How many ring muscle-ups should I do in a training session?

Skill first, volume later: 8 to 10 attempts spread over 10 to 15 minutes, taken as singles with full rest, twice a week. If the skill is not there yet, spend that time on false-grip pull-ups to the sternum, low-ring transitions with your feet on the floor, and ring dips. Once several in a row are reliable, sets of 2 to 3 are enough.

How do I make the ring muscle-up easier or harder?

Easier: drop the rings to chest height and run the whole movement with your feet on the floor, taking as much weight through the legs as you need, or use a band under the feet and slow negatives. Harder: go strict with no kip, pause at the bottom of the dip, hold the rings turned out at lockout, or add weight. Two in a row without a swing is harder than most people expect.

What is the ring muscle-up for?

It is the benchmark of gymnastics upper-body strength, stringing an explosive pull, a transition and a dip together on an unstable surface, and it is standard in CrossFit and rings work. It is a poor choice for pure muscle growth, where dips and weighted pull-ups do more, and a poor one for anyone with a shoulder or elbow history, since the bottom of a ring dip is a demanding place to be.

Advanced

Ring Muscle-Up

This is the full expression of upper-body pulling and pressing power, requiring a fast pull to sternum height and an aggressive transition into a ring dip. The unstable rings add a huge stability demand on top of the explosive strength. It is a benchmark gymnastics skill best built from strict pull-ups, dips, and transition drills.

Equipment: Rings
Body part: Lats, Triceps
Type: Plyometric, Strength
Browse by muscle: Latissimus Dorsi, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Browse by movement: Vertical Press, Vertical Pull

How to do it

1
Hang from rings with a false grip, wrists turned over the top of the rings.
2
Pull explosively, driving the elbows back to bring the rings toward the lower chest.
3
As the rings reach the chest, lean forward and roll the shoulders over the rings.
4
Punch the hands down into a deep ring dip at the bottom of the transition.
5
Press to full support with arms locked and the rings turned out.
6
Lower under control through the transition and back to the hang.

Tips

Drill the false grip and the transition on low rings before going for the full skill.
Pull the rings to the sternum, not the collarbone, so the turnover is low enough to catch.
Keep the rings close to the body through the transition to stay stable.

Variations

Common mistakes

Elbows flare out in the dip at the bottom of the transition, which is the most exposed position for the shoulder on rings; keep them close to the ribs as you press.
The false grip is set loosely and slips at the top of the pull, so you arrive at the transition with the wrists under the rings and nowhere to go. Set the wrist deep before you leave the floor.
A big swing gets used to cover a short pull, and on rings that swing goes sideways as readily as forward; if a near-strict attempt is not close, keep drilling transitions.
Rings hung too low let the knees hit the floor at the bottom of the pull, which cuts the pull short; set them high enough that your legs stay long and quiet.
The lockout gets finished with the rings turned in and the shoulders shrugged, which is not a support position; rotate the rings out and press the shoulders down at the top.

Frequently asked

How many ring muscle-ups should I do in a training session?: Skill first, volume later: 8 to 10 attempts spread over 10 to 15 minutes, taken as singles with full rest, twice a week. If the skill is not there yet, spend that time on false-grip pull-ups to the sternum, low-ring transitions with your feet on the floor, and ring dips. Once several in a row are reliable, sets of 2 to 3 are enough.
How do I make the ring muscle-up easier or harder?: Easier: drop the rings to chest height and run the whole movement with your feet on the floor, taking as much weight through the legs as you need, or use a band under the feet and slow negatives. Harder: go strict with no kip, pause at the bottom of the dip, hold the rings turned out at lockout, or add weight. Two in a row without a swing is harder than most people expect.
What is the ring muscle-up for?: It is the benchmark of gymnastics upper-body strength, stringing an explosive pull, a transition and a dip together on an unstable surface, and it is standard in CrossFit and rings work. It is a poor choice for pure muscle growth, where dips and weighted pull-ups do more, and a poor one for anyone with a shoulder or elbow history, since the bottom of a ring dip is a demanding place to be.

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