Movements We Love: Ring Rows

The decision to buy 60 sets of rings to outfit every zone was a no-brainer for us and worth every penny of the investment just for ring rows alone that we would be able to provide for you. While we have no shortage of rowing options in the gym, the ring row is beneficial in the following ways.

  1. Build muscle in the hard to reach middle/upper back, as well as the biceps and shoulders.
  2. Improves our grip strength and your pulling strength which translates to other movements.
  3. Outstanding for our posture by reinforcing scapular health.
  4. Save your low back. Because most other rows involve loading hinging, they tend to also tax the low back. Ring rows are a muscle and strength builder without the side effects.
  5. Boost your pull-up total.
  6. Support healthy shoulders.

Points of Performance:

  1. Think about relaxing the traps, the idea is for you to create tension in the shoulder blades so that it stays a back movement. Otherwise, if we shrug and are active in the neck area, it turns into a trap movements.
  2. Squeeze your glutes to avoid saggy knees. The ring row provides a nice isometric benefit in the lower body if performed properly.
  3. Don’t overarch your low back. To keep your core rigid and engaged, think about pulling your belly button towards your hips.

Here are those cues in action:

-Dave