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.
@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 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.
@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.
@power1 size and strength enthusiast here. i really like how he’s in a similar camp and how i can more or less trust that his advice is tailored towards a similar goal of hypertrophy.
i think rings are the hidden solution to 99% of genpop who want to get into fitness to look good but cant or wont get a gym membership.
this book is just another handbook in my arsenal for exercise selection and progression and a damn good one. him/bald omni man have got me spamming the shit out of inverted rows and pushups on rings and my upper back and chest have been getting incredible stimulus. ring rack chins (might have found those from alex/alphadestiny) have also felt great on the lats and will likely make it into my routine either that or full ring pullups. ill even sometimes do sissy and pendulum squats w the rings instead of leg extensions.
the biggest benefit i see is that im a student and occasionally if im being a lazy degen or busy studying for something i can easily get a great upper body stimulus in literally just doing sets in my doorway when i go to the washroom or as a study break instead of walking all the way to the gym.
something i forget if its included but i wish i had a better idea of is how to warmup properly cuz if im doing sets of 5-10 dips im not cutting my legs off so i can warmup with a lighter weight
@mommajulesberry Right on man! Yeah I think you're right on the hidden solution for most folks. They're so affordable, I guess they just seem inaccessible at first because most people just see the fancy moves. But the variety of movements you can do is limitless. I think that they can be used to write the gym out of the equation (for upper body at least) has so much potential for aiding a person's adherence.
Some warm up advice I can offer which applies to any body weight movement: Gradually work your way through movements that use similar muscles and gradually increase the intensity. So for ring dips, I would do-floor push ups > ring push ups> dip support hold> 3-4 ring dips > working sets.
Similar for chin ups> incline supine row > parallel to ground supine row > hang > 3-4 chin ups > working set.
This adequately scales the intensity and preps the nervous system.
@power1 I like it, I read through it and Geoff is a smart dude. I have a body by rings as well - which I love by the way, but this book is almost the same quality as bbr and its way less expensive, I would say it's great for learning how to program for muscle-building using rings.
@power1 Yeah. It is a push, pull, push, pull program. It's 3 phases each lasting 5 weeks with a deload week at the end of each phase, it's awesome, I run a version of it every spring and summer.
@power1 I don't have the E-book but having watched a lot of his content as well as bald omniman I know for sure it's going to be really good if gaining muscle is your goal. Like most people here have mentioned, the best comparison I have is body by rings from fitnessFAQs.
If strength training with planche, levers, building up to iron cross and other advanced ring strength moves.. this is not for you, might have to go elsewhere for that content
@power1 I'd consider turning the rings out only at the top to be a progression on the way to "true" RTO dips/pushups. Can't think of anything wrong with staggered stance for pelican curls either.
Take this with a grain of salt, as I have read nothing he has written and don't plan to buy the book.
@coldsummer Yeah the RTO at the top is well known in gymnastics as a stable position and full lock out at the top. Full RTO is just taking it a step further. GVS and some other content creators are big advocates of reverse grip bench press, so he's just applying it in a calisthenics context and found similar applicability.
Yeah, no expectation you should buy his book. I enjoy his content so I wanted to support him in a monetary way, and $10 wasn't asking too much so I went for it. I typically don't have interest in paying for things like programs because I fee confident in my own knowledge, and a big part of that is content from this sub Reddit.
