Ring Muscle Ups: Muscle Ups and More

The crunch up is a highly advanced calisthenics exercise that targets almost every muscle in the upper body.

The actual execution of the movement is considered highly technical, but essentially boils down to performing a pull-up before transitioning into a chest dip through sheer muscle strength and control alone.

Ring Muscle Ups at a glance

Equipment requirements

Gymnastic rings

The main muscles of the target

Pectoral muscles, latissimus dorsi, triceps, biceps

Difficulty

Expanded

Recommendations for sets, repetitions and load

2-3 series of 5-8 repetitions only with own weight

How to do Ring Muscle Up

1. To perform an upward repetition of the sphincter, the lifter starts hanging on both rings with hands in a neutral grip. The feet should be close together, the core should be braced and the chest should be pushed out, providing stability throughout the game.
2. By contracting the latissimus dorsi and allowing the legs to rotate forward at the hips, the lifter performs a pull-up by pulling the torso up toward the rings as he leans back—creating a diagonal angle.
3. When the head and neck are above the ring (the upper part of the pull-up), the athlete sharply pushes the hip back and moves the upper body through the rings, as if going to the deepest part of the repetition of the dip on the chest.
4. Chest and shoulders now positioned above the rings and elbows bent behind the body, the lifter passes through their palms and extends their elbows, forming an almost vertical line with the body as they push themselves through the rings.
5. At this point, the repetition is considered complete. Remember that all reps are performed in rapid succession, meaning that pausing between each step can cause you to lose momentum and fail the rep.

Additional tips:

For lifters new to working the sphincter, it may be helpful to perform a instead kipping muscle up, where additional momentum and power is generated by swinging the legs horizontally.

In addition to helping build the muscle mass needed to perform an accurate rep, it also helps teach body control while working with gymnastic rings.

What muscles are worked by Ring Muscle Ups?

The crunches are the very definition of a compound movement.

In addition to targeting the larger muscles of the upper body (pectorals, lats), most of the smaller muscle groups are also worked as a secondary.

This includes all three heads of the deltoids, rotators, biceps, triceps, and even the trapezius mid-rep.

Common Ring Muscle Up Mistakes to Avoid

The circular muscle up is one of the most technical exercises. In addition to paying attention to your entire technique in general, look out for the following common mistakes.

Bringing the elbows together during the initial pull

It is important to think of the initial pull-up as a cross between a pull-up and a pull-up.

Pulling your elbows together at the front of your torso will not only limit the activation of certain back muscles. What’s more, it also causes the arms to get in the way when transitioning to the second half of the rep.

To avoid this particular mistake, lifters should aim to extend their elbows both to the sides and behind the body – as in a vertical facelift.

Attempting to dip or “push” too early.

To properly engage the triceps and chest, the lifter must ensure that the upper half of the body is elevated above the rings before pushing up.

Attempting this dip-like movement too early can simply push the body away from the rings or result in a failed rep because the wrong muscles will be engaged.

One great tip to follow is to make sure you can slide the rings down under your palms without moving your torso horizontally. When the body is only moving vertically upwards, this is the perfect time to begin the descent.

Failed to truncate kernel

During the entire repetition, the abdomen should maintain the “hollow body” position. This involves the proper contraction of the abdominal muscles while maintaining intra-abdominal pressure through proper fixation.

Failure to properly maintain core control can lead to lower body laxity and reduced energy efficiency of dynamic muscle mobilizers.

In essence, a poor core contraction will cause the entire muscle to become more complex.

During the initial thrust of the repetition, the athlete should try to “pull the ribs to the abdomen” by contracting the abdomen while simultaneously squeezing the glutes.

Bringing hips/legs forward too late

Although the initial pull-up is similar to a pull-up, it is not an exact copy of the movement as some forward swinging of the legs is required. This is done to properly balance the movement and help with the transition to dips.

However, late execution of this part of the movement will simply throw the lifter off balance and cause excessive strain on the back muscles.

During the first half of the repetition, the legs should move forward and the hips should be drawn back with the elbows bent a few degrees. That is, this position will occur almost immediately at the beginning of the repetition, when the lats exert the initial force necessary to pull the body up.

Who should do muscle building?

Truth be told, crunches are quite difficult to perform, and even experienced athletes sometimes struggle with them.

If you’re a beginner or have never tried building muscle before, it’s best to do progression exercises rather than jumping right into strict muscle lifting.

If you have a history of injury to any part of your upper body, avoid applying pressure to the sphincter without prior medical clearance as it can be very difficult.

Links

1. Walker, CW; Brunger, A; Tucker, C; and Lee, R. (2017) “A COMPARISON OF MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING STRETCHING AND SPRING RUNNING”, International Journal of Exercise: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 11: Vol. 5, Article 28.