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Dynamic strength

Ring Muscle-Up

Hang from the rings on straight arms, pull until your chest is above them, move your body over them and press out into a straight-arm support. Rulebooks list it as its own element, and the sources disagree on how the rings turn.

Three positions of one repetition: free hang, transition, support. These are the positions of the bar muscle-up page with one ring in the place of the bar (the two rings overlap from the side); the Atlas has no ring-specific poses, and the side view also hides where the rings are in the transition. The picture follows the pull to the chest, which this page calls the bent-arm style (a label of its own), not the straight-arm gymnastic uprise. It cannot show the false grip, how the rings turn (the sources disagree: 180 degrees over the movement, turned out throughout, or only the wrist turns) or the space between the rings. The angles are this page's model: no source gives a target joint angle for these positions.
Difficulty
Advanced
editorial estimate
Steps to it
4 steps
Intermediate → Advanced
Usually done on
Rings
Start with the first stepHow it is done

Prepared by Calisthenics Balkan. Not yet reviewed by a qualified coach. 16 sources

The road at a glance

A short overview with links. Every step is explained in full under Progressions.

Helps to have first

This skill

Ring Muscle-Up

Leads towards

No movement in the Atlas builds directly on this one yet.

01

What it is

As competition rules define it, a ring muscle-up starts from a free hang on straight arms, pulls over the rings and ends in a straight-arm support above them. FinalRep's rulebook asks for fully extended elbows and a completely free-hanging body at the start, and fully extended elbows at the top of the rings. CaliContest's 'Ring Muscle Up' starts from a hang with a false grip and ends with a dip that finishes with the arms extended above the rings. The coaching articles describe the same sequence: pull until the chest is above the rings, roll the body over them in a transition, press out.12710

This Atlas gives it its own page because rule books list it as its own element: FinalRep has a ring muscle-up event (in that rulebook the ring version is performed by women only, as a weighted lift; men usually do the bar version, and women may ask for the bar version), CaliContest lists a ring muscle-up and a slow ring muscle-up next to its bar versions, and FIG's programme for young gymnasts names a 'muscle up to support' on rings. No source says the ring and the bar version are two different skills; that is an editorial decision. FIG's men's code of points does not use the name 'muscle-up' at all, and two elements it lists, 'uprise forward to support' and 'kip to support', are not called muscle-ups there. The local-language name 'Muscle-up na karikama' is this Atlas's own descriptive name; no established local term was confirmed.1234

The ring version differs from the bar version in one laboratory study (Walker and colleagues, ten recreationally active men, both versions done with a kip): the rings asked more of the upper trapezius, the biceps and the forearm muscles in the pull, and of the triceps and the biceps in the press. The bar holds the hands in a fixed overhand position, while on rings the hands sit in a more neutral position and can rotate. The authors suggest that the bar version may be a better one to learn first; that is their suggestion, not a test of a learning order.5

The sources describe two styles that this page does not mix. The coaching articles (Glassman, Rochet, Gagnon) describe pulling the rings to the chest and rolling over them; this page calls that the bent-arm style, a label of its own, to tell it from the style Rocha and colleagues describe. The rulebooks define the start, the finish and what counts as a fault, but do not describe the path of the pull. Rocha and colleagues describe the gymnastic style, built on the front uprise: a swing, an arch, a hollow, then a strong extension of the hips while the rings are pulled towards the shoulders with the elbows kept extended, the hips reaching the level of the rings and a finish in an L-sit. That description comes from one participant (n=1), three attempts per style, analysed for hip and ankle movement; the authors conclude that the gymnastic style seems advantageous for speed, a hypothesis and not a training recommendation. The pictures follow the bent-arm style; the other style appears only as text.1267810

The false grip is taught by most ring sources. Rochet puts the ring in the base of the palm rather than the fingers, with the wrist over the top, and Jackson also says towards the base of the palm; Glassman has the meat of the hand rolled over the ring until the wrist is in full contact with it. Hurst puts the ring further into the palm, around mid-palm, with the wrist bent but not so far that the wrist is inside the ring, so the sources differ on where the ring sits. FinalRep allows the false grip on rings, while on the bar it counts a touch of the wrist or forearm on the bar as invalid, and CaliContest asks for it at the start. FIG's code says a false grip (wrists bent to gain an advantage) is not permitted for strength holds and deducts 0.1; it does not mention the muscle-up, so this page does not say that gymnastics forbids it in one.124791112

How the rings turn is where the sources disagree. Glassman has the rings turn by 180 degrees over the whole movement, from two parallel planes into one plane and back. Hurst says to keep the rings turned out throughout the movement. Marks calls the outward turn a bonus in the pull and the dip and does not say what happens in the transition, and Jackson describes the wrist turning, not the rings. Gagnon and Rochet (Part 3) do not describe a turn of the rings; Gagnon lists a drill called ring push-ups with turn-out without explaining the turn. Walker says the wrist rotates as the body moves up to the rings and that on rings the hands can rotate through several planes, without saying how far. Rochet (Part 2) describes the hands turning from turned out at the bottom of a ring pull-up to knuckles facing each other at the top, as a preview of the transition. This page therefore draws no path of the rings and gives no angle.578910111213

Some numbers are missing on purpose. No source gives a target joint angle for these positions (FinalRep defines full elbow extension as 180 degrees; one blog mentions 90 degrees for the legs in the L-sit and for the depth of the dip). No rulebook or study gives a ring height, a space between the rings or a height from which a fall matters; one ring seller's blog (Marks) says to set the straps shoulder width apart and that too wide a spacing strains the elbow, which this page does not turn into a rule. CaliContest scores the ring muscle-up at 50 points and the bar muscle-up at 80; the rulebook does not say what those values stand for, so this page does not read them as a ranking of difficulty.1213

Start from a free hang on straight arms, pull until the chest is above the rings, keep them close through the transition and press out to straight arms.

02

How it is done

  1. Hang free on straight arms

    Start in a free hang with the elbows fully extended and the body hanging free; Walker set the rings so that the feet did not touch the floor. FinalRep does not let the pull start from a swing, and CaliContest asks for the false grip and extended arms and legs at the start. Glassman describes the grip like this: roll the meat of the hand over the ring, thumb on the starting side, until the wrist opposite the thumb is in full contact with the ring.1257

    CueElbows fully extended, body hanging free.1

  2. Pull until the chest is above the rings

    Glassman brings the rings to the breastbone, below the collarbones, Gagnon speaks of a deep pull to the sternum and Rochet asks for the chest, not only the chin, above the rings. Glassman moves the elbows from in front of the body up and behind it and keeps the rings close to the body. Rocha and colleagues mention a pull to the chest, the lower ribs or the hips as an adaptation of people who are not gymnasts, which they say can complete the task but not necessarily efficiently; this page does not give the lower ribs or the hips as a goal.67810

  3. Roll over in the transition

    Glassman rolls the chest over the bottom of the rings, leans forward with the nose over the rings, keeps the trunk hollow and lets the elbows go back and then slightly up, with the rings kept close; he says every bit of extra distance makes it harder. Gagnon describes the weight moving from slightly behind the rings to the middle of them. Jackson calls the transition the tricky, most difficult phase, from the top of the pull-up to the bottom of a deep ring dip; Walker only describes a pull phase followed by a dip phase, with the wrist rotating between them. The picture shows the chest at the rings with the elbows high and behind; how the rings turn here is where the sources disagree.57812

    CueKeep the rings close to the body.7

  4. Press out to straight arms

    Press until the elbows are fully extended above the rings: FinalRep asks for fully extended elbows at the top, and CaliContest's dip finishes with the arms extended. Rochet describes the support with the shoulders down and the rings still and turned slightly out with the palms forward, without an angle; Hurst and Marks also mention turning out, FIG's programme for 12 to 13 years asks for hands turned out at least parallel in its L-sit, and Hurst asks for the wrists to be as straight as possible above the rings.12391113

    CueFinish with the elbows fully extended.1

03

Progressions

These steps let you record the version you do now. The order is editorial: it is given explicitly by Rochet (Parts 2 and 3) and Marks, Gagnon's workouts imply it and Glassman gives none, and no source says which step is required. Sources give a few numbers (Glassman 15 pull-ups and 15 dips, Marks 10 and 10, Rochet Part 3 quoting Vadnal 5 pull-ups, 5 dips and 10 push-ups, Rochet Part 2 a support hold of at least 30 seconds to a minute), but they disagree and none is a tested threshold.

What to have first

  • A pull-up and a dip

    The movement is a pull that turns into a push, so the pull-up and the dip are the two halves it joins. Glassman names 15 good pull-ups and 15 dips; Marks 10 pull-ups, 10 dips and an L-sit, and later 5 explosive false-grip pull-ups and 5 dips; Rochet (Part 3), quoting Vadnal, roughly 5 strict pull-ups, 5 dips and 10 push-ups. These are individual coaches' figures that disagree, and none is a threshold. Walker's abstract only speaks of appropriate upper-limb development. Judge by whether the steps feel controlled.571013

  • Wrists and grip that cope with the false grip

    DIE RINGE says the false grip puts significant strain on the muscles and skin of the wrist, and Jackson says the wrist needs enough flexion to hold it. Training it on its own before relying on it in a muscle-up is the order the ring sources repeat.1214

  • Shoulders that cope with unstable rings

    Jackson says rings are unstable and place high demands on the shoulder stabilisers, and advises slow and gradual progress.12

  1. Step 1Intermediate

    Hang with a false grip

    Hang from the rings with the false grip: the ring lies across the base of the palm and the wrist is over the top of it (Rochet; Jackson says the ring runs diagonally across the hand towards the base of the palm); Hurst puts the ring further into the palm, around mid-palm, so the sources differ. Jackson says the wrist needs enough flexion for it. The order repeated in the sources goes on with rows and pull-ups on the false grip, and DIE RINGE has a page for the false-grip row.

    Technical note: The picture shows the hang; the grip itself cannot be seen in it. Marks suggests hanging in the false grip for as long as you can, 5 or 10 minutes after a workout; no rulebook or study gives a time.911121314

  2. Step 2Intermediate

    Straight-arm support on rings

    Hold the support above the rings with straight arms and the shoulders down. Rochet teaches it as one of the ring positions to own before the muscle-up, and the order repeated in the sources continues with ring dips. Both rulebooks end the muscle-up in extended arms above the rings.

    Technical note: The picture shows the support; whether and how far the rings turn out is not drawn, and the sources that mention it give no measured angle.129

  3. Step 3Advanced

    Transition on low rings

    Practise the pull-over with part of the weight taken off. Gagnon lists low rings, toe-assisted and box versions; Rochet (Part 3) has the feet on the floor or a box and Jackson on the floor; Marks and Jackson use a band (Gagnon's band is for a support hold). Marks adds slow negatives. Glassman describes a spotter who pushes gently and straight up under the backside during the transition.

    Technical note: The picture shows the pull and the transition; the help (feet, box, band or spotter) is not drawn, and this page gives no amount of help or number of repetitions.78101213

  4. Step 4AdvancedGoal

    Ring muscle-up

    From a free hang on straight arms, pull over the rings and finish in a straight-arm support above them. Gagnon says to learn it as a strict skill before adding momentum and Marks says not to kip before the strict version. FinalRep marks excessive kipping or kicking as invalid, allows a minimal knee or hip change that is not sudden and gives no advantage, and does not let the pull start from a swing; CaliContest does not allow kipping in any form and counts it as a penalty.

    Technical note: Full describes the movement, not a number of repetitions or a speed; CaliContest's slow version (at least 6 seconds) is a scoring rule of one circuit.12813

04

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05

Common mistakes

  • Losing the false grip at the transition

    Rochet (Part 3) says a false grip that is not secure tends to slip exactly at the transition. Glassman says that when someone cannot get over, half the time there is too much hand on the thumb side of the ring.710

  • Letting the rings drift away or spread

    Glassman and Rochet (Part 3) say rings that move away from the body make the transition harder, DIE RINGE says to keep the rings close for control during the transition, and Rochet lists letting the rings flare out as an error.71014

  • Pulling only to the chin

    Rochet says the chest, not only the chin, has to come above the rings.10

  • Swing or kick instead of strength

    Rochet, Gagnon and Marks all say to prefer strength to swing. FinalRep marks excessive kipping or kicking as invalid, allows a minimal knee or hip change that is not sudden and gives no advantage, and does not let the pull start from a swing; CaliContest does not allow kipping in any form and counts it as a penalty. FIG's programme for young gymnasts (12 to 13 years, p. 61) expects one continuous action and lists a kick or swing into the muscle-up and a lack of continuity as errors.12381013

  • Bent arms at the start or an unfinished top

    FinalRep lists among its invalid repetitions: bent arms at the start, not getting over the rings, an unfinished lockout at the top and a 'chicken wing', which it describes as the elbows coming over the rings one after the other. These are competition rules, not advice for learning.1

06

Variations and related skills

  • The same pull over a fixed bar, with a page of its own. FinalRep treats the grips differently: on the bar a false grip with the wrist or forearm touching the bar is invalid and a semi-false grip is allowed, while on rings the false grip is allowed.15

  • Gymnastic front uprise (straight-arm style)

    The style Rocha and colleagues describe (n=1) and that Walker names as the parent of the ring muscle-up: a swing and a hollow, then a strong hip extension with the elbows kept extended. FIG's code lists 'uprise forward to support' and 'kip to support' without calling them muscle-ups, and FIG's programme for young gymnasts names a 'muscle up to support' on rings and, for 12 to 13 years, a 'muscle up to L-sit'. This page does not draw it.3456

  • Strict, slow and kipping

    FinalRep marks excessive kipping or kicking as invalid, and CaliContest does not allow kipping in any form (a penalty) and scores a separate 'Ring Slow Muscle Up': a slow pull without swing of at least 6 seconds, flowing to elbow extension. Both are scoring rules, not training advice. Walker tested kip versions only, and Nicolay's review, which does not cover rings, says that exercises with heavy load that use momentum to carry the arm into abduction and external rotation are the highest risk (a statement of the review's authors).12516

  • Without a false grip

    Grip

    The Overcoming Gravity chart lists 'Wide / No FG MU' after 'Muscle-ups'; its key reads FG as false grip, and it does not explain 'Wide'. The chart gives names only. Marks describes a version with a standard underhand grip in the pull and a switch of the hands to the dip position; he says it needs a lot of explosive strength, gives fewer repetitions and is less efficient, and advises the false-grip version. Walker says a false grip must be used. No rulebook describes the version without it.51315

Related skillsKip

On Calisthenics Balkan

07

Sources

16 sources

What this page relies on. Titles and publishers are written as published.

The small numbers in the text point to the entries below

  1. RULEBOOK FinalRep Streetlifting, English version VI 25.2 (2025)FinalRep (streetlifting competition organiser), copy hosted by Street Workout Slovenija · PDF, 34 pages; re-read 21 Oct 2026; §6.2 (the ring muscle-up), §6.1 (the bar version) and §3.9 (tape on the wrists and forearms); a rulebook for a loaded lift, in which the ring muscle-up is performed by women only (research S-0133)
  2. Regolamento CaliContest 2025-2026CaliContest (Italian calisthenics competition circuit) · PDF in Italian; re-read 21 Oct 2026; chapter 18 ('Ring Muscle Up', 'Ring Slow Muscle Up') and the points table (translations here are this page's); the rulebook does not say what the point values stand for, so this page does not read them as a ranking of difficulty (research S-0083)
  3. Age Group Development and Competition Program for Men's Artistic Gymnastics (Edition 1, 2021)FIG; principal authors Hardy Fink, Dieter Hofmann, Derick Scholtz · PDF, 123 pages; re-read 21 Oct 2026; pages 48 and 61 (rings); the only federation text found that names a muscle-up on rings, and it is a programme for young gymnasts (research S-0023)
  4. Men's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025-2028Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), Men's Technical Committee · PDF, 137 pages; re-read 21 Oct 2026; Article 12.2.1 point 8b, p. 60 (the false grip in strength holds, deduction 0.1), the elements 'uprise fwd. to support' and 'kip to support', Article 3.1 (a coach at the rings for safety); the code does not use the name 'muscle-up' (research S-0022)
  5. Comparison of Muscle Activity During a Ring Muscle Up and a Bar Muscle UpWalker, Bruenger, Tucker, Lee, Int J Exerc Sci 2023; 10 recreationally active men, both versions done with a kip; re-read 21 Oct 2026 (research S-0067)
  6. Influence of Key-Points of Ring Muscle-Up Execution on Movement Performance: A Descriptive Analysisdos Santos Rocha et al., Cent Eur J Sport Sci Med 29(1):41-51, 2020 (DOI 10.18276/cej.2020.1-05) · one participant (n=1), three attempts per style, hip and ankle movement only; the other pattern was re-enacted by the gymnast after watching videos; read 21 Oct 2026; the authors conclude that the gymnastic style seems advantageous for speed, which is a hypothesis from one person and not a test of learning, safety or strength (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R1)
  7. The Muscle-UpGreg Glassman, CrossFit Journal (a commercial training brand; a coaching article, not research); the ring version; the page text says it was originally published in November 2002 (research S-0069)
  8. How to Get Your First Ring Muscle-Up: Strength, Progressions, and DrillsPamela Gagnon, CrossFit (a commercial training brand; a coaching article, not research); the ring version; the page footer suggests March 2025 (research S-0070)
  9. Ring Training Part 2: The Ring Positions You Need to OwnStephane Rochet, CrossFit (a commercial training brand; a coaching article, not research); read 21 Oct 2026; the support hold, the false grip and the hand turn; the page footer suggests 24 Sep 2026, which may be a site update (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R2)
  10. Ring Training Part 3: Building Toward the Muscle-UpStephane Rochet, CrossFit (a commercial training brand; a coaching article, not research); the ring version; the page footer suggests 27 Sep 2026, which may be a site update (research S-0071)
  11. Gymnastic Rings 101: How to Grip the RingsRyan Hurst (guest author), The Art of Manliness · co-founder of GMB Fitness, described in his bio as a former junior national level gymnast; 8 Apr 2014, updated 1 Jun 2021; a brand blog, advice and not research; read 21 Oct 2026 (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R3)
  12. The 5 Critical Teaching Steps for Coaching Your Clients to Do a Ring Muscle-UpDavid Jackson (School of Calisthenics) via Total Coaching · no date and no formal credentials stated; a coaching article; read 21 Oct 2026 (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R4)
  13. How to do a Strict Muscle up on Rings (5 step tutorial)Mark Bennett, marks.fitness · a brand blog by a seller of rings, no credentials; the visible page shows 'Mar 14' without a year, its structured data gives 14 Mar 2018 and 15 May 2019; read 21 Oct 2026; used for the order of steps, the low-ring work, the ring spacing and the version without a false grip (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R5)
  14. False Grip Row (exercise page)DIE RINGE (calisthenics app and shop), no individual author · read 21 Oct 2026; the false grip, the false-grip row and a line on the strain on the wrist (research dossier ring-muscle-up, NEW-R6)
  15. Overcoming Gravity, 2nd edition: progression charts (public spreadsheet)Google Sheets export that links to stevenlow.org; the sheet names no author; re-read 21 Oct 2026; only the names 'Muscle-ups' and 'Wide / No FG MU' (levels 5 and 6 of its misc chart; its key reads FG as false grip), with no description of a movement; the book itself was not read (research S-0093)
  16. Upper Extremity Injuries in CrossFit Athletes: a Review of the Current LiteratureNicolay, Moore, DeSena, Dines, Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 2022; evidence mostly case reports; it names the muscle-up only in general lists and does not cover rings or the ring muscle-up; re-read 21 Oct 2026 (research S-0068)

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