Fitness is a combination of different skills and abilities, and being able to control your own bodyweight is one of the skills you need to master. And the Ring Dip is a great way to help you attain that power. This amazing exercise will help you build more muscle mass, strength and it seriously hits your chest, triceps, and anterior shoulders.
One of the greatest benefits of the ring dip is that it forces you into greater muscle contraction and it recruits more stabilizing muscles that are not activated by performing a dip station. During the dip ring, you sway back and forth, which is what forces the contraction. This movement is what helps you increase strength, symmetry and muscular development for your triceps, chest, shoulders and abs.
Ring Dips Benefits
Enhanced Muscle Coordination
Performing ring dips will increase your balance, mobility and shoulder flexibility. Because you sway back and forth to stabilize this movement, you recruit and activate a higher degree of muscles. This type of controlled movement promotes muscular symmetry, enhanced force production and joint balance.
Increased Upper Body Strength
This exercise requires a lot of upper body strength and stability, so practicing it will force your upper body to adapt to it. The ring dip is great for increased muscular hypertrophy and strengthening your chest and triceps. Additionally, the focused contractions needed in order to balance the movement stimulate new muscle fibers to develop.
Train Like a Gymnast
If you've ever watched the gymnasts who participate at the Olympics, you know they train seriously in order to attain that level of strength and coordination. The ring dip is the kind of exercise that requires systematic progressions. You need to attain balance, stability and strength through a full range of motion in order to truly master it.
The Three Rings
To successfully perform a ring dip, you need to be able to do it with a full range of motion. Make sure you keep your core tight throughout the exercises. This will help you maintain your upright position, which will help you avoid form deviations and prevent injuries. The primary muscles you'll train during the dip are chest, shoulders, triceps and abs. Focus on fundamental pulls and pushed in order to help you control the rings and your body.
Ring Dips
This is a popular bodyweight movement you might have seen at your gym. It helps develop your triceps and shoulder flexibility. As you master this exercises, you can increase the difficulty level by wearing a weighted vest or a chain around your waist.
- Stand between two rings and grasp the handles on each side of your torso. Hold this position firmly and lift your feet off the floor.
- Push your body up until your arms are straight and fully extended and hold at the top.
- Lower your body until you can feel a slight stretch in your shoulders.
- Repeat!
Ring Push-Ups
This exercise is a variation of the traditional bodyweight push-up, by introducing the gymnastics rings, in order to add an element of instability to your exercises. As with the ring dip, you can wear a weighted vest if you want to increase the difficulty of the exercise.
- Adjust the height of the rings to your level, or lower the weights to increase the difficulty level.
- Grasp the handles, keep your body straight and fully extend your legs behind you.
- With a slow and controlled movement lower yourself towards the floor and hold at the bottom.
- Push yourself back up to starting position making sure that you keep your muscles tense throughout the movement.
- Repeat!
Ring Rows
This is a great beginner movement, because you can start easy and increase the difficulty over time by lowering the rings, making it a more advanced movement. This progression exercise will help you build up the strength you need for unassisted pull-ups.
- Adjust the rings to your desired height. The lower the rings are, the more difficult the exercise becomes.
- Grasp the handles and lean back until your arms are fully extended.
- Keep your body straight as you pull your chest up as high as you can towards the rings and hold at the top.
- Slowly lower your body back to starting position.
- Repeat!
If you create a routine with these 3 exercises, try sticking to it for at least 4 to 6 weeks. This will give your body time to get acclimated to this new style of training. Additionally, you'll see how practicing your ring dips will assist your lifts by enhancing your mobility and strengthening your upper body.
Incorporating the gymnastics rings into your training is a great move if you want to develop your upper body muscles and increase your strength and power level. But remember that in order to truly master the rings, you need patience and dedication. If you are already strong and train hard, the rings will challenge your body in a different way, so if you can barely perform a ring dip, don't get discouraged. If you keep practicing, you'll be able to perform the ring dip with a full range of motion in no time!