by Brad Johnson

Prior to my wife and I having our first child, my weightlifting equipment filled the second bedroom of our small duplex. I could not justify keeping the equipment. I sold it and bought a pull-up/dip stand. I then bought some playground rings that I attached to the pull-up bar to add variety to my workouts.

The rings are unique because they move independently from each other and each ring can move in any direction. Furthermore, resistance can easily be adjusted by altering the length of the chain. The closer the rings are to the ground, the greater the resistance. If you wish to decrease the resistance, decrease the length of the chain. Difficulty can also be varied by altering the pivot point. Just as in a push-up, if you do the exercise with your body supported by your knees, you are lifting a smaller percentage of your bodyweight than if your body is supported by your feet.

The exercises that can be performed on the low rings are only limited by your imagination. I will cover a few of my favorites and leave the rest up to you. The exercises are challenging because you must stabilize the rings. In all of the exercises keep downward tension on the rings at all times in order to control their movement. As always tense your abs, and glutes and maintain a tight grip on the rings. Keep the reps low and the tension high.

Exercises

Ring Flies
This exercise is similar to dumbbell flies except you are utilizing your own body weight for resistance. Begin in pushup position. Extend your straight arms out to either side of your body. Lower your body until your chest is approximately level with the rings. Return to starting position.

Top Position	Bottom Position

The Archer's Fly
Begin in pushup position. Bend one arm as if you were doing a one-arm push-up while extending the other arm out to the side like a ring fly. Return to the starting position. The beauty of this exercise is that you can emphasize either part of the movement (the one-arm push-up or the one-arm fly). By pushing primarily with the bent arm, you are doing an advanced one-arm push-up. You can help as much as you like with your straight arm. You can also emphasize the one-arm fly by pushing primarily with the straight arm. There is always the option of utilizing dynamic tension and squeezing very hard with both arms. Switch the role of your arms and repeat.

Archer Left	Archer Right

Ring Jackknife
This is just like the wheel jackknife except you are utilizing the rings instead of a wheel. See my article at Dragondoor (Progressions to the Standing Evil Wheel) for more ideas on altering the difficulty of this exercise. From a kneeling or standing position, extend your straight arms overhead until the chains prevent the rings from traveling any further. Return to starting position.

Top Position (kneeling)	Bottom Position (kneeling)
Top Position (standing)	Bottom Position (standing)

One Arm Ring Jackknife
From a standing or kneeling position, extend one arm overhead as in a regular jackknife and lower the other arm to push-up position. Do a one-arm push-up with the bent arm while pulling the straight arm towards you to return to the starting position. Switch the role of the arms and repeat.

One Arm Jackknife Ending Position

I strongly encourage you to try these exercises. I promise you that your muscles will cuss you out but they will thank you later. The playground rings and the chains can be purchased at your local builder's supply store.