Ring Dips

Overview

Ring dips elevate the standard dip onto free‑moving rings. The instability forces your chest, triceps, shoulders, lats, and core to coordinate while you press out of the bottom.

They’re a staple in CrossFit for gymnastics strength & progressions to advanced movements. Mastery improves lockout strength for muscle‑ups, handstand push‑ups, and barbell presses while sharpening shoulder control.

How to Perform

Break each rep into three controllable phases. Treat the support position as its own skill, not just the start:

• Set‑Up: Adjust rings to shoulder width. Jump or press to support with elbows locked and rings turned out (palms slightly forward). Squeeze glutes and legs together for a hollow body.
• Descent: Tuck elbows ~45° as the rings brush your ribs. Lower under control until shoulders pass below elbows while keeping ribs stacked over pelvis.
• Press: Drive down on the rings, push the body up, and re‑lock elbows in a turned‑out support before the next rep.

🎯 Coaching Cues 🎯
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➡️ “Turn rings out in support”
➡️ “Lower shoulders below elbows”
➡️ “Keep hollow body tension”

Technique Focus

Turned‑out support recruits the lats and places the shoulder in a safer externally rotated position. If you cannot hold it for 10–15 seconds, accumulate support holds before chasing volume.

Tempo is both protective and productive: use a two‑second eccentric with a brief pause to engrain scapular depression at the bottom and prevent bouncing.

• Elbow track: keep close to ribs to spare the AC joint.
• ‍Active shoulders: depress scapulae; avoid shrugging.‍
• Legs together: squeeze glutes, point toes to stabilize.

Ring vs. Bar Dips

Below is a comparison of three different types of dips you can perform:

• Ring Dip – highest stability demand; recruits more scapular and core stabilizers.
• Parallel‑Bar Dip – fixed path; easier to add external load for pure strength.
• Bench Dip – easiest of the three; less focused on stability but more anterior‑shoulder stress at deep ranges.

Common Mistakes

Below are a few common mistakes when performing the ring dip:

• ‍Rings drifting apart – indicates lost shoulder tension. Squeeze the rings inward lightly and maintain turned‑out support at the top.‍
• Partial depth – shoulders not below elbows. Lower the rings and use a light band or feet support until full range is consistent.‍
• Piked hips – breaking the hollow position makes balancing harder and reduces pressing power. Keep ribs and pelvis stacked.

Variations & Progressions

Scale stability or load based on capacity. Progress when you can hit multiple clean sets without losing support:

🧱 Scaled variations 🧱

• Band‑Assisted Ring Dip – band under knees unloads bodyweight while preserving balance demand
• Feet‑Supported Ring Dip – rings low; light foot pressure adds safety and control

🦾 Advanced progressions 🦾

• Tempo 3‑1‑3 – slow eccentric and concentric to engrain positions
• Weighted Ring Dip – dip belt or vest once 10 strict reps are solid
• Dip + 5‑s Support Hold – isometric lockout each rep for scapular endurance

Mobility Focus

Properly executed ring dips require shoulder extension and external rotation plus solid thoracic extension. Tight pec minor or lats will tug shoulders forward and limit depth.

Below is a quick warm-up flow you can use:

• Doorway pec stretch (2×30 s/side)
• Banded shoulder extension on a box (2×10)
• Scap push‑ups (2×10)
• Turned‑out support holds for (2-3 x 10–15 s)

Benefits & Carryover

Ring dips strengthen triceps lockout and scapular control that transfer to muscle‑ups, handstand push‑ups, and bench pressing.

The balance requirement builds midline control that steadies overhead work and improves bar path on presses and jerks.

Programming Tips

For strength, keep reps low and tension high—quality over quantity. Place ring dips after primary presses or cleans to protect shoulder freshness.

For gymnastics capacity or conditioning, use EMOMs or descending rep schemes paired with non‑interfering lower‑body movements.

Below are a few example sessions based on different objectives:

• Strength: 5×3 weighted ring dips @ RPE 8, rest 2 min
• Muscular Endurance EMOM: 10 min – 4–6 strict ring dips every min
• Conditioning: 21‑15‑9 ring dips & wall balls

Wrap‑Up

Ring dips blend pressing force with high‑value shoulder control. Own the support position, use tempo to protect the joints, and progress load only when positions stay crisp. The payoff is a steadier lockout for advanced ring skills and a stronger finish on your barbell presses and jerks.

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