Thoughts on Geoffrey Verity Schofield's Rings Training E-book?

[power1]

Curious on some other perspectives on his book. He's not a calisthenics purist and he trains more for aesthetics/hypertrophy. He doesn't do any skills training like muscle ups, levers or planches. I think his weight training background allows him to bring some unique perspectives and ideas in comparison to the average calisthenics practitioner.

For example, RTO (rings turned out) is usually used at the top of movements like ring dips and push ups, where as GVS does it through out the whole movement which gives an intense stretch on the chest. Another interesting idea he uses is a staggered stance on Pelican curls. This allows the intensity to be more precisely controlled.

Anyway, just wanted to start some discussion. What do you like or dislike about his take on rings? Obviously I'm a fan of him and his content in general but curious to hear what other think.

Link for those interested:
https://www.verityfit.com/product-page/ring-training-for-hypertrophy

 

[darkish]

@power1 It's sorta like "Body By Rings" in book form. If your primary interest is in bodybuilding via rings, I think it is an absolutely outstanding piece of literature.

 

[power1]

@darkish What's your opinion on Body by Rings? It seems like a good program for an intermediate trainee without much ring experience.

 

[darkish]

@power1 I'm generally a fan. I bought it at launch almost a decade ago and wasn't strong enough to actually do it. Since then I've run it 4 or 5 times, only getting through phase 1 or phase 2. It does what it says on the box, and I had decent hypertrophy results from it.

As a criticism I think it makes jumps in difficulty between phases that are wholly unjustified, and it relies a lot on pelican curls which require a huge amount of strength to even do the regression.

 

[power1]

@darkish Yeah I find pelican curls are a tough movement to crack. Needs a lot of toying with to find the right angle. That's what I like about the staggered foot stance GVS recommends, it allows you to do the movement in a similar way to the feet together variation, with the forward foot reducing the load and intensity.