Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 5 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Improved to 7 reps maximum, so now doing 3 sets of 6-7 reps.  Finished the week with the rings set high enough to do full-range motion (no bending the knees).  Technique suffered a bit because it was my first time doing this full range, but I do enjoy not having the additional distraction of coordinating when to bend my knees.  I just have to remember to allow my torso to lean forward slightly, while maintaining "chest up", in order to sink all the way into the dip to maximize the benefit of the exercise while maintaining safety.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Improved to 6 reps max, so now doing sets of 5-6 reps.  Will continue trying to do at least 4 sets.  On the first rep of the first set, tested whether I can lift both feet off the ground and still maintain Tuck Shoulder Stand.  I could not today but will test on the first rep, every session, from now on.

L-Sit Hold - The increased work on the Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand (more reps, more sets) seems to burn out my core faster, so I'm back down to 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - 7 reps/set for all sets. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 3  reps/set.  Trying to go for at least 4 sets.  Reduced rest between sets from 2 min. to 1 min. which did not seem to make much of a difference.  I was most concerned about forearm fatigue being worse from reduced rest but there seemed to be no issue.  As an experiment, I had the rings set lower than usual, which for me proved to be a mistake.  I've gotten used to using my feet to reduce the swinging of the rings while I'm in Inverted Hang, so that I could concentrate on my technique without the distraction of swinging.  I don't know if it is possible to refine one's technique so that the rings never swing, but when I watch the tutorial videos for this move and Skin The Cat, Ryan Hurst hardly ever ends up swinging excessively.  I do know that if the rings are swinging too much, the move is much harder to execute.

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.  Also down to 1 min. rest between sets.  To protect my shoulders, I need to focus on keeping the rings parallel until my body has lowered as far as it can into the German Hang, then turn the thumbs out to get that last extra bit of the range of motion.

On the off days, continued practice of Hollow Body Hold (core strength training) and Front Scale Hold (supplemental exercise for improving hip and quad muscles for L-Sit).

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 4 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Steady at 6 reps/set.  Have to keep watching the technique, especially keeping elbows close to body.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Progressed to 5 reps/set.

L-Sit Hold - 7-8 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible but still not quite straight.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - 7 reps/set for all sets. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 3-4 reps/set

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.

On the off days, replaced pistol squats with Hollow Body Hold practice.  I can get my legs to just below 45 degrees straight.  3 sets of this, with Front Scale Holds of up to 10 sec. done in a circuit.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 3 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Improved to 6 reps/set.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Still doing 4 reps/set.  Incremental improvement in technique.  I still can't hold the shoulder stand with both feet in the air for at least one second.  Just have to keep working.

L-Sit Hold - No change - still 5 sec. holds per leg.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Incremental improvement.  Can do 7 reps for the first set at least. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Still at 4 reps/set.  Tighter tuck now makes a difference in that the core can more effectively work with the arms in the movement from Inverted Hang to the chin-up position.  The main limiting factor is now grip endurance.  I could do more than 4 reps but it would increase the risk of losing the grip and falling down.  What I need to work on now is rolling between the start and end positions of the movement with better control - in the last session I had a tendency to cause too much swinging by rolling too fast.

Skin The Cat - Still 4 reps/set with a tuck and the thumbs turned out.  Thumbs turned out results in being lowered more deeply into the German hang, and more effort to unwind from German hang back into Inverted Hang. Grip endurance is still the limiting factor. 

I did 2 sets of assisted pistol squats and Front Scales on the two off days, between warmup and cool down.  My right hamstring has been sore for a week now but not too bad.  I try to avoid running or other action that might strain it.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 2 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - No change - 5 reps/set.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Some improvement in technique.  Improved from 3 reps/set to 4.  Went back to doing this 2nd after Dips.

L-Sit Hold - Same as start of the week.  I can extend one leg at a time, but not both, and I can't straighten my extended leg yet.  Hopefully the practice of the pistol squat and the Front Scale will eventually deliver the necessary quad and hip flexor strength to straighten that leg.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - No change - still 6 reps/set.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Improved to 4 reps/set.  Tighter tuck (per video instructions) did not seem to make a difference, but I'll keep practicing the tuck with the toes pointed away from my head, shins parallel to torso, etc.

Skin The Cat - I believe I am now lowering my body into the German Hang at the maximum range of motion allowed without turning my thumbs out.  It's 4 reps/set in this range, with grip endurance being the limiting factor.  I still did a "warmup rep" to start my first set.  The video instruction says to try the thumbs out as soon as possible, to extend the range of motion a bit more, so I will try that on my next Below the Rings session.

Tomorrow I'll do 3 sets of 2 assisted pistol squats again, as well as 3 front scales - between the warmup and cool down routines, and see how it goes.  One new wrinkle I'll throw in is some basic front kicks with the toes pointed (as in the L-Sit) after leg/hip stretches.  I tried some front kicks yesterday and notice I was able to get each leg into the L-Sit angle (90 degrees) so the flexibility is there.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 2 Start

Exercise on the rings is so fun I had to resist the temptation to defy the Rings One instruction to not train two days in a row on the rings.   So yesterday, I did this:

1. Rings One Warmup, with the hip extension and hip mobility exercises from the SI joint rehab routine.

2. Assisted Pistol Squat (using a light weight - a 15lb club bell in my case - for counterbalance assistance) - 2 reps/set for 3 sets.

3. Rings One Cooldown along with stretches for calf, hip flexor, and hamstrings.

Today I have more soreness in my legs than usual - especially the quads.  On my off-days during Rings One, I'd occasionally done the Leg Module exercises but they don't work the legs with as much intensity.  I want to see what Pistol Squats will do for my lingering aches/pains in the hips/SI area, as well as the quad strength for the L-Sit.

Today is my Below The Rings day, to start Week 2.  I had to bail out of my first Skin The Cat attempt.  Looks like I will have to do one "warmup rep" in the first set - just lowering my torso a little bit (maybe 30 degrees from the Tuck Inverted Hang position) - before proceeding with the exercise in earnest.  I was able to do 4 reps/set of the Inverted Tuck Roll Chin.  Grip endurance seems to be the limiting factor for both Skin The Cat and Inverted Tuck Roll Chin.  I can only presume it will improve as I gain strength in both movements.