Build Serious Strength and Make Continual Progress Without Injury or Burnout

The word “complete” is pretty loaded, so this isn’t easy to answer.

The program is designed to be followed in three-month cycles, and you can do as many cycles as you want (you’ll go deeper into the practice each time through). We recommend alternating cycles with a different program for variety and to balance other goals.

However, depending on where you’re starting from, it could take more or less time.

You see, a training program is a process. Like a highway, there are multiple entrances and exits. If you’re already pretty strong, you can work through the phases in the specified time. If you’ve never done anything like this before, you may need to add a couple of weeks to Phase 1 to build the basic strength before moving on.

As far as “completion” goes, that depends on your goal.

If you’re doing this to get stronger, you’ll be achieving that all along, and you can judge for yourself just how strong you want to become.

If you’ve got a particular skill goal in mind, it may take longer to perfect, but you’ll still be getting stronger the whole time, so no effort is wasted in taking you time to practice correctly.

the most important thing to realize is that your training is not a race.

Do it for yourself and don’t compare your progress with other people who don’t share your same situation. When you run your own race, you can stop “racing,” and still win.

It’s up to you.

For Phase 1, you can get away with hanging your rings from a pull-up bar, but you’ll need more space if you want to learn muscle-ups and other “transition” moves.

So from Phase 2, you’ll probably need to move outside and find a sturdy tree branch or some other location that is high enough.

Many of our clients have used eye-bolts screwed into the joists in their homes, and quite a few have found novel ways to suspend their rings from various structures in their garages and neighborhoods.

If you’re creative, you can find a good place to hang your rings, so don’t let this be an excuse.

A lot of people who have been working out for a few years ask us if they can skip R1. Usually, the answer is no.

You need to understand that training on the rings is a lot different from lifting weights or probably any other training you’ve done before. It works your muscles in a different way and puts greater torque on your joints.

To make a long story short, unless you have a few months of experience on rings, start with R1.

Rings One is specifically designed to give beginners – even strong beginners – the essential foundation for ring work. Even if you’ve been lifting weights for years, you’ll find R1 to be sufficiently challenging. But we also have a prep program for complete beginners to get started.

We suggest that anyone considering skipping R1 be able to perform the following pre-requisites:

• 5 strict ring muscle-ups (no kipping)
• 30 second ring L-sit hold
• 10 second freestanding handstand on the floor

If you can’t do that yet, no problem – get R1 an you’ll be there soon.

We designed Rings One around a Monday, Wednesday Friday schedule.

Three days a week gives you enough training time to stimulate muscle while providing ample recovery so your body can heal and get stronger between sessions. (Recovery is one of the most underrated aspects of training, and we discuss some recovery tips in the program manual.)

In Phase 1, you’ll be on an “A/B split” where you alternate workouts A and B every session. This is a proven training template that affords some variety while assuring progression.

Phase 2 changes things up a bit with more combined movements, and Phases 3 and 4 move towards a single movement routine.

Of course, if your schedule demands fewer workouts, that’s fine, and the program manual will explain how to adapt the program to your needs. If you’re young and find you recover quickly, you might be tempted to add a workout, but usually it’s a better bet to increase the difficulty of the exercises instead (we’ll show you how to do that too).

R1 isn’t designed to take over your life and monopolize your free time, but you’ll need to make it a priority to set aside time for your practice if your results are important to you.

Yes!

We’ve had many women use Rings One and make progress. However, we should be clear that this is not an easy program, and it’s probably not the best program to start with unless you already have some training history.

In general, we recommend R1 to people who can already do five pull-ups.

If you are a woman wanting to use the rings, we want you to know that nothing is impossible. You can get very strong and have a great time with R1.

You may find it difficult in the beginning, but we’ll always be available to help you out with the very best support available online.

If you can do a few pull-ups and are ready to take your pulling strength to the next level, then Rings One is perfect for you. If you aren’t sure or want to get our advice, just call or send us an email anytime. We’ll give it to you straight and help you find the best path forward in your training.

Nope!

Though Ryan was a competitive gymnast in school, we’re not gymnasts, and we bet you aren’t either.

And if you’re planning to take up the sport of gymnastics seriously, you should be looking for a coach at a real gymnastics center instead of trying to teach yourself via the internet.

GMB ring training is not designed to prepare you for gymnastic meets.

It’s a method for building strength and skills that will make you more fit for things you’re likely to actually do in real life. This is a fitness program.

We have to be clear on this point, because there are a few gymnastics coaches who seem to think that training for gymnastic sport is the same thing as training for personal fitness. It’s not. The demands, goals, and pre-requisites are completely different.

GMB ring training is designed for people with no gymnastic experience.

As you work through Rings One, you’ll get familiar with the fundamental movements and build the strength and body control necessary to attempt the more difficult strength holds in in Rings Two. Neither program advances beyond what is considered “basic” in gymnastics, but it goes well beyond what most fitness enthusiasts and professionals can do.

If you want to take up gymnastic, go do that.

But if you want to use rings to get strong and fit and learn to use your body, the GMB Curriculum is the best bet.

Since gymnastic rings and parallettes exercises tend to be focused on upper-body and trunk strength, we created a supplemental Leg Module that integrates with our rings and parallettes programs.

The Leg Module covers bodyweight squat and lunge variations to complement your core apparatus training.

You’ll learn and practice a series of leg-dominant movements that focus on building explosive strength throughout the lower body in all directions. There are three difficulty levels for each movement in the series, and you can choose the ones that suit your level.

Of course, you’re welcome to go to a gym and do squats or deadlifts if that’s what you prefer, but most people find these movements to be adequately challenging in the context of a program that is focused primarily on ring or parallette training. In other words, you don’t want to do so much leg training that you are too tired to perform well in your main workouts.

The Leg Module isn’t an “ultimate leg workout,” but it suits the goals of our R and P Series programs.

None of the programs in the GMB Curriculum are designed for weight loss. We’re concerned with making you stronger and teaching you how to move better.

You can lose weight by doing this, but it would just be a side benefit in our view.

Depending on where you’re at right now, you might decide that you need to lose weight before starting. That’s completely fine. Any of our programs will be easier to perform if you are at a healthy weight… though, by the same logic, almost anything is easier to perform at a healthy weight.

If you are otherwise healthy, the biggest factor in reducing bodyfat is nutrition.

Your program manual will include links to resources that explain our nutritional approach, but we don’t go so far as to include meal plans and a regimented diet. That’s because everybody likes different foods, and we’ve found that you can make progress without having to eat a preselected menu.

If you eat good foods, train effectively, and get enough sleep, you can build your strength while reducing the amount of fat your carry.

Following this program may or may not reduce your scale weight, because as the fat comes off, you’ll be adding muscle. The result is that your bodyweight will “reproportion” itself into a nicer shape overall.

Just to be clear, this is not an appropriate program if you are obese.

But if you’re a bit overweight and want to get stronger and learn how to use your body better, this is a great place to start.

Well, you can actually do whatever you want…

But if you’re asking our advice, we’d reming you to think about what an “off day” means. It means that you don’t train.

We’re not saying you can’t/shouldn’t use weights. We all train with weights (sometimes, depending on goals). They can be extremely useful, but you have to decide what your main training priority really is.

If your main priority is increasing your squat, then we wouldn’t call weight training days an “off” day.

If you want to do squats or deadlifts while working a GMB program, that’s fine, but we do have some recommendations for integrating that practice effectively, and these are explained in the program manual.

Needless to say, you will have to focus on one or the other if you really want to improve.

You can focus on weights and do some GMB movement practice on the side. Or you can focus on improving your movement skill and use weights on the side to build specific strength or work on your physique goals. You just need to know which one is your main training and which one is your extra training and plan your schedule accordingly.

Whichever you put first, don’t skimp on recovery by trying to turn “off” days into “on” days.

We live in a busy, time-obsessed culture. Every fitness program is judged in comparison with such crap as Six Minute Abs and other programs claiming to provide magical fast results with minimal effort.

Sorry, but it simply doesn’t work that way.

You will have to devote time to your training.

How much? That depends on where you’re at in the program.

All of our programs feature four different phases which are organized around different training principles. Each phase has work days on which you’ll complete a full workout and recovery days that you might just want to do some stretching on.

The first couple of sessions of a new training phase may require an hour or more.

That’s because you’ll want to check the manual, refer to the instructional videos, try new movements, check the video again, fix your technique, etc. And since each exercise will be pretty difficult at first, you’ll want to take the maximum suggested rest period between sets.

This isn’t a “cardio burn” workout, so resting is OK. Your CNS needs that time to learn new motor patterns.

As you memorize the movements and refer less often to the videos, you can complete the sessions in less time. We planned all of the workouts to be doable in under an hour, but the exact time for you may vary.

One of the benefits of this kind of training is that you probably don’t need to go to a gym to do it, so you can save a good deal of time that way.

Regardless, remember that you control your priorities, and that includes how you choose to use your time. If you have time for reality TV, you have time for training. It’s as simple as that. Ask yourself how important your fitness is to you, and make a commitment to reflect that in your scheduling choices.

Plan on three to six hours a week for most GMB programs.

It might be the best time investment you ever make.