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Intro
People who enjoy bodybuilding love watching bodybuilding competitions, but I prefer watching gymnastic ring competitions during the Olympics. I like the gymnastic rings over any other calisthenics apparatus. It’s the most challenging and fun tool to develop extraordinary upper body and core strength skills. I am happy to have space outside my house to use my Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings. I will master the gymnastic rings one day because many exercises can be done with these simple tools. Now that I have clarified my preferred tool for calisthenics training, let’s dive into this article.
What are Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings?
Gymnastic rings look like rings. It’s a bodyweight exercise tool unlike any other, and it’s mainly an upper-body and core exercise tool. Gymnast specialists use these apparatuses to perform some of the most challenging poses in mid-air during the Olympics. You might ask yourself, “what’s so special about these rings, and why are they difficult to use”? What makes them unique is the straps provide instability when you perform movements by extending the elbows. The supination of the wrist while maintaining the body in mid-air is enough. Enough to make even the toughest bodybuilder respect the rings. Two materials produce gymnastic rings, and they are wood and plastic. The rings are 1.1 inches thick and have an inside diameter of 7.1 inches. Straps suspend them mounted 18.8 feet above the floor. The rings hang 8.2 feet above the ground and 19.7 inches apart. Let’s dive deeper.
How do you use Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings?
As a beginner, when you use the Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings, always practice the essential hold. It is the source of training for the mind and body connection. Your arms will begin shaking whenever you are in mid-air because the straps cause instability. To avoid this discomfort, you must grip tightly, lock your wrists, elbows, and shoulders, and slightly flex your hips. Doing this will make the body feel more stable and less shaking because you’re aligning yourself correctly. When you’ve practiced long enough, you can start to turn your wrist in a supine position. It’s the most challenging hold to stabilize, and it will take practice to hold this position. The straps come with a metal buckle to attach from coming off, so you don’t get hurt. Practice safety and patience before you hurt your pride.
Are the Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings high quality?
The black rings are made of weather-resistant plastic. You can have them outside all year long; they won’t wear and tear and cause discoloration. The negative part about these bad boys is that the surface isn’t smooth for the palms. I don’t mind, but I suggest wearing work gloves if you have soft hands.
- Measurements: Rings: 1.25″ diameter
- Straps: 17’L x 1.5″W
- Material: Nylon straps with metal buckle and rings are made of weather-resistant plastic
The other gymnastics ring from Prosourcefit is the wooden rings, and they provide a smooth feel because the surface is smooth. The unfortunate part about this is that you can’t leave them outside because they are not weatherproof. You can only use them outdoors on a lovely sunny day.
- Measurements: Rings: 1.25″ diameter
- Straps: 17’L x 1.5″W
- Material: Nylon straps with metal buckle; Wood rings
Ensure that your belts and anchor point are secure before a workout.
What are the pros and cons of Prosourcefit gymnastics rings?
The pros of gymnastics rings are the versatility of movements that allows a practitioner of this apparatus to advance. Advancements in relative strength will strengthen the tendons and ligaments over time. When this occurs, a ring practitioner can do magnifying compound exercises. Another pro is adjusting the height of the straps. You can lower one strap and have the other high to practice one-arm assistant pullups. It’s just an example. The wooden rings have a smooth surface for the palms. The buckles and straps are very safe and durable to handle body weight.
The cons of the rings are the instability beginners have to deal with because of the straps. The second is the black plastic ring’s surface isn’t smooth on the palms. The third is adjusting the height of the rings so one doesn’t feel higher or lower than the other.
How do the Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings measure up to other gymnastics rings?
| Prosourcefit Gymnastic Rings | Grey Gymnastic rings |
| Great for upperbody and core exercises | Great for upperbody and core exercises |
| Great for isometrics | Great for isometrics |
| Not great for isolation exercises | Not great for isolation exercises |
| Not great for leg exercises | Not great for leg exercises |
| Wooden rings surface smooth and black rings surface rough for palms | Grey rings surface rough for palms |
They measure up well with any other gymnastics ring on the market. The black and gray rings have the same surface feel, size, and look, except for the color. The grey rings are made of the same weather-resistant plastic material as the black ones. But the wooden rings feel much smoother on my palms than the black and the grey. I assume the wooden rings are the same as the others, but I’m not sure because these are the only ones I’ve ever had.
Who is it geared towards in the long run?
The practice of gymnastic rings benefits every person, young and older. It’s a bodyweight training style, so anybody can pick up a pair of rings and exercise. I would be concerned for the elderly if they were lifting heavy handheld weights, but they’re not. There are no excuses when it’s a pair of gymnastics rings. If a person wants to master the basics, that is fine. The basics are going to build up your body well. But it can also build your way toward performing advanced movements in the long run.
What types of exercises can you do with the Prosourcefit Gymnastics Rings?
You can do all sorts of upper-body and core exercises. To get the most out of using the rings, understand the correct posture, technique, and use of different angles. This is to ensure your getting a great workout done with gymnastic rings. Look at an article on static stretching before engaging in any physical activity. This article is to show you stretches to prevent you from underperforming and avoid tightness in the muscles.
Basic Hold
The basic hold is the foundational upper body strength exercise to help you control the body’s instability because the straps cause it. Another way of making this movement easier is slightly flexing the hips to help stabilize in midair. Multiple muscles are working together, and they are
- Anterior deltoids
- Triceps
- Forearms
- Pecs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Advance Hold
The advanced hold is the most challenging upper body hold because of the supination of the wrist. Your flexors and biceps are extended, and you must keep your elbows locked. Also, your hands are slightly away from the hips, which is why this hold is much more challenging than the basic hold. Another way of making this movement easier is slightly flexing the hips to help stabilize and slightly lean your torso forward. Muscles exercised are
- Posterior deltoids
- Triceps
- Forearms
- Pecs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Vertical Pushups
With continued practice with the basic hold, you’ll be able to stabilize yourself by lowering your body weight and raising it. To execute, get into the basic hold and slowly lower your body weight by flexing your elbows. While you flex your elbows, lean your torso forward. When you’ve reached down enough, raise yourself by extending your elbows, maintaining posture, and engaging every muscle. Muscles exercised are
- Forearms
- Anterior Deltoids
- Triceps
- Pecs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Horizontal Pushups
The classic horizontal pushup is slightly challenging because of the instability of the straps. But it’s ironically easier than I thought because of the familiarity when performing pushups on a solid surface or bar. What I like the most about the ring pushup are the wrist positions I can do. I can do it with a neutral, pronated, or supinated grip when I press up. Elevate your feet to align with the body at a 180-degree angle for the best push-up results. Muscles exercised are
- Forearms
- Triceps
- Anterior Deltoids
- Pecs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Vertical Pullups
The vertical pull-up is another classic calisthenics exercise for building upper body strength. The difference between the bar and the rings is this. The bar is stable; the rings are not. That’s a win for the bar, but it loses to the rings with this. You can’t go from the pronated grip to a supinated grip and vice versa when performing pullups on the bars. You can only make this transition with the gymnastic rings fluidly. Muscles exercised are
- Forearms
- Biceps
- Posterior Deltoids
- Traps
- Rotator Cuffs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Horizontal Pull-ups
Elevating your feet to align with the body at a 180-degree angle guarantees you activate multiple muscles with more engagement. This is because you shift your body weight more towards the upper body. Think of it as a weight scale. Add a 2-pound rock on one scale. Then the other 5 pounds on the other scale. The 5 pounds will weigh more. Muscles exercised are
- Forearms
- Biceps
- Posterior Deltoids
- Traps
- Rotator Cuff
- Lats
Muscle Ups
Two motions go together when performing this exercise. They are the vertical pullup and vertical pushup. To make this transition work, here’s my explanation. You have to complete a false grip when pulling yourself up. A false grip is when you flex the wrist and do an overhand grip on the rings.
As you can see in the photo, the bottom grip is neutral, and the top is a false grip. You can rotate your wrist to a neutral grip when you pull up while leaning your shoulders forward. When you’ve done all this, push up your body, and you’ll have completed a muscle-up. Muscles worked on are
- Forearms
- Biceps
- Triceps
- Anterior/Posterior Deltoids
- Pecs
- Traps
- Rotator Cuffs
- Lats
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Ring Rolls
Leaning forward by extending the body out is no easy task when you’re doing it with gymnastic rings. You must tilt your body, extend your arms, and grip tightly. Then you maintain your arms extended as your go back to starting position. Do this slowly to engage your core. Muscles worked on are
- Forearms
- Triceps
- Deltoids
- Pecs
- Lats
- Erector Spinae
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Leg Raises
The instability of the rings makes the leg raise much more challenging to perform. It’s much easier to execute on parallel bars because it’s stable. You maintain a firm posture by pressing down and extending your elbows to complete. Raise your extended leg out by flexing your hip joints. Muscles exercised are
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Knee Raises
The same body mechanics are done here, like the leg raise, except for extending your knees. Muscles exercised are
- Abdominals
- Obliques
Assisted Pistol Squats
Gymnastic rings can be beneficial in understanding the body mechanics of performing pistol squats. You can hold on to a ring and exercise. Doing this helps me understand how to one day be able to do pistol squats without assistance. Muscles exercised are
- Glutes
- Quads
Shipment
Conclusion
The Prosourcefit gymnastics rings are my absolute favorite of all my calisthenics apparatuses because they’re the most fun and challenging. The same goes for the other rings given to me as a gift. Without these bad boys, it would feel empty if I didn’t include them in my arsenal. I can be mobile with them at home, in the park, forest, downtown, anywhere can be my gym. I don’t need to attend a gym to pay for a membership. It’s like asking permission to exercise.
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