Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Start of Week 1

Today I resumed work on this program, after 17 weeks of parallettes training, with an Above The Rings session.  The results:

Dips - 5-6 reps/set.  Looks like my improved pressing strength from the parallettes training carried over here, despite the shaky form due to not  having practiced on the rings in months.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 reps/set.  I was disappointed that I was unable to do a tuck shoulder stand on the rings like I can on the parallettes.  I don't know if it's because I'd just achieved that skill a couple of weeks ago or if it's because the rings are a less stable platform for shoulder stands than parallettes.

Hanging Knee Raises -  6 reps/set with 5 sec. hold per rep.  This is one of the exercises recommended for preparing for the L-Sit, in GMB's just-updated L-Sit tutorial.  After this session, it was easy to understand why my progress towards the L-Sit has been so slow - until today, I haven't been really working on the necessary core and hip strength for the L-Sit.  If I can't even do 10 reps of 5-sec. holds in the Hanging Knee Raise, I have little shot of nailing the L-Sit.  For this exercise I had the option of working from either the pull-up position or the top-position hold on the rings - I went with the latter as it fit the theme of the Above The Rings session.  I have just enough stamina in the top position hold to do a max of 6 reps, and I'm sure it will improve as my reps go up.

I then grabbed my parallettes just to see if I could still do a tuck shoulder stand hold, after my discouraging failure to do it on the rings.  It turns out I still could do this hold for at least 5 seconds.  I'll keep practicing this hold on the parallettes regularly, just to keep reminding myself regularly how it feels to hold a tuck shoulder stand.  A certain level of strength is a prerequisite, but I'm finding balance is even more important.  When the balance is right, the load is spread throughout the body structure and multiple muscle groups - the triceps, the chest, the shoulders, the abs, and even the intercostals.  Because this exercise relies a bit more on skill than just brute strength, I'll practice in the mornings of my bike commuting days and whenever I feel fresh in general.  This isn't the type of exercise to be practiced when one is exhausted.

The concept behind frequent practice of an exercise to master it was coined "Grease The Groove" by Pavel Tsatsouline.  A nice explanation can be found here.