Learn about the benefits of the fundamental pull-up exercise on gymnastic rings and develop a phenomenally strong and defined back.
| Primary Muscle | Back |
|---|---|
| Secondary Muscle(s) | Biceps |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Also known as | Ring pull-up, Ring chin-up |
| Equipment | Rings |
| Optional | Weighted Vest, Ankle Weights |
Notes:
The standard, fixed bar 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 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 and people who have previously injured their shoulders and find it difficult to do standard pull-ups often 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 an 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 distance of the rings from one another will determine the exercise difficulty and which muscles are targeted. 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.
The ring pull-up is not an easy exercise and many people can't do one full repetition but don't worry, there is an easy path to slowly build your strength up for the movement, and we've outlined common techniques to get you started:
One technique is assisted pull-ups - 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.
Similar to the assisted pull-up technique above, using heavy-duty resistance bands is another method of lowering the difficulty of the exercise by supporting some of your body weight. These bands are commonly available to buy now and come in various thicknesses to give you varying levels of support as your strength levels increase. They're also great for stretching and mobility work once you're done with them.
To use resistance bands with your rings simply thread the bands through the rings and back through themselves (as pictured) so the loops hang at knee level. Grip the rings and as you hang from them simply put your feet into the hanging elastic loop 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.
Another effective option to build up pull-up strength is to specifically train the negative (the part where you're lowering the body down) portion of the exercise. To do this, stand on a bench (or jump into the exercise, using your momentum to bypass the pull-up part) to get to the top of the movement and simply lower yourself down as slowly as possible to help build the muscles required for the full pull-up.
You can also try practicing the Ring Body Row as a stepping stone exercise to develop strength for a full pull-up. The Ring Row is an exercise that uses similar muscles to the pull-up but is much easier to do as your bodyweight is partially supported with feet on the floor.
Advanced Ring Pull-upsWhen you're performing 15+ pull-ups (congratulations - this is no mean feat!) it's time to start considering advanced techniques to overcome plateaus:
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 increase slowly as you get stronger.
To add weight to your ring pull-ups you can use the following techniques:
A natural progression from the ring pull-up is the muscle-up or ring 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, as you pull-up and through the top of the movement.
See the full muscle up guide in the Fitstream exercise directory for a detailed guide.
Always consult your GP before undertaking any form of weight loss, fitness or exercise.
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