Gymnastic rings are one of the cleverest pieces of equipment, all while also being one of the simplest. It’s just a perfect circle, allowing you to transition freely from underneath the rings, to the top. They can be thrown into a backpack and taken with you literally anywhere, and they will take up very little space, and add almost no weight. What’s more they are highly versatile; you can use them to train everything from your lower, to upper body, and attach them pretty much anywhere that will bear your bodyweight.
Having a good pair of rings is important if you want to make serious progress in your strength training, as well as build some muscle. If you don’t believe you can build muscle with rings, just look at gymnasts. They may be training to a higher level and frequency, but some are just a jacked as bodybuilders, as well as being able to perform some impressive moves on the rings and floor.
In this guide, we have identified the best wooden gymnastic rings we could find, and have laid them out in a handy comparison table. We have also gone over each product in detail to figure out their individual pros and cons. You’ll also see how and where you can anchor your rings, and we’ve linked to an awesome ring workouts further down in the guide, if you are looking for a routine to start training with your rings immediately. Read on to understand what you’ll need to be looking out for, when purchasing a set of rings.
The rings that stood out the most in terms of durability, feel, and overall quality, were the Emerge rings, with their quality military grade straps and reworked buckle system, as well as their premium quality feel sanded wooden rings. Alternatively, the Garage Fit rings also stood out for similar reasons, with the added bonus of featuring numbered straps for a faster and easier set up.
These Titan Fitness rings hit the value mark perfectly. They are laminated wood, come sanded down, and are neither too heavy nor too light. They feel quite balanced overall. The straps are made from extra wide webbing and come with little Velcro straps next to the buckle system. Even the heaviest of athletes can use these rings for movements like ring rows, pull ups, muscle ups, ring dips, safely and without worry.
The rings themselves feel good and look nice. They come without a finish applied, meaning they will darken over time from air and the oils in your hands. They come looking very light with the texture of freshly sanded wood. After a while, they will become completely smooth and a bit glossy, with a slightly darker color.
The thickness of the rings is also very comfortable. A thin ring can hurt a bit with dips and other exercises where your weight is above the rings.
The straps are numbered for matching lengths easily, and they are 1.5 inches wide with no stretch. The rings appear to be made of layered wood, like plywood. They are fairly smooth out of the box, but you can use some sandpaper to make the surface more even.
Some people may like the surface with some texture, which is how they come out of the box. These rings are perhaps twice the price of plastic ones, but they have a better feel and seem like they will probably outlast the user itself. The numbered straps and wood rings, make this item well worth the money.
The wood is solid, and should last a long time.
Easy to install, these rings also feature Velcro attached to each strap for binding up the extra slack and keeping it out of the way and looking nice.
Although these rings themselves are of decent quality, the buckle system and straps are problematic, and seem cheap, just like the price which you pay for them. The “you get what you pay for” adage is probably true here. The metal in the buckle system breaks quite easily, and therefore one should take extra caution when setting these up.
You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where the buckle system breaks and slips whilst you are doing some sort of inverted work. Overall, the rings are well made and come at a low price, but the buckle system is definitely not up to par, and not worth it. You could always use the rings separately and get some new, better straps, but that may end up being more expensive than just buying a better pair for an extra 5 to 10 bucks.
These rings are one of two most recommended in this guide. The straps are extremely strong and durable and include built in small Velcro straps to help roll the straps up and keep them compact and neat for travel or transport.
The locking mechanism on the strap is made out of metal and cinches down tightly when threaded in properly, with no chance of slippage or failure. The rings are made out of light but durable plywood that has been sanded and sealed and are very nice to handle.
The wood has enough purchase and grain so as to provide a non slip hold, but are not too abrasive or rough on hands. The rings are great on your hands and will limit the need of chalk.
These rings have a big splinter problem. They catch on to material very easily and the wood quality and sanding are definitely not up to par with the quality of the buckle system and straps.
An otherwise comfortable, thick grip, and a quality product if it weren’t for the splinter defect.
The Emerge rings contain the best of: warranty, dimension specifications, and price.
Most gymnastics ring manufacturers offer a warranty of 5-years or less. The Emerge gymnastics rings come with a lifetime warranty. The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (or FIG) sets forth standards for gymnastics apparatus in Olympic competition.
If the ring inner diameter is 7.1 inches and the diameter of profile (i.e., ring thickness) is 1.1 inches, then the rings conform to FIG specifications. Emerge gymnastics rings meet that standard. While Emerge Gymnastics Rings are somewhat more expensive than most (though certainly not all) the axiom that “You get what you pay for” could not be more apt. The finish is free of splinters or other defects, and overall quality is outstanding.
It’s worth mentioning that the rings arrive in a very solid and firm package, and the customer service is solid. All said, there is nothing substandard about this product in all the areas which should matter the quality, warranty, price, and service.
The buckles here are super sturdy and smooth. Also a lot of straps have length marked on the straps which is super ideal, but not all feature nice straps and a quality buckle system, and these have strong buckles that you can trust. You can get rings with long, marked straps, and a good buckle for $90-100, but if you are looking for an inexpensive option.
Here’s a tip: you don’t want to just through the straps loose in your gym bag, it’s not proper storage and you will have to untangle that mess each time you use them, so roll them up around the buckle and you can use a vegetable rubber band to go around it and keep the roll together, or any other rubber band or small tie. Or even a small bag to keep them in where they stay organized.
The ring itself is well-made, 100% wood, very comfortable to hold. Not slippery at all.
The rings are standards gymnastics rings, quite sturdy, no splinters and a smooth wood build. What really sets these apart from some other strap/ring sets are the straps with the length measurements on them. The clips are thick and don’t budge when attached, and the straps themselves are equally sturdy — even at the stitches.
Great high quality, durable rings, they have a really smooth feel to them as they should. The numbered straps are also solid, and really helpful for getting them to hang at the same length. The wood feels slightly unfinished but that may just be different from person to person.
The strap width on the straps is quite different from most other rings — they are usually around 1.5″ and the rings feature 1″ width straps. This may not be a bad thing but some may prefer the wider straps.
The rings feel smooth and great on the hands. They are easy to set up and once your used to it it will be second nature adjusting them. Out of the box the product is solid. Well constructed and thought out.
The straps are marked so there is no guess work on equal height and long enough to be place over higher beams for ground clearance, and the buckle system is solid and easy to use for a fast ring setup.
These rings are well made, and feature smooth and solid wood. There are two independent straps which come with it and directions on the package as to how to hook them up. They will age well in your hands, and can also be sanded slightly to improve the grip, if needed. The straps and buckle system are of good quality and will hold up for years, wherever you decide to anchor your rings.
One of the downsides really is the way the logo is etched into the wood; for those who appreciate the aesthetics of the circular and smooth wooden build, the logo really takes away from that. An overall good quality product though.
Diameter:
Most of the rings in this guide will be available in two different thicknesses. It’s best that you pick whichever would fit most comfortably in your hands. If you have small hands, then go for the smaller thickness rings, and if you have larger hands, go for the thicker ones. You want to be able to set your grip as comfortably as possible.
Straps and buckle system:
Check out the buckle system and straps before buying a pair of rings. It’s best to go for rings that feature the 15ft, longer straps, as to be sure that you will always have plenty of length if you are going to tie them somewhere up high. Also, some rings like the Emerge and Garage Fit rings featured above, have a slightly easier to use buckle system, that stands a much lesser chance of breaking in case of an improper set up, due to their reworked buckle system.
The rings:
Some rings are better sanded than others, and some have some big splinter problems. Whilst making this review, one of the products had a splinter problem (see comparison chart above), which can be resolved by sanding the ring down yourself, but it really is a pain of a problem to have. Most rings will be treated to last and protected to some degree, but avoid leaving them outdoors, as long term exposure to the elements could degrade their quality.
I have written a detailed guide of how to hang your gymnastic rings indoors here.
The ring pull up are you primary vertical pulling exercise. They will effectively work your upper and mid back muscles, as well as your biceps and forearms. They can be performed in a normal, or false grip, as demonstrated in the video below.
The ring row is a standard horizontal pulling exercise that should always be included in your workouts somehow. They are a powerful back builder, and will also work your biceps to a certain extent.
Dips count among the kings of all pushing exercises. They may be harder to do on the rings if it is your first time, as you will be challenged with the new level of instability. Rotating your arms outwards at the top of the movement (rings turned out), will allow you to work on shoulder external rotation, and full thoracic extension. Be careful as to what depth you choose to go to when doing there, people often lack the required mobility to go deep safely.
If you can already do loads of pushups on the floor, transferring to rings will be a great way of progressing, and preparing your body for harder variations like the archer rows, a powerful chest and tricep building exercise.
The most well known bicep builder of all time, done with your own bodyweight. If you want bigger biceps you should absolutely be doing these. Be sure to nail the form down beforehand though, watch the video below for more information.
Along with the ring bicep curls featured above, the ring tricep extensions will perform just as well in building your triceps. These are hands down the best bodyweight tricep isolation exercise. They can also serve a prehab purpose, conditioning your tendons for heavier and harder progressions.
The ring version of the ab wheel roll-out. It will blast your core like few other exercises, and you will feel it’s benefits fast. Be sure to keep a hollow body position at all times, as when first doing this exercise it is quite common for the lower back to arch, which puts unnecessary stress on your spine. Choose a progression that you can do with perfect form.
Free ring workout e-book
I have compiled the best exercises that I know into a detailed and easy to follow workout routine here. Check it out if you want to build strength and muscle, with gymnastic rings.
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