Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines three advanced gymnastics skills requiring exceptional upper body strength and coordination. High ring swings demand significant shoulder stability, ring push-ups with turnout require advanced strength, and false grip pull-ups are an elite skill most athletes cannot perform. The EMOM format prevents adequate recovery between high-skill movements, creating cumulative fatigue across 15 minutes of continuous advanced gymnastics work.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-skill gymnastics movements performed for max reps will heavily tax upper body muscular endurance, especially grip strength and pulling stamina.
• Strength (7/10): False grip pull-ups and ring push-ups require significant relative strength, while high ring swings demand shoulder and core strength.
• Flexibility (6/10): Ring movements require good shoulder mobility, false grip demands wrist flexibility, and high ring swings need overhead range of motion.
• Endurance (4/10): Three 5-minute EMOMs provide moderate cardiovascular demand with built-in rest periods, but sustained effort across 15 total minutes challenges aerobic capacity.
• Power (3/10): Ring swings have some explosive component, but the focus on controlled movements and paused reps reduces overall power demands.
• Speed (2/10): EMOM format allows recovery between sets, emphasizing quality over speed with controlled tempos and paused positions.

Movements

• Ring Swing
• Ring Push-Up
• False Grip Pull-Up

Scaling Options

Station 1: Reduce to 1-3 swings or substitute with ring support holds for 10-15 seconds. Station 2: Scale to regular push-ups, incline push-ups, or knee push-ups. Station 3: Substitute with strict pull-ups, banded pull-ups, or ring rows. Consider reducing EMOM to 3-4 minutes per station for beginners.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot perform 3+ strict pull-ups, hold a ring support for 15+ seconds, or complete 5+ ring push-ups with proper form. Priority is movement quality and building foundational strength. Athletes should feel challenged but able to maintain technique throughout all 5 rounds. Better to scale and move well than struggle with advanced progressions.

Intended Stimulus

Gymnastics strength and skill development with moderate aerobic conditioning. 15-minute time domain targeting upper body pulling strength, ring stability, and false grip development. Primary focus on skill acquisition and strength endurance with phosphagen system recovery between EMOM intervals.

Coach Insight

Start conservatively on all stations - this is about quality over quantity. Station 1: Focus on smooth transitions and controlled swings, avoid kipping or momentum. Station 2: Maintain ring turnout throughout, scale to knees if form breaks down. Station 3: Emphasize the sternum touch and 1-second pause - this builds serious pulling strength. Rest 30-45 seconds between stations. Track reps to monitor fatigue and maintain consistent output across all 5 rounds.

Benchmark Notes

This is a 15-minute gymnastics-focused workout with three 5-minute EMOM stations. Station 1 (High Ring Swings) is skill-based with prescribed reps of 3-5 per minute, contributing 15-25 total reps. Station 2 (Ring Push-Ups) and Station 3 (False Grip Pull-Ups) are max rep efforts. For Ring Push-Ups, elite athletes can maintain 8-12 reps per minute for 40-60 total reps, while recreational athletes might achieve 3-5 reps per minute for 15-25 total. False Grip Pull-Ups are extremely demanding - elite athletes might sustain 6-10 per minute for 30-50 total, while most athletes will see significant degradation, achieving 2-4 per minute for 10-20 total. The combination of grip-intensive movements creates severe fatigue interference between stations 2 and 3. Total rep ranges: L10 athletes ~220-240 reps, L5 athletes ~125-145 reps, L1 athletes ~45-65 reps. This workout has no direct anchor match but shares similarities with high-volume gymnastics workouts like Angie, though the EMOM format and advanced movements make it significantly more challenging per rep.

Modality Profile

All three movements (Ring Swing, Ring Push-Up, False Grip Pull-Up) are bodyweight gymnastics movements performed on rings, requiring no external load or cyclical cardio components.