I used to workout all the time at a gym lifting weights, or working out at home lifting weights/bands.

It wasn’t until October of last year that I canceled my gym membership put the weights/bands away, and made the leap into the unknown world of calisthenics.

I figured if guys like Frank Medrano, Hannibal for King, Lord Vital, and Denis Minin, can be in great shape lifting just their own bodyweight, so can I.

I made a few purchases, as it was winter here in Spain when I began training, and I thought working out in the rain and cold might not be such a great idea.

The three purchases I made over the course of 3 months:

1) Dips Bars – $100 (Tax & Shipping included)
2) Parallette Bars -$35
3) Gymnastic Rings – $40 (Tax & Shipping included)

I want to preface that all three of these purchases are not required to do calisthenics, these were just personal preferences that I decided I needed to advance my training.

The three factors that influenced my decision-making process were:

Time – it was easier for me to buy these online and not build them, plus I wanted steel iron dip & parallette bars, that is of course a personal preference.

Energy – again citing the above item, it was easier to use my energy to buy them online. Again, I live in a small town where it just made sense to buy versus build.

Money – I realize I paid double what I would have normally would have if I just built them myself, but again, time and energy saved offset the cost of paying extra. In addition, I factored that as I had canceled my gym membership, which was $43 per month, in 4 months I would recouped my money, and also have something to show for it, instead of a wasted gym membership.

Dip Bars $100

My first purchase was a pair of dip bars that cost me around $100.

I realize I could have easily just used our dining room chairs putting them back to back, but when my girlfriend saw me doing that she nearly had a fit so I scrapped that idea and made the investment online for a pair of good dip bars.

With regards to dip bars, I was considering building my own with PVC, but in the videos that I saw, they just seemed a bit flimsy and tended to bend and move more than I wanted.

Here is a great video on just how to make them, that will cost you around $30-40.

I thought, my gym membership was cost my $43 per month, so in 2 1/2 months I will recoup my money on the dip bars.

In the end, the dip bars I decide to buy were the Lebert Equalizer dip bars for just $100 with tax and shipping included.

Parallette Bars $35

I also bought some parallette bars that cost me $35. Again I wanted metal iron parallette bars, of course this is a personal preference.

So altogether, the initial start-up costs were around $175. (4 months of the cost of my gym membership)

I could have bought PVC and made the parallette bars for half the cost, $30, but for me the cost was so small a price to pay that I opted to buy them.

Here is a great DIY (Do It Yourself) Video

As I said before, I live in a pretty small podunk town and with all the time involved and trial and error it would probably have evened out in cost with time and labor factored in or possibly even more. And yes, I know, the videos and PDF’s state it takes an hour to make, but where I live we don’t have a Home Depot.

For those more fortunate with ample resources (ie Home Depot) I would have probably made them myself, because the experience of building my own parallette bars certainly is priceless. But, nevertheless I opted to buy versus build.

The parallette bars I bought were by J-Fit, Pro Push Up Bars $35.

Gymnastic Rings $40

My last purchase was a pair of gymnastic rings with suspension wraps and buckles. The cost was $40. I bought these for several reasons:

1) Lifetime guarantee
2) Free Worldwide Shipping
3) Buckle and wraps included
4) Made from Baltic birch wood from Ireland.
5) The cost was the best I could find at the time.

As you probably know, I love the gymnastic rings. Suspension training gives you something that traditional bodyweight training methods really can’t.

Working out with some form of suspension training, preferably gymnastic rings, has made such a profound impact on me, that I was inspired to write a post just on this one subject.

All three purchases have been essential to my progress and training.

As for the title of this post, What to Expect From Calisthenics, here is a list of what you can expect in the days, weeks and months to come and some suggestions:

1) Goal(s) Setting:I would set a goal, what are you wanting to do exactly? Build muscles, transformations, lose weight?
2) Have a Plan: Stick to a routine and change it every 3-4 weeks, such as: Day 1 Chest/Back Day 2 Swimming Day 3 Shoulders/Triceps/Legs Day 4 Swimming Day 5 Back/Biceps Day 6 Swimming
3) The Three Pillars: Variety/Consistency/Intensity: You want to mix it up even when you have a set routine like above, changing up the exercises, with varied grips, leg stances, angles, etc. You want to be of course consistent and not mix a workout,and give 100% or don’t workout at all.
4) Take Your Time: Be patient, there are not quick fix, magic pills, special mantras, or unicorns and fairy tales….its all about be patient, and committed.
5) What’s Your Motivation: Have a WHY, this really should be #1, but I am writing spontaneously, so bear with me…..you need to know why you are working out in the first place, that will sustain you for the long haul.
6) Fun In The Sun: Have FUN, if its not fun you wont do it, period, so have fun, if there is a park nearby your house and you have time and its sunny go to the park and do pull ups, etc. It’s worth repeating again, have fun!
7) There’s Power In Numbers. Build a community is so critical to your success. It’s one of the reason why I created this site, to find and support like-minded people that share my passion for calisthenics. This is huge, you need to surround yourself with like-minded positve people, especially when you work out at home. You need to have a community. There are plenty of things you can do to our forum here, Facebook, you tube etc, but you want to have a community to support you, no man nor woman is an island.
8) Creativity. Working out at home especially calisthenics is all about being creative, you are no going the conventional way, where most people (67% to be exact) by a gym membership and never use it. You need to seek knowledge, check out the various interviews and articles on this website, go to YouTube videos or ExRx.net.
9) Rest. Believe it or not, calisthenics can kick your butt, don’t underestimate exercises that use just your body weight. You will be sore, it’s inevitable. You need to rest and recover, and most importantly sleep 7-9 hours every day, preferably 8 hours per day. To learn more about sleep check out this post.
10) Fuel the body. Food is without a doubt one of the most important parts to your training. Without food there is no fuel. Besides sleep, food and water are the two mainstays of a proper calisthenics training regimen. Eat whole foods in the unaltered states and drink plenty of water.

These are just a Cliff notes version of what you can expect as your train using your own bodyweight. Most important have FUN.

Part 2: 5:51 Minutes [Download]

I recently bought some gymnastic rings also known as suspension training and I have been pretty much using them on an ongoing basis.

They are one of our finest exercise inventions. Hands down.

When I was shopping for a pair, I came across a ton of options that varied in price, make, and material.

I had one big question before I embarked on my ring adventure: Would gymnastic rings make that big of a difference in my level of fitness?

To find the answer to this question and many more I searched the web.

What I found out was quite amazing.

History of the Gymnastic Rings

It’s a bit uncertain actually who created the first gymnastic rings what is known is that the “Big Three” of German gymnastics history – Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths, Gerhard Ulrich Anton Vieth, and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn did not know the apparatus yet.

Adolf Spiess (1810-1858) is supposed to have introduced the rings as a swinging apparatus, which he called “Ringeschwebel“.

In the textbook by Eiselen (1847), student of Jahn; there were pictures of rings with triangular handles (bow, triangle). The expression “bow exercises” was quite usual, too.

They were originally called “Roman Rings” due to their origins in Italy, which date back possibly two thousand years, but Jahn, ^[2] did not initially include them in his program. ^[3]

Ringeschwebel

 

Adolf Spiess introduced what he called Ringeschwebel in 1842 (he described them as such in his Turnlehre, or “gymnastics lesson”)^[4], originally introduced as a swinging apparatus, known as the “flying rings.”

These were triangular-shaped. At some later date circular rings replaced the original version. Since then rings are made of metal, leather-covered metal, rubber-covered metal, and finally the wood laminated rings used today.

Initially, German gymnasts experienced difficulty with the rings; much of the development of the rings took place in Roman and Benelux States. ^[4]

At first, the rings were used only as a method of training, not as a competitive sport on its own. But by the time of the first world gymnastics championships — held in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1903 — the rings had become a competitive sport.

Gymnastics on rings 1928 in Nürnberg, Germany: Hemp ropes and iron rings

Eventually, the flying rings were removed from collegiate circuits in the 1960s. Frank Snay, of the United States Naval Academy, was the last NCAA winner of the flying rings in 1961. ^[5] They appeared for the first time in the Olympic Games in 1924 (Paris, France, VIII Olympic Games)

Early ropes and rings were made of various materials, including metal and wicker. By 1936, the ropes were made of hemp; there also were designs available that used leather rope at the bottom to increase elasticity.

In 1954, gymnasts began using steel ropes for the upper and lower part of the apparatus with an adjustable middle.

Inward vertical supports were added to the frame in the 1950s to reduce horizontal swinging. In the 1970s, solid wooden rings were replaced by rings made of layered and glued wood.

Around the same time, the maximum load for the rings was increased from 250 kilograms to 400 kilograms — or about 550 pounds to 880 pounds.

No one will ever know for sure who was the original inventor. And quite frankly it doesn’t really matter.

We are all thankful that they exist.

What are Gymnastics Made of?
There are metal rings, wooden rings and plastic rings. The metal or steel rings are heavier than their counterparts and often more dangerous as they can swing around if you lose your grip and hit you in the head.

Growing up I used to play on an iron jungle gym and next to it we had gymnastic rings that were suspended by an iron chain link rope and beneath us was super tough industrial strength black tar rubber mats. When I think back on it, it probably wasn’t the safest piece in the playground, but we sure had a lot of fun.

Of the three choices I have opted for the wood rings. There light like the plastic rings but don’t slip from my hands like the plastic rings would when you sweat. The wood rings easily absorb the sweat and have a great feel.

Feeling is key for me. I want a solid grip. If it feels strong and sturdy I feel more comfortable. And the wooden rings definitely are strong and sturdy.

Most gymnastic rings will come with a two 5.8 meter (20 feet) plain nylon straps with easy to use black steel cam buckles.

Nowadays the buckles are super easy and you don’t need to be an expert to loop the strap thru the buckle like the old buckle systems.

The measurements of the standard apparatus are specified by Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in its Apparatus Norms document:^[2]

• Point of suspension 5.75 meters above floor (18.86 Feet)
• Height of rings 2.75 meters (including about 20 cm landing mats) (9 Feet)
• Distance between the rings 50 cm (19.68 Inches)
• Inside Diameter of the rings 18 cm (7 Inches)
• Total Diameter of the rings 23.6 cm (Thickness 28 mm) (9.29 Inches Diameter)

What to look for in a good set of gymnastic rings?

There are three things you want to look for in a good set of gymnastic rings:

1. Webbing
2. Buckle
3. The Ring

Here’s a great video, it’s a product review but it clearly explains all three points:

(Time: 4:49 minutes)

The real truth about the rings?

GMB Fitness (Gold Medal Bodies) has a great YouTube channel, this guy is all about gymnastic ring training, and probably one of the best out there. This is a great video about the truth regarding gymnastic rings. (Time: 2:55 minutes)

What are the advantages of gymnastic rings?

•  Versatile. With the gymnastic rings you can incorporate them into variety of different exercises. They can be used for suspension push ups, alternative to bar pull ups, the list is huge. Also you can adjust the rings for your skill level, in addition people of all different sizes can use them.
• Strength and flexibility Training. The rings are helpful to build endurance, power and agility which is ideal for any athlete.
• Inexpensive.  Rings can cost anywhere from $20 and up. A good set of rings typically cost $45-60 with the buckle straps included. That is a very small price to pay for such an ingenious piece of fitness equipment.
• Scalable. As you grow in your skill level so does the rings. Regardless of your level, there are ring exercises you can do.
  
• Functional training. When I speak of functional training, I mean ‘training the body for the activities performed in daily life. ’ Ergo training in a way that serves a  function, that you might normally need day to day. With the rings you get a full body workout, and most importantly the opportunity to use your core muscles and muscles that might not normally be engaged in the typical isolated weight training systems.
• Increase muscle mass in multiple areas of the body. This might be a bit redundant from the previous bullet point but with ring training you will increase muscle mass in many body parts simply for the mere fact that you will be using multiple muscle groups. Pretty common sense but worth noting as a separate item.
  
• Easy to setup. The rings are super simple to set up and takes literally minutes. Of all the exercise equipments out there the rings are extremely minimalist in nature. Two rings, two buckles and two bands. That’s it.
• Easy to use & get started.
  
• Portable training method. This is my favorite. Because the rings are relatively small and don’t take up much space you can throw them in a small backpack and you have your own personal gym. Granted you need a tree or a something to hang them on.
• Fun. The rings are a ton of fun, and they break up the monotony of the boring everyday workout routines by adding the extra element of suspension training. When was the last time you were suspend in the air?
  
• Natural movements. Joint friendly.
  
• Develops grip strength.

What are the disadvantages of gymnastic rings?

• Risk of injury.
• Likely to promote shoulder impingement
• Suspension training requires something to hang on.
• Because of the balance component involved in gymnastic ring training, it isn’t for beginners.
• Athletes should have a solid strength foundation and good balance to avoid injuries when beginning gymnastic ring training.
• Athletes with wrist or shoulder injuries should also be careful when using gymnastic rings, paying attention to pain signals from their bodies that indicate possible injury.

What are some of the common exercises with the gymnastic rings?

Grip Strength Video (Time: 7:53 Minutes)

Beginner Ring Workout – Part 1 (Time: 3:49 Minutes)

Beginner Ring Workout – Part 2 (Time: 4:55 Minutes)

Beginner Ring Workout (Time: 5:50 Minutes)

Beginner-Intermediate Ring Workout (Time: 2:44 Minutes)