HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Let me start by saying that I believe training with rings has a place in virtually every type of program. As a fitness coach with 18 years of experience, I regularly program gymnastic rings training into all my athletes’ and clients’ programs, regardless of whether they are training for improved mobility, strength, flexibility, balance, core stability, or a sports-specific goal. Gymnastic rings can be instituted as a standalone program for those with limited equipment or space (like a garage gym, apartment, or hotel room) or it can augment a current program to work around any injury history or simply to add variety.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

The programs in this book take advantage of the extreme versatility of gymnastic rings, and are suitable for:

• People interested in fitness, with at least 1–2 years of experience
• People looking for an introduction to gymnastic rings
• Coaches and personal trainers seeking advanced workouts for their clients
• Athletes who need to get stronger and faster, or break through existing plateaus
• The garage gym lifter who is limited by space
• The weekend warrior who enjoys training outside
• People who travel very frequently

As someone who still loves to train hard after 20 years, gymnastic rings allow me the opportunity for creativity and let me keep my workouts productive and varied. I use it to warm up my hamstring and glutes, to lessen the impact on my knees before lower body day, and to train my core before most daily workouts.

Gymnastic rings can help:

• Prevent injury from barbell-centric strength programs. By using gymnastic rings-based prehab work in your warm-ups or between sets, you can reduce the risk of injury when engaging in strength-building work.
• Reduce joint stress. The rings allow your body to move in a more natural, neutral path. For example, ring push-ups and dips lessen joint stress on the wrists, elbows, and shoulders when compared to the barbell bench press or parallel dips.
• Build your core stability to support heavier and safer squats and deadlifts. By working your core in multiple directions, gymnastic rings provide superior stability training to achieve better results faster.
• Introduce variety into your assistance programs. Making use of gymnastic rings lets you break away from your same-old dumbbell, barbell, and machine routines,

This book is a manifestation of my passion for gymnastic rings training, and I am very confident you will find something here to help build your body and fitness.

THIS BOOK INCLUDES:

• Individual UPPER BODY and LOWER BODY workouts that you can plug into your current program.
• 14 individual workouts from my brand-new GR/KB PROGRAM, which combines two of the most versatile pieces of equipment in the gym—gymnastic rings and the kettlebell.
• 15 BASIC CORE STABILITY workouts that hit all the abdominal muscles to look, feel, and perform better.
• 5 ADVANCED CORE STABILITY workouts that take things to the next level by adding the cable machine and a pair of dumbbells.
• The 4-week FAT BURN program that combines the full body strength and core stability of gymnastic rings with high and low intensity cardio.
• HEALTHY REHABprograms for the shoulders, back, and knees.
• The 4-week FUNCTIONAL ATHLETICS program that utilizes gymnastic rings to build a strong foundation.
• FULL BODY STRENGTH CIRCUITS, the gymnastic rings version of metabolic strength training (MST).
• POWERLIFTER programs, including core stability programs, intensity techniques, all-new assistance programs and PSD SETS.
• SPEED DEVELOPMENTprograms, using only gymnastic rings.
• GYMNASTIC RINGS CHALLENGES, a pair of high-intensity workouts to really push your limits.