Written By: Rob Gannon, Co-Founder of Happy Fat Rings
Gymnastics rings are the single most versatile piece of training equipment you can own outside of your own body. These simple to install, adjustable, scale-able tools permit you to train your body completely. From single joint isolation movements to complex strength feats involving the entire body, rings have you covered.
Understandably many trainers, coaches or practitioners can and will offer a diverse set of opinions regarding which pieces of equipment are the most useful and fundamental to your home operation. However, in my opinion, rings are far and away the best choice when considering versatility, scale-ability, and ease of use. Rings are lightweight, easy to pack and carry. They permit the user to make a permanent installation in their home or gym. You can even bag them up and bring them with you where ever you travel. Wooden rings make it even easier to travel because of the inherent properties of gripping the wood; no magnesium required!
At home, you can hang your rings from a crossbeam, pull-up bar or install a simple X-mount system. When traveling, training is a no brainer, any park with some sturdy tree limbs is the perfect place to get in a workout or a hotel room can be used by hooking your straps to a small attachment for your door.
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The next point in favor of rings is their price. No matter the pair of rings that you choose, even the most expensive pair still costs less than your standard pair of sneakers. Ranging from 30-100$ in most cases, rings have provided you with a complete gym in one easy to carry package. It can be argued that dumbbells or kettlebells are just as versatile and perhaps cheaper in some instances but how many people are going to travel with 30+ lb. implements on a regular basis or bring them out of their home or gym? A barbell has the same limitations. Undoubtedly having a squat rack and a barbell are incredibly useful, especially if strength training is a primary concern, but a quality set of equipment is far more expensive and unwieldy.
The last and best argument in favor of rings is their versatility. Rings are amazing implements for building pushing and pulling power, stability, balance and proprioception. The easily adjustable straps make scaling and changing exercises quick and simple. From bodyweight rows to world class elite level skills like a Maltese Cross, rings adapt to your ability and strength. Rings also provide an innate bio-feedback mechanism. Every skill that’s acquired in training helps to inform the next level of difficulty.
Moving from ring pushups to ring dips is a perfect example of this feedback. If after successfully learning pushups against the rings you move to ring dips and can’t maintain a stable position then immediately you understand that you need to work more on creating the proper muscular activation to successfully be able to move into this next skill.
Many critics may assert that with rings you can’t work your legs. This isn’t necessarily true. Rings provide amazing support for practicing and learning advanced calisthenics such as pistol squats, split squats and lunging skills. Also combing ring routines with calisthenics movements such as squats, jumps, deck-squats…etc. provide full body strengthening workouts of incredibly high quality. Also, the rings help to promote mobility and elasticity with specific routines and drills as well as second hand through proper skill training and development.
Obviously as the author of this article and co-founder of Happy Fat Rings my opinion is bailed toward the use and purchase of rings. However, it’s my passion for this tool that makes it clear to me the wonders of it as an exercise device. If you haven’t invested in a pair of rings yet, please do so ASAP and share your successes with us and the excellent team @garagegymexperiment. You can get your first pair of the worlds only 36mm fat-grip rings and learn more about rings and ring training on our Happy Fat Rings website.
About Rob
Rob Gannon is the co-founder of Happy Fat Rings, co-founder of Crossfit Gala Barcelona, España and is a special strength coach certified with Westside Barbell. He has been working as a coach and teacher for over 10 years. You can learn more about rings from @happyfatrings on social media or strength training through his page, @ssibarcelona.