Ring pull ups are one of the best compound upper body exercises. Pull ups on the rings hold many advantages over conventional bar pull ups and other pulling exercises. This is because gymnastic rings have to ability to rotate and adapt to the body's movement in a way that is comfortable for joints and connective tissue. This helps prevent injury and improve shoulder stability. 

The free movement of the gymnastic rings also recruits more muscle groups and to work together for more strength and muscle growth with a strong emphasis on time under tension and eccentric contraction. Lets look at these advantages in more detail...

Better for your joints

Gymnastic rings pull ups are kinder to your joints then regular bar pull ups.

This is because the rings have the freedom to move and rotate in any direction. The rings can rotate throughout the movement to the position that is most comfortable for your joints, ligaments and tendons. 

The equipment is able to turn to adapt to the natural movement of the body rather then your joints adjusting or tolerating to the plane of motion set by the static bar as with a regular pull up.

For example, with a pull up bar you have to either decide whether you adopt a pull up grip (pronated) or chin up grip (suprinated). 

Whereas if you hold onto a pair of gymnastic rings your body will naturally turn the rings to the most comfortable angle for your joints and connective tissue.

If you grab onto a pair of rings and just hold a dead hang, the angle of you hands tends to look more like a pull up or pronated grip but with a slight bias towards palms facing inwards.

Over the course of the movement the angle of the rings rotates inwards to the point where your chin is over the rings, the grip will resemble more of a suprinated grip like a chin up. This is the body's preferred plane of movement.

The straight pull up bar inhibits the body's desire to naturally rotate through out the course of the movement. The angle of you hands remains static and your writs and elbows are unable to adjust to their preferred position. 

The ring pull ups put far less strain on your wrist, elbows, shoulders, ligaments and tendons then bar pull ups. 

Training the calisthenics staple of pull ups on the rings can help you avoid injury or any niggling discomfort that can come from excessive training on the bar.

Proactively avoiding injury by not taxing your joints can help makes sure you are not held back by injury or joint pain in your training. 

More muscle engagement then other pulling exercises

Ring pull ups are the best compound pulling exercise in terms of muscle engagement and functional strength. 

They recruit a greater number of muscle groups that work together in one coordinated effort, then any other pulling exercise. 

This is because the body has to coordinate and balance itself whilst moving is a dynamic motion.

The instability of the rings, triggers greater muscle fibre recruitment throughout the body. More so then, bar pull ups, lat pull downs and variations of rows. 

The primary muscle groups recruited are the latissimus dorsi, biceps, trapezius, pectoral, the four muscles of the rotator cuff and secondary movers such as  such as the core and forearms.  

Whilst many of the same muscle groups are worked with the conventional pull ups on a bar, the rings place a far greater emphasis on the rotator cuff, forearms, strength and core. 

Ring pull ups feel more difficult then bar pull ups for this very reason. Because the body's capacity for stability hasn't been tested, the number of pull ups you will able to do on rings will be less then those on bars. 

Also the level of coordination, and balance stimulates the stabilising muscles that support the shoulder joint as well as the chest and arms.

More muscle groups recruitment means more potential for muscle fibre breakdown and repair and therefore rings hold greater scope for muscles growth and strength gains then bar pull ups. 

Rings stress the eccentric phase- More time under tension

Pull ups on the rings naturally put more emphasis on the eccentric phase of the exercise compared to bar pull ups or lat pull down machines.

The eccentric phase of the motion is where you decline from the top of a pull up, with your chin over the bar, back down to full extension or dead hang. 

The instability and free movement of the rings forces you to control every part of the movement.

On regular pull up bars the temptation is to get lazy and drop back down after every rep, instead of a controlled, slower movement. This can easily happen if you have set a target of a specific number of reps, you tend to sacrifice the form of the eccentric phase to help get you to your goal rep count.

This is cheating you of 50% of the workout and therefore 50% of the strength and muscle building capacity of the exercise. 

Gymnastic rings are far less forgiving when it comes to cheating on your reps. If you drop down from the top of a pull up in the same way you can with a bar you will naturally swing and lose coordination on the rings. 

Pull up bars are stable and therefore take a lot of the stability, coordination and additional muscle recruitment out of the equation, particularly if you neglect the eccentric phase of the exercise.

Rings hold your pull ups form to account and maximises the strength and muscle building capacity of the exercise.

Stressing the eccentric of the pull up leads to more...

More Time Under Tension

Time under tension simply refers to how long a muscle is under stress for each set. The time under tension is greater with ring pull ups because you have to actively stabilise your self through out the movement and ensure a smoother eccentric phase.

Therefore there is more muscle engagement for a longer period for each set. 

This has advantages when it comes to stimulating muscle growth. 

Time under tension is one of the key factors when it comes to hypertrophy.

The optimal time under tension for a muscle inducing set is 40-70 seconds with 60 seconds usually the goal. 

Even when you are in a dead hang at the bottom of a ring pull up, your core, stabilising muscles and forearms have to actively engage in order to keep your body in position and ready for your next rep. 

Therefore performing 8-12 (8-12 reps per set is the optimal range for muscle growth) with full range of motion and with the correct form will usually fall into the 40-70 second optimal time frame.

If you perform 12 reps in around 50 seconds, that is approximately 1 rep every 4 seconds. This is a very manageable pace for your pull ups and will ensure you get the most out of your pull ups in terms of gaining muscle and strength.

Improved shoulder stability for injury prevention

Ring pull ups, along with ring rows are a great way to start gymnastic rings training. This is because there is enough of an instability stimulus to challenge the muscles that are responsible for stabilising the shoulder joint, without overloading the these muscles and risking injury. 

The body's adaptive response to this instability is to strengthen the stabilising muscles and tendons of the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles that are predominately responsible for the stability of the shoulder joint. 

Rings are one of the only training tools that specifically address the shoulders capacity for stability. 

Ring pull ups conditions and strengthen the stabilising muscles which is good for injury prevention. 

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint which gives it a large range of motion but can also make it more susceptible to injury such as tendinitis, rotator cuff tears, dislocations and impingement. If the shoulder joint is more stable due to stronger supporting muscles then this will make the joint far more resistant to injury. 

Shoulder stabilising muscles are often a neglected part of a gym regime and a shoulder injury could put you on the sidelines for months, waiting for it to heal. Be proactive to avoid injury and start ring pull ups and rows for stronger, better supported shoulders.

Gateway exercise for progressing to more difficult ring techniques

If you have a good base of strength then gymnastic ring pull ups and inverted ring rows are a great place to start ring training. This is because the exercises where your body weight is below the level of the rings, expose your body to enough instability to stimulate an adaptive response from the stabilising muscles without overloading them.

The muscles responsible for stabilising the shoulder joint need to be strengthened before attempting exercises where you centre of gravity is above the rings, i.e. ring dips and push ups. 

Attempting exercises above the rings too early, can overload the muscles that support the shoulder joint (primarily the four muscles of the rotator cuff) and lead to bad technique or an inability to do the exercise due to the body being unaccustomed to the inherent level of instability of the rings. 

Therefore putting in the groundwork with ring pull ups is a great place to build strength in the rotator cuff and generally condition your body to ring training. 

From there you can progress to different techniques such as ring push ups, dips and the highly regarded muscle up.

Conclusion

Rep for rep, ring pull ups are a more effective exercise then bar pull ups. The potential for strength and muscle gains with pull ups is already very significant as pull ups are compound exercises that incorporate a number of large muscles groups to work in synergy. The more muscle groups engaged the more scope there is for strength and muscle growth.

But because of the rings innate instability, the body has to actively adapt to a new stimulus and therefore there is more muscle fibre recruitment and an accentuated emphasis on stabilising muscles and other athletic qualities such as balance and coordination.

However the biggest benefit in my opinion is how kind they are on the joints. After workouts with ring pull ups I feel my muscles are placed under tension without my joints being taxed. 

Ring pull ups proactively avoid injury and promotes and strong and stable shoulder joint for better joint health and longevity. 

Get bigger and stronger, develop athletic coordination, balance and remain injury free with Ring pull ups.

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