Friday, January 27, 2023

Support Hold on Gymnastic Rings

Supporting yourself on gymnastic rings is difficult due to the instability of the rings

Transitioning from parallel bars to gymnastic rings is a large step in bodyweight calisthenics. Actually, it is a much bigger leap than many people realize until they try it. This is because of the instability that rings offer. In bodyweight training, instability is a good thing as it calls on many of the smaller stabilizing muscles to become active to help make up for the loss of stability that occurs when transitioning from the solid structure of metal parallel bars cemented into the ground.

For me, this is a far more functional way of training. Consider activities that would require us to support our weight and something like climbing a tree might come to mind. These branches would move and sway and we would need to adapt to this movement so that we would not fall. Something like gymnastic rings is a safe way to include instability into your training but, while it is safer than hanging out in a tree, there is still some risk involved due to the increase in demands.

When transitioning to rings, the starting place is to be able to support yourself in the top of a dip position. When transitioning from parallel bars, many people are surprised, and frequently very humbled, by how much more difficult this is. You might be very use to cranking out a set of dips on parallel bars, but find yourself shaking uncontrollably and find that you can barely hold yourself up on the gymnastic rings.

Fortunately, this phase ends with a little practice and you can support yourself without quite as much shaking. The challenge then is to hold yourself in this support position for some time. I recommend starting with 15-30 seconds with good form. Work towards locking your elbows and turning the rings out.  It is a good idea to get strong in this position before working on other calisthenics skills on the rings.

Gymnastic rings with straps anchored to a high ceiling

Once you are strong in this top position, you can play with having control in all positions of the dips. And, you can start to increase the instability by introducing a swing which more demands on your body to return to stability. Just make sure that you have taken the time to build strength in the support hold before increasing instability by adding more movement. Rushing the process increases the potential for injury. Having said that, you will need to be able to support your weight on parallel bars before moving on to rings for the same reason.

Something else to consider is that the degree of difficulty is increase as the length of the straps is increased. For instance, I take my rings out to a calisthenic park and strap them onto a bar that is about 9 feet from the ground. Other times I have access to rings at a local recreation center with a gymnasium (image on left) and these rings are anchored to a very high ceiling. It is far more difficult to do any skill on the rings at the rec center as the instability is increase significantly. 

Here is a short I filmed where I am playing around with the ring instability.


A great bodyweight exercise for chest

The gymnastic rings support hold is a fantastic bodyweight exercise for the chest. Locking the elbows and turning the rings out calls heavily on the pectoralis major. This muscle group has a number of functions and adduction is a major one that is challenged with this position. This is especially the case with rings since they have the capacity to move and you need to really use the pectoralis major to prevent the rings from moving away from the body (into abduction).



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Monday, January 2, 2023

Monkey Bar Swings to Train Torso Rotation

Swinging from Monkey Bars Links the Muscles Involved with Side Bending and Rotation

Gallbladder Sinew Channel Pelvis and Shoulder

The myofascial planes along the left and right sides of the body help support and stabilize the lateral aspect of the pelvis and torso, but these planes also are involved with rotation. In Chinese medicine, this myofascial plane is the Gallbladder sinew channel. It involves muscles such as the abdominal obliques, the gluteus medius and minimus, and the latissimus dorsi; all muscles active in swinging from monkey bars. 

Monkey Bar Swings
To be specific, there are many ways you can move from bar to bar and I want to describe a particular training method that emphasizes this channel by emphasizing the shortening and lengthening along the side along with rotation, It involves switching from arm to arm with each swing. This requires all of the weight to be supported by one arm with each swing while fully hanging from that side. For most instances of monkey bars I see at calisthenics parks I recommend skipping a bar with each swing to highlight this lengthening. 

You can see this on the image to the left. As I am directly below the bar, the myofascia (muscles and fascia) along the right side of my torso is lengthening and supporting. This builds energy in the channel as the tissue builds elastic length. First off, this can be somewhat stressful for this tissue if you have not prepared the body with proper warm ups, joint preparation and if you do not have a baseline of pulling strength. Be careful and take you time building strength and resilience! 

Once these conditions are met, you want the energy that is built from the lengthened myofascia to recoil and propel you through the rest of the move. This is a theme we see though much of the Gallbladder sinew channel and it is also active in the similar movement of walking and running as the IT Band stretches and recoils, propelling the body into the next phase of gait and conserving energy in the process.

The other thing to notice is that as I am reaching my left arm out, I am bringing my right hip and thigh forward. This opposite arm and thigh means that I am rotating the torso or ribcage on the pelvis. The right internal obliques and the left external obliques are shortening to drive this motion. As I continue through with the swing, the entire right side (both obliques and lats) will shorten. All of this drives me forward to the next bar.

Swinging Progressions

Monkey Bar Swings Resistance Bands
There are many progression to build strength and elasticity of the myofascial plane of the Gallbladder sinew channel which will prevent injury. I recommend starting with resistance bands. This progression requires working with one side at a time and then you will switch and perform the same progression on the next side. You attach the band to the bar you are skipping and loop the band secure into the groin. This might be obvious, but you want to be careful that the band is secure between the genitals and the adductor tendons since you definitely would not want to support your weight into a band that is pressing into the genitals. Once the bands is in place, however, it will not cause any problems.

You will them bring the thigh back into extension on the same side as the arm that is holding the bar. As you swing and reach, the band will be fully lengthened when you are directly under it and it will therefore be supports some of your body weight. You need to pick a band thickness that is appropriate for your level. 

The band then assists you as you contract the muscles of the Gallbladder sinew channel which shorten the side and counter-rotate the ribcage and pelvis. The band matches the elasticity of the Gallbladder sinew channel. It is maximally stretched as you are directly under your hand and then it recoils and propels you through the move.



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