Gymnastic rings are the single most effective piece of training equipment. You might ask yourself: “which gymnastic rings should I buy?”. In this guide, you will learn what to look out for when you buy your own pair of gymnastic rings.
1. Benefits of Gymnastic Rings: Why Do You Need Them?
Gymnastic rings offer a virtually unlimited range of training possibilities, and their portability enables you to get an effective Calisthenics workout anywhere and anytime you want—even when you’re traveling.
Total beginners can use them to start their strength training journey and build basic pulling strength with exercises like hanging rows, which can be perfectly adjusted for any level.
Intermediate trainees can, for example, bring their push-ups to a whole new level by performing them on the gymnastic rings—the resulting instability will increase difficulty as the body has to recruit more muscles to stabilize, and the muscles have to work harder, which results in more muscle mass gains.
Once you have mastered the basics, you can learn Calisthenics skills like ring muscle-ups or back- and front levers.
And if you look at Olympic gymnasts: they perform seemingly impossible ring skills that require an unbelievable amount of strength and body control.
2. Types of Gymnastic Rings
2.1 Measurements
When buying gymnastic rings, I recommend choosing the Olympic standard size:
- Inner diameter: 18 cm
- Diameter of profile (thickness): 2.8 cm
Sometimes rings with a thicker profile are sold (for example, 3.2 cm), but I wouldn’t recommend them as they are harder to grip.
2.2 Material
The two main materials you will find are wood and plastic. I generally recommend wooden rings as they have one very significant benefit: wooden rings naturally have a much better grip than plastic, which results in more reps and more gains.
Plastic rings might be more durable, although I’ve been using the same pair of wooden rings for many years as a personal trainer with multiple people training on them daily. So, the only real situation where I would recommend plastic rings is if you want to keep them permanently outside and they are exposed to the rain and the elements.
3. Types of Straps & Buckles
There are two common types of straps: 2.5 cm (1. inch) width and 4 cm (1.5 inch) width. I would usually recommend the wider 4 cm (1.5 inch) straps as they are potentially more durable and, most importantly, usually have a stronger type of buckle that is more comfortable to handle when adjusting.
4. Set-Up
One of the biggest benefits of gymnastic rings is that they can easily be set up wherever you go: you only need a horizontal structure to throw the straps over.
The easiest way to do it is to throw the straps over a pull-up bar if you have one around.
For at home, a great solution are ceiling attachments.
Alternatively, for example when you’re traveling, you could attach the rings on monkey bars on a children’s playground, a strong balcony rail, or the branch of a tree. Just always make sure the structure is very stable.
How far should the rings be apart?
The Olympic standard for the distance between gymnastic rings is 50 cm, but that is for 3 m long straps—I found that when the straps are only 1-2 m long, as is the case with most home or day-to-day setups, a 45 cm distance feels better for most exercises.
5. Door Anchors
I highly recommend getting a door anchor along with your rings, so that you can attach them not only on a bar but even on a door, for example, in case you’re traveling. You won’t be able to do Pull-Ups like this, but you can do Hanging Rows to build upper body strength effectively.
6. Suggested Pairs of Gymnastic Rings:
Here is one example for a pair of gymnastic rings that provides all the recommended aspects above: PULLUP & DIP Premium Gymnastic Rings
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