Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

Strict ring muscle-ups demand advanced pulling and pressing strength, shoulder stability, and technical control on unstable rings. Many athletes cannot perform even one rep; those who can will still face a fast strength-endurance failure point. While the total duration is short and volume is low, the skill ceiling and strict strength requirement elevate the difficulty substantially.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Strength (8/10): High strength demand for strict pulling to rings, transition control, and pressing to full lockout on unstable rings. Bodyweight strength through a long range of motion is the key driver.
• Stamina (6/10): The set ends due to local muscle fatigue in pulling, transition, and dip support. Repetition quality under fatigue and maintaining positions is the primary limiter once you can perform multiple reps.
• Flexibility (4/10): Shoulder extension and external rotation in the dip, plus wrist/forearm mobility for false grip. Not extreme, but limitations here can break positions and cost reps.
• Power (3/10): Explosiveness is limited by the strict standard. Smooth, deliberate force production is favored over speed or dynamic hip power used in kipping variations.
• Speed (2/10): Reps should be controlled. Cycling fast risks losing the false grip or stability. Brief transitions between phases, not sprint pacing, define performance here.
• Endurance (1/10): There is minimal cardiovascular demand. Effort is brief and limited by strength and skill more than heart rate or breathing. You won’t build aerobic capacity here, but you may feel slightly winded from tension and bracing.

Movements

• Strict Ring Muscle-Up

Scaling Options

Scale to: Low-ring strict transition + dip (feet-assisted) • Max unbroken strict chest-to-ring Pull-Up • Max unbroken strict Ring Dip

Scaling Explanation

These options isolate the pulling, transition, and pressing components to build strict strength and control while preserving the unbroken-set stimulus.

Intended Stimulus

One focused, maximal, unbroken effort under high tension. It should feel like a controlled grind where each rep demands excellent positions and patience. Expect a rapid rise in local fatigue of forearms, lats, biceps, chest, and triceps. Finish just before form breaks—quality over desperation—while maintaining strict standards throughout.

Coach Insight

Warm up false grip, strict chest-to-ring pulls, and deep ring dips. Commit to one best attempt when fresh. The big tip: keep the rings close to your torso and your wrists high during transition—don’t let the false grip slip. Avoid kipping, chicken-winging, or soft lockouts. If a rep slows to a stop, end the set before you fail hard.

Benchmark Notes

Score is your best unbroken set. If you can’t get one, you’re L1. Around 4 reps is L5, while 12–15 reps marks elite control and strength. Take one quality attempt when warm and fresh; no time cap means the score reflects pure strict capacity, not pacing.

Modality Profile

This is purely gymnastics: strict ring muscle-ups require bodyweight pulling, transition, and support strength on rings. No monostructural work or external loading is involved, and performance depends entirely on control and strength through the gymnastic movement pattern.

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