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).