Rings One Week 2 Report

I completed Week 2 of the lowest-level Rings One program today.

For the Above The Rings days, I gave up on the Assisted Push-Up because something about the angle irritates my left shoulder.  Full pushups are fine as long as I do partial pushups - the shoulder irritation begins when it is lowered within a certain distance of the rings.  Back when I was seeing a physical therapist for my shoulder, one of the rehab exercises I did was partial pushups against a wall - so this is kind of the same thing, but with more resistance due to the instability of the rings.  I'll try partial movement pushups for the next several workouts and see how it goes.  Tuck Dips seem to be going fine - improved from 3 reps/set to 4 reps/set.  The updated Rings One instructional video for the Plank Hold mentions "Hollow Body" as one of the key points, but otherwise there's no verbal explanation in the video.  GMB does mention the Hollow Body Plank Hold and a separate instructional video for it here, and also has a link to the Hollow Body exercise that is done on the back instead of in pushup position.  Thus, it's possible my Plank Hold could use some technique improvement.  Technique is getting a bit better with the Mountain Climbers, though the reps have not gone up, due to my arms being a bit worn from doing the Tuck Dips.

For the Below The Rings days, I realized I could probably increase the volume (sets x reps).  By replacing the assisted pull-ups, reverse rows, and negative pull-ups with regular pull-ups, I basically cut the session down to just two exercises - the pull-ups and the Tuck to Inverted Hang.  Despite the inadvertently reduced volume, I still improved from barely doing 5 pull-ups to being ready to do 6 pull-ups per set.  My Tuck To Inverted Hang reps were sloppy with lots of unwanted swinging.  Today though I believe I solved the issue.  It seems that I need to engage the pull-up muscles to do the move with proper control, or at least less swinging.  What I was doing before was just pulling with the arms and trying to swing my knees and hips up, which was hit and miss.  So now I start the movement with my arms fully extended overhead, as if I were about to do a pull-up, and my legs bent as necessary so that my torso and arms are straight.  I initiate the movement with a pull, as if I were doing a pull-up, while simultaneously pushing off with the legs to facilitate tucking the knees.  With more of the back muscles engaged in addition to the arms, I have much more control over the movement, and am more likely to be able to extend my legs out of the tuck into the inverted hang without having to use my feet to steady my body.  This is much more taxing than the haphazard technique I was previously using, but feels more right.

This was the first week in which I did two Leg Module sessions.  The Leg Module manual presents 3 different ways to schedule the Leg Module training along with Rings One or  Parallels One training, but the program charts document simply shows optional Leg Module days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekend.  At any rate, I did 4 circuits of Level 1 on Tuesday, and 4 circuits again on Thursday.  Today, I have quite a bit of soreness in the legs, especially near the glutes.