GymnasticBodies.com - Basic Ring Strength 1

[dnj86]

I have been training on the rings for the past 9 months or so. I have low bodyfat and can do around 18 pull ups and over 60 push ups in good form at a time. I still can't for the life of me even come close in copying this kid's routine. It's a lot harder than it looks.

[TheStronggeek]

Hi coach

I do rings on a self learnt basis several times a week. I fel strong enugh to do cross, muscle up and planche, but my elbows hurt like a mad when i do them.

Can you pleas tell me how long i should do basic strength before attempting these again?

[GymnasticBodies]

Bent arm strength and straight arm strength are completely different animals. There are very specific progressions which must be followed in order to develop straight arm ring strength elements without damage to the elbows.  Additional information regarding these necessary progressions are available on the Gymnastic Bodies forum.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Plumfire2]

thanks kid now i feel like a wuss

[PeopleOfTheSun100]

I'm still having a really tough time with the muscle up. I can dip and pullup with an extra 50 pounds for a fair amount of reps and can do the levers with one leg tucked but i tried really hard with the muscle up transition for a fortnight and ended up with horrendous tendonitis, kept me out of training for months. I really don't know how to approach the muscle up this time, I'm scared of injuring myself like that again. Anyone got any advice?

[Bob8199]

Damn, that little kid is way stronger than me and I'm a full grown adult!

[serumclx]

coach sommer is it necessary to get the static movement first before moving on to the rings ? or can you do it with bent legs? I can only do it Back Lever - half on a chin up bar. I feel comfortable with the rest on the movements thanks

[GymnasticBodies]

There are specific progressions which should be followed in order to maximize the results from ring strength training. The GB Forum has an entire section devoted solely to ring strength training.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Workhard1994]

@GymnasticBodies Can you please link this GB forum :)

[mwich40]

@Workhard1994 it is linked in the description

[chinh101]

how do i take away the shaking while on the ring? thanks

[GymnasticBodies]

The shaking will go away as your strength improves.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[comicbookhero1]

Superman music has never been so appropriate, that is one strong kid. He earned it haha wish I could muscle up like that, I'm sticking in the middle at the moment, reading up on all your thoughts though. Once my elbow tendonitis is gone I'm getting straight back on the rings!

[DrHarout]

Great...awesome !

[richfonseca]

holy S%$T! that kid is bad ass!

[freeebeard]

jesus ! good lad, i have just started to use these and i thought the muscle ups were hard this guy...pff hahaha

[Dark515Rogue]

Dear Coach Sommer,

I'm a great fan of your athlethes and I use your training method at home.

Now I feel the need of buying those Xtreme rings that you sell...

The only problem is that I don't really know where to place them!!

I can't attach them on my pull-up bar because it would probably fall (it's fixed by pressure, and I'm friggin scared of falling while doing a back lever, for example).

Any suggestion?

[GymnasticBodies]

The Xtreme Rings may be utilized from any solid overhead support. If you have concerns about the stability of your pull-up bar, than I recommend finding a more suitable support (e.g. treebranch, football goal, swing set, smith machine).

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[mwich40]

@Dark515Rogue screw a few eye bolts directly into your ceiling rafters, when you're done using rings there you can easily patch the holes with some mud and a minute of work

[Dark515Rogue]

@mwich40 thanks but here in Rome there are only a lot of flats, with no ceiling rafters :P

[gdubbs098]

:0 wtf man he's just...i mean...uhh......thats unfair

[LadyGaGaMarchof86]

Are you kidding me?! That kid is strooooong! creds! :)

[firstnamenavarre]

I've been doing a ring routine out of the gymnastic bodies book for the past few months, and tend to get this strange pain in the radius bone of my forearms that's focused mid-length and that I never had with a weight-lifting routine. It's tender, is inflamed after a ring workout, and is especially painful after doing straight-arm work like back levers. Has anyone encountered this? I suspect that my forearms are being over-trained, and bone integrity is lagging behind other strength. Thanks!

[GymnasticBodies]

@firstnamenavarre

You are attempting to perform ring strength elements which are beyond your current strength level. First you must rest the injured area and, once healed, begin with easier progressions.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[slizzardman]

@firstnamenavarre It's not bone integrity, you are placing too much stress on the tissue that binds the radius to the ulna. As Coach has said, this is almost certainly brought on by doing too much too soon. Even big guys like me can do this stuff if we take enough time to develop the connective tissue as well!

[slizzardman]

@firstnamenavarre TO test and see for sure if what I have suggested is actually the problem, you can do this: Apply some pressure to your wrists in such a way that the bones are held rightly together. You're basically going to be taking pressure off of the connective tissue by squeezing the bones. If this helps even a little bit, what I have suggested is the problem. Either way, starting slow and running workouts in a steady state cycle helps to eliminate injuries like this.

[firstnamenavarre]

@slizzardman Hi. I think you were right. I tested it, and I could feel the pain coming and going as I put tension on bringing together the radius and ulna. My injury has since healed and I'm sticking to reasonable steady state progressions. Thanks!

[kratoslevit]

Coach Sommer, i tried a back lever not that long ago and to my amazement i managed a straddle back lever, after that i trained them and finally achieved a back lever about 3 weeks later. However, ever since then my sternum seems to hurt when i do dips, wide pushups, close grip push ups and back levers....is this common?

thank you

[oldguy2]

For a 7-year old or for any kid that's super!

[oldguy2]

That kid is a superman. Who is he? How old is he? How did he learn to do all that? Truly amazing! I'd like to put him in my record book called Strength & Speed.

Dale Harder

[mytemoful]

working out several times a week, often for hours, will make you manage this.

[avoutour1]

that kid is strait beast mode

[leon0071]

Holy mutha fucking christ!!!! What the fuck? That was insane. Man these people are fucked!!

[jellybean2626]

lol i luv the music haha

[stroeiulian04]

Nice !

[180Patrick360]

Great video! The mix of Superman music and Alex's abilities is perfect!

[dmcmanam]

Yet another kid making the adults jealous. I just ordered my first set of rings, this is just the sequence I was looking for...I wonder how long it will take?

[123billionaire]

If I could only do a muscle up that easy! lol

[firstnamenavarre]

is it normal for the elbow to hyper-extend in the back lever? seems potentially dangerous.

[GymnasticBodies]

A common mistake is for people to jump into gymnastics strength training elements without first properly conditioning the joints. Appropriate guidelines for achieving this preparation is available on my forum.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[GymnasticBodies]

Daniel,

Your Gymnastics Bodies forum account is now activated.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[GymnasticBodies]

What a small world. I am currently at a US Jr National Team training camp where we are hosting both the German and Canadian Jr National Teams.

Good luck with your new group of athletes!

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[guidera1]

no way...bartenderz, barbarians...you got compotition

[xpand86]

this kid already has amazing abs, crazy!

[FenderB3nder35]

i love this kid hahaha..

[DawgFL]

holy crap that kid is strong

[madmike4898]

Olympic gold medalist in 2016 olympics !!!!

[equinox2244]

Good choice of music! Could you upload some of training for planches? appreicate it.

[felthrian]

Well hes stronger than me for sure :O

[RioXavier]

Is that Allan Bower when he was like 4 or something?

[GymnasticBodies]

No, that is his younger brother Alex. Alex is currently a member of the US Future Stars Developmental National Team in the 8-9 year old division.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[aussyt]

damn kid!

[matty394]

that kid is insane, he looks about 6!

[B3n386]

omg this is amazing ... especially the front lever ... i cant do this one ... and i got pretty short legs too :P

[Kokaka]

Simply amazing...

[ziga112]

he can do front and back lever because he have shorther legs...but still amizing

[shawtylikemystyle]

wow

[Ninearm]

looool, there goes the next Olympic champion. Those dudes usually train when they are about 7 years old, and develop nokey wrists

[ApolytonGP]

stunning

[angrygunsmith]

thanks for making us feel like shit kid....

[clearviewhigh]

@angrygunsmith seriously. im 18 and the shit im tryn to do in the next 2 years a 5 or 6 year old is doing it without a problem.

[jetle117]

Damn son, wonder what happen if a bully try to mess with him in school.lol!

[rustynail77]

he'd planche his ass

[ManOfMeans]

Cookies and milk are the "trophies" lol

wtg

[Heartlessiceboy]

OMG this kid is amazing,...he is going to be a olympic champion in the future

[sltleovyed820]

I can't believe kids that young can get that strong. Incredible!

[natcomber13]

thats basic? Now I feel inadequate...

[chalbahe]

hahaha. I feel the same.

[GymVidSrc]

This kid is a puppy beast!!!

[Eva666666666]

Kid you're great!!!!!!!!!

[kalashnikovd]

holy sh*t! This kid is my hero!!!

[kramotakra]

the music and vid combination just makes me want to cry in a dark corner and blow my existence away

[edthefaxer]

coach what is this kid's technical ability?

and also one of the first pictures/bulletins on your website was a kid doing a planche is this the same kid?

[GymnasticBodies]

Yes, it is the same athlete. He is very good technically. He just finished his first Regional Championships (competitors were all of the top athletes from CA, AZ, HI and NV) where he was 3rd on pommel horse and 5th in the All Around.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[edthefaxer]

Coach I find it interesting to note the comparison between this kids levers and the kid/guy from your basic ring strength 2 video. Also congratulations to the kid and yourself for his performance in the comp

[GymVidSrc]

i have seen this clip around 50 times and all i can say is that the kid is a beast!!! great work and congratulations for his nomination to the jr. national team. hope to meet you both sometime at a PAGU event.

[JeffTheJock]

With raw talent like that kid, it'd be a cry shame if he DIDN'T go on to great things..

[flairkid50]

what!! that is the strongest kid i've ever seen! how old is he? like 6?

[GymnasticBodies]

He is seven years old.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[pirolak47]

BOOK release the BOOK plz

[teksteel]

that kid is beast

[ts00nami]

are all of those rings attached to the support rafter?

[GymnasticBodies]

Yes, with all of the students that I have, we have a series of 5 sets of rings all side by side.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[edthefaxer]

coach you and your students never cease to amaze, absolutely incredible