How to Do Ring Muscle Ups: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Ring muscle ups are one of the most challenging yet rewarding exercises in functional fitness. They require a unique combination of strength, technique, and coordination. Many people struggle with executing this advanced move, but with the right guidance, anyone can work towards their first ring muscle up. In this article, we will break down the essentials of ring muscle ups and provide a step-by-step guide to help you achieve your first one.

Breaking Down the Ring Muscle Up

The ring muscle up consists of three components: the kip, transition, and press. The kip involves a rhythmic swinging motion to generate momentum, the transition is the critical moment where you must pull your hips towards the rings and push them away at the correct time, and the press requires explosive strength to push up and over the rings.

In the following steps, we’ll break down each component of the muscle-up and look at how to execute them effectively before linking them together.

The Kip

The kip is the first component of the ring muscle up and serves as the foundation for the entire movement. This is when you generate momentum to carry yourself up and over the ring. Here’s how to do it:

1. From a hanging position on the rings, bring your body into an inverted C shape by swinging your feet forward and up towards the rings.
2. Press down with your arms and explosively swing your body back, so that your legs move behind your body.
3. As you swing back forward, try to build momentum by using your leg’s momentum to drive your hips forward. This motion should resemble a large and forceful hip thrust.

The Transition

After you generate momentum with the kip, you’ll move into the transition. If not performed correctly, this is where many people fail the muscle-up. It requires pulling your body up and over the rings with a quick and powerful motion. Here’s how to execute this component:

1. As you finish the kipping motion, pull your chin towards the rings.
2. Using your lats and biceps, pull your body up towards the rings, using the momentum from the kip to help elevate your body upwards.
3. Push the rings down and away from you with your arms and wrists. This move should be done quickly and requires explosive strength.

The Press

The final component of the muscle up is the press. After you’ve completed the transition, you need to press your body up and over the rings, positioning yourself in a dip-like position. It requires explosive strength to execute correctly. Here’s how to do it:

1. From the transition, keep your core tight and push the rings down and away form you, keeping your elbows straight.
2. Maintain the momentum from the kip by forcefully pushing down with your arms and wrists while using your hips to drive your body upwards.
3. Exhale forcefully and pull the rings towards your chest, allowing for additional upward movement of your body

Linking it all Together

After practicing the kip, transition, and press, you can start working on linking these movements together. Here’s how to do it:

1. Begin with the standard kip and pull yourself into the transition position.
2. After you have achieved the transition, press or drive your body over the rings and into the dip position.
3. From the dip position, forcefully press yourself upward to raise your body into the locked-out position at the top of the rings.

Common Mistakes and Corrective Measures

It’s common for beginners to make errors when first attempting the muscle-up. Here are some common errors and how to correct them:

Shoulder Mobility

Many people struggle with shoulder mobility, which is necessary to execute the ring muscle up effectively. Here are some ways to improve shoulder mobility:

1. Warmup your shoulders, chest, and upper back before starting muscle-up training sessions.
2. Incorporate exercises like shoulder dislocations, banded pull-aparts, and front and overhead shoulder stretching to increase shoulder mobility.

Grip Strength

You need strong grip strength to execute proper muscle ups. Here are some ways to build grip strength:

1. Incorporate grip-based exercises into your training like farmer’s walks, pinch grip curls, and hanging from a pull-up bar with one arm at a time.
2. Use grip training tools like Grippers and Fat Gripz to build strength even further.
3. Don’t forget to incorporate variety into your grip as well, by not solely working one grip type.

Incomplete Transitions

Many people fail the muscle-up when attempting to transition from the upward phase, so here are some tips to correct this:

1. Work on strict pull-ups, keeping the bar close to your body throughout the pull-up.
2. Using your lats and biceps, pull yourself towards the rings and do not break position.
3. Do exercises like ring rows and banded transitions to improve the muscle-up transition and to become more comfortable with the rings

Training Plan for Your First Ring Muscle Up

Your training plan should include exercises that build strength and technique. Here is a comprehensive training plan to help you build the necessary attributes to execute muscle ups:

Pull-up Variations

1. Chin above bar Hold, 10 seconds, repeat 4x

2. L-Sit Pull-ups, 3 sets of 5 reps per set

3. Banded Pull-ups, 3 sets of 8-10 reps per set

Dips Variations

1. Ring Support, 30 seconds, repeat 4x

2. Ring Dip negatives of 5-10 seconds, 3 sets of 6 reps per set

3. Weighted dips, 3 sets of 8 reps

Transitions and Presses

1. Banded Ring Transitions, 4 sets of 2 reps

2. Strict ring dips, 4 sets of 3 reps

3. Box Jump to Support, 4 sets of 3 reps

Tips for Improving Ring Muscle Up Technique and Form

Here are some tips to improve your muscle-up technique and form:

1. Focus on timing by slowing down each component to perfect technique before speeding up the tempo.
2. Maintain a tight body position throughout the movement.
3. Breathe out forcefully as you complete the press component, and breathe in deeply between reps.

Types of Grips

There are two main types of grips you can use for ring muscle ups: false grips and standard grip. Here are the pros and cons of both:

False grip

Pros:

1. A false grip makes it easier to rotate your wrists while transitioning into the position.
2. Your hand will come in front of the ring, which shortens the distance you need to travel to get your body over the rings.

Cons:

1. A false grip can be difficult to get and maintain, and your wrist is placed in an awkward position.
2. It requires a lot of hand and wrist strength.

Standard Grip

Pros:

1. A standard grip is more natural and easier to get and maintain than a false grip.
2. This grip keeps your wrist in a more comfortable position than a false grip.

Cons:

1. Standard grips require more rotation to get over the top of the rings, so you need more explosive strength.
2. You will need to move your wrist during the transition to get into the correct position.

Accessory Exercises for Ring Muscle Ups

Various exercises can be done to build strength and mobility needed for ring muscle ups. Here are a few accessory exercises:

Theraband Pull-Aparts

Holding the resistance band with both hands, face your palms down and pull the band out to the sides, keeping your arms straight. This exercise helps strengthen your shoulder blades and upper back muscles, which is needed to stabilize your shoulders during the muscle-up.

Ring Rows

Lay below the rings, hold them, and pull yourself upwards. This exercise helps in building strength in your lats, biceps, and shoulders.

Variations and Progressions

As your strength and technique improve, there are variations and progressions for ring muscle ups that you can pursue to keep challenging yourself:

• Strict Muscle-Ups, focusing on strict form all the way through
• Weighted Muscle-Ups, add weight by using a weight belt or vest.
• Strict Ring Dips, for mastering the dip component of the muscle up
• Strict Pull-ups, working on the kipping component.

Conclusion

Ring muscle-ups are a challenging exercise that requires a combination of strength, coordination, and technique. The key to executing these correctly is to practice and improve progressively. Follow the training plan, avoid mistakes, work on your weaknesses, and incorporate variations into your routine to continually challenge yourself. With enough dedication, anyone can achieve their first ring muscle up.