# Ring Russian Push Up - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/7520/ring-russian-push-up/ - Media ID: 7520 - Primary muscle: Chest - Body part: Chest - Equipment: Suspension - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/7520/ring-russian-push-up.mp4 ## Description The Ring Russian Push Up is an advanced gymnastic-strength movement performed on suspended rings. It starts like a deep ring push-up, but instead of simply pressing straight back up, you pull the rings back behind your body at the bottom so your hands travel past your ribs toward your hips, then press and roll forward over the top of them back to a supported plank. That added backward glide and forward press is what separates it from a standard ring push-up, and it is what makes the movement so demanding. This exercise places a large demand on the chest and front shoulders through a long range of motion, with the triceps, lats, and the stabilizing muscles of the shoulders and core working hard to control the rings. Because the rings are free-moving, your hands can rotate and drift, which forces constant joint stabilization that a floor or bar push-up never asks for. The bottom position, with your hands behind your chest and your shoulders loaded in extension, is one of the most challenging pressing positions in calisthenics. The Ring Russian Push Up suits trainees who already own solid ring push-ups and full ring dips with clean form. Calisthenics athletes, gymnasts, and people building toward skills like the ring muscle-up benefit most, because the transition-style pulling and pressing pattern transfers directly to those movements. If your ring push-ups are still shaky or your shoulders feel unstable at the bottom of a dip, build that base first. Setup matters a great deal here. Set the rings to roughly knee height or slightly lower and keep them close enough together that they do not drift wide under load. Your body should form one straight line from head to heels, with the rings turned out slightly at the top for stability. Rushing into the descent with loose shoulders is the fastest route to losing control, so approach the bottom position with tension rather than letting gravity pull you down. To execute it well, lower under control into a deep ring push-up, letting your elbows glide back and slightly out while your chest drops between and slightly behind your hands. From there, pull the rings back toward your hips, keeping your body rigid, then drive your hands forward and down into the rings as you press your torso up and slide your shoulders back over your wrists. The movement should feel like one continuous flowing arc rather than three separate stops. Because of the extreme shoulder extension at the bottom, warm up thoroughly and progress gradually. Start with partial ranges, limit how far the rings travel behind you, or elevate the rings higher to reduce load. Stop the set the moment your hips sag, your head drops toward the floor, or you feel pinching at the front of the shoulders. Quality reps at a manageable depth will build far more strength than forcing the full pattern with a broken body line. ## Instructions 1. Set the rings to about knee height or a little lower, adjust them to slightly narrower than shoulder width, and grip them with a neutral grip, knuckles facing forward. 2. Walk your feet back until you are in a straight plank with your weight over the rings, arms extended, shoulders stacked over your wrists, and the rings turned out slightly for stability. 3. Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and pull your shoulder blades down and together so your shoulders stay packed before you start moving. 4. Inhale, then lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows, letting them drift back and slightly out rather than flaring straight to the sides. 5. At the bottom, pull the rings backward toward your hips so your hands travel behind your ribs, keeping your elbows bent and your body in one rigid line. 6. From that back position, press your hands forward and down into the rings, rolling your shoulders forward over your wrists as your chest rises. 7. Finish with your arms extended back in the plank support, rings turned out, and your body still straight from head to heels. 8. Exhale as you press up, and keep the whole descent, pull-back, and press connected as one smooth arc rather than three separate pauses. 9. Reset your brace at the top before starting the next rep, and lower again under control. 10. End the set as soon as your hips sag or your shoulders start to lose their packed position at the bottom. ## Tips & Tricks - The most common failure point is the bottom position: if the rings travel too far behind your hips before you have the strength to press out, you will get stuck or strain your shoulders. Shorten the backward glide at first and extend it over weeks. - Keep the rings from drifting wide. If they spread apart as you lower, squeeze them slightly inward throughout the rep; wide rings multiply the load on your shoulders at the bottom. - Turn the rings out at the top and keep that turn-out through the set. Letting them rotate inward costs you stability and makes the lockout wobble. - If your hips sag when your hands move behind your ribs, the issue is usually core tension, not pressing strength. Practice holding a rigid hollow plank on the rings before adding the pull-back. - Elevate the rings higher off the floor to scale the exercise down. A more upright body angle reduces the load dramatically while keeping the exact same movement pattern. - Do not bounce out of the bottom. The transition from pull-back to press is where most reps are lost; move through it deliberately until the pattern is grooved. - Warm up your shoulders with ring support holds and shallow ring push-ups first. Loaded shoulder extension without preparation is where discomfort usually shows up. - Film yourself from the side. From above or behind it is hard to see a broken body line, and the hips-sag error is easiest to spot from a side view. - Keep your elbows angled back toward your hips on the descent instead of straight out to the sides; this lines the elbows up with the pull-back path and spares the shoulder joints. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Which muscles does the Ring Russian Push Up work? The chest and front shoulders do most of the pressing, while the triceps extend the elbows and the lats help control the rings during the pull-back. The core and shoulder stabilizers stay busy the entire time because the rings move freely. ### How is the Ring Russian Push Up different from a regular ring push-up? A regular ring push-up goes down and presses straight back up. The Russian version adds a backward pull of the rings past your ribs at the bottom, followed by a forward press and roll over the wrists, which greatly extends the range of motion. ### Can beginners do the Ring Russian Push Up? It is not a beginner exercise. You should first be solid with standard ring push-ups and ring dips. Beginners can practice the pattern with the rings set higher so the body angle is more upright and the load is reduced. ### Why do I get stuck at the bottom when the rings go behind my body? That position demands strong shoulder extension strength and a rigid torso. Shorten how far you pull the rings back, keep your core and glutes braced, and gradually extend the range as pressing strength improves. ### What should I do if my shoulders feel pinching at the bottom of the Ring Russian Push Up? Stop the set, reduce the depth, and make sure your elbows track back rather than flaring wide. Add more targeted warm-up work such as ring support holds and shallow push-ups before returning to full depth. ### What can I substitute if I do not have rings? A suspension trainer works with a similar but slightly easier feel. Floor sliders can mimic the backward hand glide in a standard push-up, though you lose the ring stabilization demand entirely. ### How far back should I pull the rings at the bottom? Only as far as you can still press out from with control. For most people the hands end up near the hip line at full strength, but starting near the ribs is completely fine and safer while learning. ### How many reps should I aim for with the Ring Russian Push Up? Because the movement is very taxing on the shoulders, work in low rep sets of roughly three to six with full rest, prioritizing clean body position over volume. Stop the set when your hips sag or the rings wobble. ### Should the rings be set close together or wide apart for this exercise? Set them slightly narrower than shoulder width. Wide-set rings drift further apart under load and put your shoulders in a weaker position at the bottom of the pull-back.