Ring Turned-Out Support to Dip
The turned-out support, with the rings rotated so the palms face forward, is the strict standard for ring strength and demands intense stabilizer and pec work just to hold. Adding the dip from that position combines that isometric control with a full pressing range on an unstable base. It builds serious chest, triceps, and shoulder stability. Own a solid rings-turned-out support hold before attempting the dip.
- Equipment
- Rings
- Type
- Balance, Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Pectoralis Major Sternocostal, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head
- Browse by movement
- Vertical Press
- Target
- Pectoralis Major Sternocostal, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head
- Secondary
- Deltoid Anterior, Pectoralis Major Clavicular, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
- Tertiary
- Trapezius Lower, Abdominal External Oblique
How to do it
- 1
Jump to support on the rings and rotate the hands out so the palms face forward.
- 2
Lock the arms, depress the shoulders, and hold a stable turned-out support.
- 3
Keep the rings pressed into your sides and the body slightly hollow.
- 4
Bend the elbows and lower under control, fighting to keep the rings from drifting apart.
- 5
Descend until the shoulders drop below the elbows, then press back up to support.
- 6
Turn the rings back out hard at the top to finish each rep in the strict position.
Tips
- Keep the rings pinned to your torso; letting them float wide is where most people fail.
- Turn the wrists out aggressively at lockout to train the true standard.
- Start with a partial range and shorter holds, then build depth as stability improves.
Variations
Common mistakes
- The turnout is held at the top and abandoned the instant the elbows bend, so the dip itself happens in the loose rotation the exercise was chosen to avoid.
- Rings drift away from the ribs on the descent, and a ring that travels out to the side turns the bottom of the dip into a fly the shoulders have to catch.
- Straps get hung wider than the shoulders, which forces a flared bottom position before the first rep and makes the turnout impossible to keep.
- Depth goes to whatever the rings allow on day one, when a turned-out shoulder tolerates that bottom position only after weeks of shorter range.
- Rings are set so high that the feet cannot reach the floor, and bailing from a stalled rep is part of this skill; hang them so a toe can find the ground.
- One ring is gripped harder than the other, so the body drifts sideways and the set finishes with the turnout only present on the stronger arm.
Frequently asked
- How many ring turned-out support to dips should I do, and what do I need first?
- A 30-second turned-out ring support hold and 10 strict ring dips are fair prerequisites. Then 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps with two to three minutes of rest, twice a week, is an honest dose. Begin with a partial range, stopping where the turnout survives, and add depth over weeks rather than within a session. Progress by range first, then reps, then by adding a two-second hold in the turned-out support at the top of each rep.
- What can I use instead of gymnastic rings for the turned-out support dip?
- Rings are the one piece of equipment this movement genuinely needs, since the rotation is the exercise. TRX-style straps with fixed handles do not rotate, so they will not give you the turnout. If you have no rings, a parallel-bar dip with the hands actively rotated outward and the shoulders aggressively depressed gets closest, and ring support holds at a gym once a week cover the rotation. Rings are cheap enough that buying a pair is usually the better answer.
- What is the ring turned-out support to dip good for, and who should skip it?
- It combines the strict ring support standard with a full pressing range on an unstable base, which builds chest, triceps and a great deal of shoulder stabilizer strength that fixed bars never ask for. Gymnasts and advanced ring trainees use it as a strength standard. Skip it if you cannot hold a turned-out support still, because adding a dip to a wobbling support trains the wobble. Anyone with a shoulder that pinches at the bottom of a dip should leave this version out, since rings remove the width that would otherwise stop you.
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