leg assisted dips

Begin with double leg assisted dips - with a bench positioned beneath the dipping station to support both legs during the exercise. Use the legs as little as possible during the lift.

As you build strength progress to single leg assisted dips, supporting only one leg instead of two. 

Resistance band assisted pull-ups

Using resistance bands for dips assistance is a cheap and effective technique to building up the necessary strength. 

Resistance bands are available in various sizes and thickness to help support your body weight to make the exercise possible. Simply loop the resistance band over your dipping station or rings and place your knee (or knees) into the band loop. See the video above for an example of resistance bands being used during dips. 

Negative reps

A common technique used to help build up to a dip is to perform only the negative part of the repetition. 

Use a bench to get into position (or jump up to the support position) and only perform the lowering part of the exercise. You will soon develop enough strength to start doing full repetitions.

Advanced dips exercise

If you're finding bodyweight dips easy and performing 15+ reps without breaking a sweat it's time to mix things up a little.

Weighted dips

Adding additional weight to your dips is a great way to increase the intensity of the exercise, break plateaus and develop a very impressive strength to bodyweight ratio. You should only use this technique when fully proficient with standard dips as it can be a dangerous shock to joints and tendons that are not up to the task. 

Please note that when starting out with weighted dips begin with small additions and incrementally increase the weight as you get stronger. 

Try the following methods of adding weight to your dips:

• A weighted vest is a simple, adjustable method of adding incremental weight to your dips. The great thing about weighted vests is that the extra weight is closely, yet evenly distributed over your body.
• A dipping belt will allow you to attach various weight plates to your waist for some serious added resistance. In the Fitstream gym we have an old climbing harness that allows us to attach olympic weight plates or kettlebells for weighted dips. 
• Hold dumbells, or medicine balls between your feet or legs for a simple way to add weight to dips without needing specialist equipment. However this technique becomes more difficult as the weight increases. 

Gymnastics ring dips

Gymnastics rings are a really versatile piece of fitness equipment that increase the difficulty of exercises and maximise muscular recruitment. As the rings are free to move independently they can be safer and easier on the joints. 

See ring dips exercise for further information.

Dips exercise variations

There are many variations and progressions for the basic dip exercise - 

A guide to weighted squats

The squat is a hefty, multi-muscle exercise that promotes big gains in lean muscle mass. It sometimes comes under criticism for being hard on the back and knees but when performed correctly it's fundamentally one of the best exercises for strength, muscle-mass, sports performance and long term-health. 

The squat is a basic human movement and it's recommended that you first train for the standard bodyweight squat before progressing onto weighted variations such as this. This will build base strength and allow you to learn the appropriate form and technique. Aim for 100-200 successive repetitions with the basic squat first.

Barbell squat variations

Bodyweight squat movements:

• Standard bodyweight squat
• Single-leg squats

Beginning the Plank Exercise

The plank is a difficult exercise for something so simple but it's very rewarding. When first starting out simply hold the plank for as long as you can without compromising form. With practice you'll see results in a short space of time as you can hold the position for increasing durations. 

Advanced Plank Exercises

When you've built a solid core and have enough abdominal strength to comfortably hold the plank for 2 minutes and more you can try training for more complex variations such as the Side Plank Star Exercise.

Beginners to the Lunge Jump

Technique is important when you introduce plyometrics into your exercise routine. Make sure you are competent with the standard bodyweight lunge exercise before attempting the more advanced jumping lunge.

Advanced Lunge Jump

When you are performing the jump lunge comfortably you can try introducing additional weight using to up the intensity of the exercise and maximise conditioning. A weighted vest is a great way of achieving this in a safe and controlled way.

Alternatively, consider increasing the complexity of the exercise by performing the jumping lunge twist

Beginning the One-Leg Deadlift

If you're finding the one-leg deadlift too difficult you can use your non-supporting leg to lightly touch the floor behind you for additional support. 

If the exercise is well beyond your capabilities you should first try mastering the standard bodyweight deadlift before progressing on to the single-leg version.

Advanced One-Leg Deadlift

When you've mastered the one-legged deadlift you can introduce more weight to add intensity to the exercise and continue to challenge the body. Weighted vests are a good solution to control additional weight or you can simply hold dumbbells or kettlebells to help increase resistance and seriously challenge your lower body.

Beginning the T Push-up

If you are struggling with the T Push-up you should develop the necessary strength and stability skills with the standard push-ups first.

Advanced T Push-ups

When you've outgrown the T Push-up and performing multiple repetitions without breaking a sweat you can try the exercise whilst holding some light dumbbells for added resistance.

Weighted T push-ups seriously hike the intensity of the exercise. 

Beginning the Side Plank Star

If you are having difficulties with the side plank star you should first build up the required strength through standard plank exercises or side plank training.

Advanced Side Plank Star

When ready to progress from the Side Plank Star you can move to supporting your bodyweight with your hand instead of the forearm, your arm being straight to increase the complexity of the exercise. 

Beginning the Jackknife Sit-up

If you can't yet perform the Jackknife Sit-up try starting with the standard sit-up first or the plank and build up abdominal strength before progressing.

Advanced Jackknife Sit-ups

If you're starting to find the jackknife exercise particularly easy you can try introducng additional weight to the exercise. Holding a weight or medicine ball between your feet is an intense and effective technique for a seriously intense ab workout.

Beginning the handstand push-up

The handstand push-up can be a tricky exercise for the beginner and you'll probably need to perform it against a wall for stability. First, master the static handstand and develop the balance and coordination skills necessary to hold the handstand for a reasonable length of time, at which point you should be ready to develop the necessary shoulder strength for the actual handstand press-up.

To build up the strength to perform the press try lowering yourself slowly towards the ground and working in negatives. Drop your feet back to the floor, kick back into the handstand and repeat.

It can also be effective to stop yourself at various points throughout the descent, holding the position and when reaching the bottom attempting to press yourself up short distances. With practice you will be strong enough to lower yourself fully to the ground and press back up to the starting position.

Band assisted handstands

Many people have had great success training for the handstand using resistance bands, as pictured below.  

This method ensures that you don't rely on the wall too much for support and helps to develop the necessary balance and agility for a free-handstand hold.

Advanced handstand push ups

Over time, as your stabilising muscles become stronger and your balance improves you may be able to perform the exercise without the need to use any assistance. This is known as the free-standing handstand push-up and should be the ultimate aim of the exercise, that few people accomplish. 

Weighted handstand push-ups

If you are particularly good at handstand press-ups and want to introduce added intensity you can try the exercise whilst wearing a weighted vest for an additional challenge.

Handstand push-up variations

Also see the following related exercises to the handstand push-up:

Beginning the club swing

If you're new to club training or any exercise you can alter the difficulty by varying the height to which you swing the club, from waist, to shoulder and directly overhead position. 

Advanced club swing exercises

As you become stronger and progress you should move to the double handed club swing and incrementally increase the weight of the clubs used. 

Remeber that your hand position on the club will vary the intensity of the exercise. 

Piroutte Swing

The Pirouette Swing involves a basic club Front Swing timed with a back-step while the club moves overhead. The additional challenge in this exercise is in timing the footwork when the club is at it's peak momentum. 

Please note that this is an advanced progression from the basic club swing and you must have mastered the Front Swing to overhead heights before attempting this variation. 

One leg squat guide

Single leg squats, or pistol squats as they are commonly known are an excellent functional bodyweight training exercise that will develop leg strength, flexibility, improve balance and increase your vertical jump. 

The pistol squat is a very impressive exercise that few can do without dedicated training. It requires huge effort from the core to keep the back straight whilst lowering into a deep squat position.

Beginning the one leg squat

When first training for the pistol squat it's important that you first master the traditional squat to learn the correct technique, and build up the base strength before training specifically for the single leg version.

It will take time to develop the required strength for the single leg exercise but it's a rewarding experience. Try the following techniques to gradually perform the full exercise unaided -

Partial repetitions - increasing the range of motion as you gain strength up to full range reps.

Assisted one-leg squats is a very effective technique using equipment such as resistance bands, suspension trainers, or gymnastics rings to carry some of your bodyweight and make the exercises easier to acheive (see suspended one leg squats for an example). 

Advanced one leg squats

To increase the difficulty of the single leg squat you can add additional resistance to the exercise with a weighted vest, weighted bar, or dumbbells.

As always with strength training exercises add additional resistance incrementally for safe and continuous progressions. 

Exercise variations on the single leg squat

Iron cross guide

The iron cross is a static strength exercise and a superb display of bodily control and strength. It's an impressive exercise to witness and one of the most recognisable gymnastics rings exercises.

The iron cross is also a very difficult exercise for the non-gymnast and takes dedicated training to acheive, but isn't beyond the means of non athletes. To add some perspective to this, on the gymnastics skills scale (A - E, A being the easiest skills) the iron cross is measured as a B skill. 

The exercise challenges almost the entire upper body at one time, requiring immense coordinated effort to maintain the hold and control the descent. 

Learning the iron cross

The iron cross is a difficult exercise for the beginner creating immense stress on the elbow and shoulder joints in an extended, straight-arm position. It may seem almost unachievable when just starting out but with dedicated and focused training to develop the required strength it's highly possible and a very rewarding exercise. 

The key to the iron cross is approaching the exercise in a patient, safe and progressive manner. 

Band assisted iron cross

When first learning the skill the band assisted iron cross is an effective way of working up to the exercise unassisted. Try using resistance bands for support to help carry some of your body weight. 

Simply attach the band to the rings using the choke technique (threading the band back through itself) and stepping a foot into each band as they hang down whilst in the support position. Simply lower your body down into a cross, hold briefly and move back to the starting position. The resistance of the bands will make the iron cross easier to hold but you must ensure that the amount of resistance applied keeps the exercise challenging yet achievable. 

To control the amount of resistance you can use a larger / smaller resistance band, multiple bands at one time, or shorten the length of the band used. 

Cross dips

Cross dips are a good starting point when training for the iron cross. The exercise will help build the required strength and allow you to practice your technique. 

Assume the support position on a set of rings, (your feet can be rested on a platform / bench for additional support). Keep your arms straight and slowly push the rings out to the side, dipping the body down to an iron cross like position and then move back to the starting position. As you get stronger you will be able to lower yourself further down.  

Safety and iron cross form

The iron cross is a straight-arm exercise that requires patience to develop so as not to place undue strain on the elbow or shoulder joint. 

If you're feeling overly painful joints this is usually due to over training, or training with too much resistance, and/or improper form. 

If developing strength for the iron cross through resistance training with weights or dumbells it's wise to invest in fractional plates to make micro-adjustments to the resistance as standard weight plates will most likely jump in too high increments. 

Double Kettlebell Row Variations

• Kettlebell Renegade Row or dumbbell renegade row
• Barbell bent over row

Double Kettlebell Military Press variations

Seated Kettlebell Military Press

As you might have guessed, the seated kettlebell military press is the same as the standing version but performed from a seated position. The benefits of which is that you are prevented from leaning back and using the pecs to help with the exercise. 

Sit comfortably on the floor with your legs spread out and perform the exercise as described above. 

Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up Guide

The Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up is an excellent functional strength exercise that will see you raise yourself from a horizontal to vertical position whilst suspending a kettlebell overhead. It will primarily work the core body and abdominals but is an exercise which epitomises working multiple muscle groups in unison as it calls into play the quads, calves and shoulders also.

One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Guide

The Kettlebell Clean is a core exercise that every kettlebell practitioner should master. The original focus of this exercise was to provide a safe method of raising the kettlebell into a position suitable for overhead lifts such as kettlebell military presses, the push-press or double jerk amongst others. However it’s an excellent exercise in its own right to build strength and endurance.

Kettlebell Safety

Please ensure strict form. The Kettlebell Clean should not cause pain or bruising to the forearm or shoulder and if you are experiencing issues you are probably not doing it correctly. Stop and study the proper form or seek guidance from a kettlebell master. 

One-Arm Kettlebell Clean Variations

• Double kettlebell clean - supporting two kettlebells and training both arms simultaneously. 

Double kettlebell squat guide

The squat is a basic human movement, a fundamental exercise with great muscle-building and strength benefits. You should be competent with the standard bodyweight squat before progressing to weighted variations such as this. Aim for around 100-200 bodyweight squats first. 

The Double Kettlebell Squat exercise builds a solid foundation to the body developing a strong core with particular emphasis on the legs.

Kettlebell squat variations

Bodyweight squat movements:

• Standard bodyweight squat
• Single-leg squats

One-Arm Kettlebell Swing Guide

The Kettlebell Swing is a great place to start when first introduced to kettlebell training. It embodies everything that is great about the kettlebell - speed, power, strength, and endurance and the body is really tested by this exercise. 

Performing the Kettlebell Swing will show you just why kettlebell training is the perfect blend of cardio and strength training as it is an incredibly taxing exercise which leaves your muscles fatigued and your body catching its breath. 

Mastering the swing is essential and will develop the fundamental skills required for kettlebell training that will lead you into more difficult lifts. 

There are few exercises that challenge as many muscles as the kettlebell swing or develop the body in so many variations that it will benefit you in any of your other physical pursuits. 

Kettlebell Swing Variations:

If you are ready to move on from this exercise try the Double Kettlebell Swing which is the same exercise but simultaneously using two kettlebells instead of one, one in each hand. 

Alternatively you could try the more complex One-Arm Kettlebell Snatch.

One-Arm Kettlebell Snatch Guide

The Kettlebell Snatch is one of the most popular kettlebell exercises because it builds explosive strength, power and endurance to be revered.

Similar in form to the Kettlebell Swing, the Kettlebell Snatch differs in the end point of the exercise, at which point the kettlebell ends up punched out overhead.

One-Arm Kettlebell Snatch Variations

If you're struggling with the One-Arm Kettlebell Snatch you can try the following alternative exercises -

Kettlebell Swing: A very similar exercise to the Kettlebell Snatch, the Kettlebell Swing is an easier exercise to complete which doesn’t involve pushing the kettlebell up overhead. See Kettlebell Swing. 

If you are ready to move on from this exercise try the Double Kettlebell Snatch, the same exercise but simultaneously training with two kettlebells, one in each hand.

Kettlebell Windmill Guide

The kettlebell Windmill exercise targets the abdominals, focusing particularly upon the obliques. It’s a very popular kettlebell exercise because it develops flexibility and strength in the core muscles, shoulders and hips.

Kettlebell Windmill Variations

When you have mastered the kettlebell windmill try progressing onto the more challenging Double Windmill.

Double Windmill

The double windmill increases the intensity of the exercise and is even more effective at developing strong obliques and stability into the shoulder muscles. It’s the same as the standard kettlebell windmill exercise except uses two kettlebells instead of one.

Simply place a first kettlebell next to your feet before clean and pressing a second kettlebell overhead. Perform the exercise as per the standard windmill except grip the first kettlebell with your free arm.

Ring Support Position Guide

The ring support position is the starting point for ring training beginners. The ability to support your body weight above the rings is a fundamental component of training with ring and participants should be competent in this skill before moving on to any of the more advanced exercises. 

If you are new to ring training you will probably be suprised at how difficult even this basic exercise is. It takes strength just to suppor yourself and maintain the rings at your sides.

Develop a solid support hold which you can hold for a minimum of 15 seconds with minimal movement in the body or rings before progressing with your ring training.

One-Arm Ring Row Guide

The one arm ring row is an advanced variation on the standard ring row. An excellent progression exercise for anyone who is comfortable with the basic version and will develop solid strength in the arms and upper back muscles.

Beginning the One Arm Ring Row

If you find have progressed from the standard ring row but are finding the leap difficult to the single arm version try setting the rings high. The higher the rings are the easier the exercise.

Advanced One-Arm Ring Row

To increase the difficulty of the One-Arm Ring Row try raising feet on a platform or bench, or adding additional weight using a weighted vest.

Ring L-Sit Guide

Simple. Effective. Difficult. The Ring L-sit exercise involves supporting yourself on gymnastic / fitness rings with the legs bent at a 90 degree angle to the torso, so that the body forms an 'L' shape. 

The L-sit is an excellent core body strength hold that will really develop the abdominals adding overall muscular density without too much muscle mass. In addition to working the abs it will develop strength and endurance in the hips and tripces too. 

Using rings for the l-sit adds in the element of instability and forces the core to work that little bit harder.

This exercise is a pure demonstration of strength.

Beginning the L-Sit

If you are a new to the L-sit you will undoubtedly find it difficult. You can work up to a full straight legged L Sit by trying the following:

• Train on your tuck sit (both legs tucked up to your chest and held). 
• Train the abs using knee raises to develop your strength, these can be done on rings, simply support your body weight and raise the knees up to the chest, hold, then return. 
• Use resistance bands for support.
• Practice. Practice the L-sit with bent knees and try to keep the thighs level which is easier. As you become stronger through this hold you can incrementally straighten your legs. 
• Some people find the hanging L sit easier to do; this is where you hand below the rings rather than your arms supporting your body weight above the rings. 
• One-leg extended L-sits, and alternate legs until you build up strength to perform the exercise with both legs simultaneously.

Advanced Ring L-Sits

If you have mastered the L-sit you don't need to stop there. You can try the following advanced variations:

• Weighted L-sits - perform the L-sit with additional weights on the legs. Try using the common ankle weights. Please take care doing this as it may place strain on the lower back. 
• L-sit scissor - Get in position, open and close the legs in a scissor like motion. 
• V-sit - A truly difficult exercise. Work on raising the straight legs past horizontal and further towards the face. 

Ring Push-up Guide

The push-up is a staple body weight exercise that almost everyone is familiar with. Adding gymnastic rings into the mix suspends your hands above ground and the independent movement of the rings makes the exercise much more difficult to control and adds that extra injection of intensity to the exercise. As a result you recruit more stabiliser muscles and maximise the benefits from the exercise.

Ring push-ups are a great way to develop the chest and shoulder muscles, and by altering the height of the rings you can control the exercise difficulty.

Gymnastics rings are not simply about adding intensity however, and ring push-ups allow you to move through a much greater range of motion than static variants which is beneficial for your mobility and flexibilty skills, your joints can also track naturally and there's great carry over into your grip strength. 

Ring Push-up Variations

There are many variations on the ring push-up that we summarise below. Remember that as well as these variations you can try altering the height of the rings and experimenting with hand and foot positions to meet your needs.

Wide grip ring push-up

The wide grip push-up is the same as the basic push-up except the hands are positioned further apart so they go out past your shoulders. This is one of the more difficult basic push-up exercises and focuses upon the outer muscles of the chest, rear deltoids and back.

Ring triceps push-up

Similar to the basic push-up except it focuses on the triceps muscles rather than chest.

Grip the rings as you would a normal push-up but as you lower your body down you keep the hands close together slightly in front of the head, rather than under the chest. Lower your body down as per the standard push-up but make sure to keep the elbows in so all the tension is focused on the tricep muscle.

Ring jack-knife push-up

The jack-knife push-up is one of our favourite variations and emphasises shoulder development with a great hit to the abdominals.

You begin in the basic pushup position and slide the rings straight forward as far as possible without bending the arms, your body stretching forwards. Maintain the hold then pull-back to the starting position.

Single Leg Pushups

Lift one leg from the floor and keep it elevated throghout the exercise. Switch legs after one set is complete.

This will further unstable the body and place emphasis on core development.

Pseudo-Planche Pushups

Like the standard pushup, but you grip the rings near your hips and turn the rings out so that you are now in a reverse grip position. The Psuedo-Planche Pushup is substantially more difficult than a regular pushup.

Beginning Ring Push-ups

Start with the basic push-up exercise and build upper-body strength. When you can comfortably perform 20+ standard push-ups it's a good time to start introducing gymnastics rings.

One benefit of training with gymnastics rings is that you can easily height-adjust the rings and control the difficulty of the exercise. The higher the rings are set, the easier ring push-ups become. Lower the rings as you build your strength. 

As with static floor push-ups beginning on the knees is easier that using feet which is a good approach to use if you're struggling with the transition to using rings. 

Advanced Ring Push-ups

When you've fully developed your ring-based push-ups and it's time to mix things up again you can try the following approaches:

Continue to lower the rings to increase the difficulty of the exercise until they are as low as they can go without touching the ground.

When you reach this point many of the standard push-up tips can be used such as perfoming on one leg, adding additional resistance using a weighted vest or elevating the feet to transfer more bodyweight onto the hands and increase intensity.

Try composing a push-up routine with a target number of repetitions and sets and add a few push-up variations into the mix. Your chest will thank you for it.

Related Ring Push-up Exercises

Also see:

• Bodyweight push-up: Static, equipment-free, floor-based push-up. 
• T push-up: Bodyweight push-up variation.
• Handstand push-up: For maximum intesity and impressive bodily control.

Ring Rows Guide

The ring row, or body row as it is also known, is a relatively easy ring training exercise that targets the arms and upper back muscles. It looks like an upside down push-up and is a handy starter exercise for anyone who is not yet strong enough to do pull-ups as it uses a similar muscle set but is much easier to do.

Ring Rows for Beginners

If you find this exercise difficult try keeping the rings high, as the closer they are to the ground, the more difficult the exercise becomes. As strength increases, simply lower the rings so that your body is closer to horizontal.

Advanced Ring Rows

You can increase the difficulty of Ring Rows by raising your feet on a platform or bench.

Once you have mastered the ring row try progressing into one arm ring rows or the ring pull-up.

Ring Pull-ups Guide

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 resistance bands to help achieve the same movement. 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' for varying levels of support.

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 variations

• 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.

Muscle-Up Guide

The ring muscle-up is an incredible upper-body exercise and demonstration of both strength and technique. The ability to start below the rings and finish above them in one movement is an acquired skill that on average, few can perform.

The muscle-up is a notoriously difficult exercise to master and a firm favourite in the CrossFit gym, essentially combining a pull-up and dip into one flowing movement. It requires the coordinated effort of almost all upper body muscles with focus upon the pecs, shoulders and triceps and will take dedicated training to achieve.

That being said it's a great challenge to set yourself, shows a tremendous level of strength-to-bodyweight and is a highly impressive functional movement.

Training for the muscle-up

Much of the muscle-up is about technique rather than pure strength and here are some pointers to help you on your way. Muscle-ups are essentially composed of:

1. Pull-up
2. Transition
3. Dip

You should start by mastering the ring pull-up and dip exercises individually and then work on combining the two into a muscle-up.

The transition is the most difficult part of the exercise and is the part where you move from the top of the pull-up, below the rings to above them so you can press the body up to the support position.

As you pull-up the rings will reach your armpits. Keep the rings tight to the body and continue the upward motion whilst rolling your shoulders forward and over the hands. Your elbows will curve round and back behind the body. To do this, you should learn what is known as a false grip (shown below).

The false grip

The false grip is a different way of positioning your hands on the rings which allow you to more easily move between the stages of the muscle-up.

The hands should be moved upwards, so that they sit on the rings at the bottom of the palms and wrists, rather than the hands and fingers. This will take some practice if you are new to the false grip. You can begin by using this technique on pull-ups or body rows first to build up the wrist strength. With the wrists above the rings you should have the leverage for the transition.

You don't have to use the false grip for the muscle-up, but for beginners this approach makes it much easier and without it you'll need to swing or kick your way above the rings (kipping). If you are using the kipping technique for the muscle-up it's recommended that you try to phase this out as you become stronger over time to perform a strict muscle-up. 

Muscle-up Tips

If you are struggling with the muscle-up you can try some of the following tips:

• Muscle-up jumps - Lower the height of the rings, use the ground as a starting position and jump into the exercise. As you get stronger raise the rings higher and higher until you no longer need to exploit the momentum of the jump.
• Leg assisted muscle-up - Supporting one or two (easier) feet on a box or bench can be quite effective and reduces the amount of body weight being used during the exercise.
• Band assisted muscle-up - similar to the leg assists, resistance bands are a great way of supporting some of your bodyweight to make the exercise more achievable. Use lighter bands, or lengthen the bands as you become stronger. 
• Practice weighted pull-ups and dips to develop phenomenal strength that will really help when training for the muscle-up.
• Use the legs to get up-and-over the rings (kipping technique) by kicking or swinging out to gain extra momentum. Try to phase this out over time as you gain in strength. 

Ring Dips Information

The standard, static dip exercise is a solid favourite bodyweight movement - a compound exercise that's great for working the triceps, chest and shoulder muscles simultaneously.

Performing dips on gymnastic rings adds instability to the exercise due to the free movement of the rings and increases muscular recruitment to help support the body. This not only makes ring dips more difficult and rewarding than standard dips, but also safer, as the joints are free to track naturally as the rings rotate. 

Dips Video 

The video below, whilst not on gymnastic rings demonstrates the static dip exercise, incorporating the use of resistance bands and a weighted vest to make the exercise easier or more difficult. 

Please note that performing dips on gymnastics rings is more difficult than on a dipping station as featured in the video. 

Ring Dips for Beginners

Many people find the ring dip difficult, if not unachievable when just starting out. We recommend that you first master the support position, which is essentially the starting position of a ring dip.

The support position involves holding your body weight whilst stationary above the rings, arms straight. When you can hold this for over twenty seconds try introducing partial dips and gradually increase the range of motion as you get stronger until you can do full dips.

Assisted ring dip techniques

Assistance exercise involve the use of additional equipment to carry some of your body weight and make the exercise more challenging, yet achievable.  

You can do this with leg assisted ring dips and position a bench below the rings to support one or two legs during the exercise, or with resistance bands (see video above) to build up the strength to performing the dips unaided. 

Advanced Ring Dips

When comfortably performing ring dips you can try the following advanced techniques -

Weighted ring dips

Adding additional weight to your ring dips is a very effective way of increasing the exercise intensity and maximise development. Please note that weighted ring dips should only be attempted when fully competent with standard dips, and you should start small and incrementally add weight. 

Try the following ways of adding weight to your ring dips:

• A weighted vest is a simple and versatile way of adding weight to ring dips. The great thing about weighted vests is that they're comfortable and evenly distribute the weight over your body. 
• A dipping belt can be used to attach weight plates to your waist and control the amount of added resistance. In the Fitstream gym we also use an old climbing harness to attach Olympic plates or kettlebells.
• Try holding a dumbell or medicine ball between your feet or legs for added weight, but this is only usually possible for lighter weights as it can become uncomfortable and unwieldy. 

Ring Dips Variations

• Standard static dips - less intense than gym ring dips, but a great basic bodyweight exercise. 
• Weighted ring dips - for advanced dippers and adding additional resistance to the exercise. 
• Muscle-up - an impressive and advanced bodyweight exercise that's half pull-up, half dip.
• Wide ring dip - this variation of the ring dip greatly increases the difficutly of the exercise and is an effective technique when training for the Iron Cross. This exercise is the same as the standard version except the arms are moved out from the body to the sides. Perform the exercise in a slow and controlled manner.