DrillsAndSkills.com

[Coach Blair]

While I was home today, I found a lot of nylon rope in the garage. While I was buying a bike inner tube, I had the hardware store cut in half some pvc pipe to a length slightly bigger than my hand. Thickness isn't too wide but roughly the width of a ring.

I had played last year with making el cheapo rings since I never got the gym to approve of buying sets of rings for the boy's program and it really wasn't in my bduget. I really had been searching for actual ring like devices at hardware stores or fishing stores ( I've heard of some sort of fishing ring ). Part of this was finding something suitable to hang them with. Most of the strap systems I found at the hardware stores were not snug enough for my approval though they would support the weight.

I didn't really want to use rope because of having to worry about knots loosening up. Besides, it does really look lame and cheapo. As a parent, I would not want to have my kids on rings of such manufacture and as a coach, I'd be worried about the knot unraveling and the kid getting injured.

However for an adult, like myself, I am sure we could land from it unraveling or slipping without as big of a drop. I'm just looking for the instability training. No idea how it works for a muscle-up.

So earlier tonight I slipped the rope through the pvc, tied it off and hung it off my power tower. The instability of it simulated ring instability even if it was on a straight piece of pvc. It's very much like a triangle ring.

I hung from it ( I'm 160+ ) without any problems as well doing a few dips. I didn't really care to try getting into a handstand as the support base of the power tower would be in the way and not fun on my back or head. It's not like a strap which is much thicker to climb or rest my feet on.

I've yet to do a roll out of support, and I would rather not, forwards or backwards. I may attempt to a muscle-up from L or feet supported but if the rings are any higher I'll hit the pullup bar.

Originally I thought about making up some of these for the 7-8 year old boys at the gym ( and maybe the girls ) start working support or hangs. Honestly, I think they will be fine for my usage at home but they look too craptastic for the gym. A set of playground rings from IKEA is the lowest I'm willing to stoop to till the gym decides to buy those rings or I can ( I'm planning to buy 2 or 3 pair next month for our workout group or just myself as a coach if I go elsewhere ).

This is something for those DIY at home. PVC was 99 cents and the nylon rope goes for 99 cents/ft at the store ( I used 7 foot lengths for each " ring " ). This nylon rope is rated at 400 something pounds but I would go with the cotton rope as it doesn't unwind and would make more snug knots. It's probably rated around 200 something and goes for 59-79cents/ft. I've used something similar to it to make a bucket rig last fall for the boy's I was coaching ( I don't think it was nylon ).

Total cost about 15 bucks which would be about 10 with the cotton rope that would still support 200+ pounds. I've yet to see any straps and buckles that would be close to around that price. Besides, the ones I found just wouldn't hold the weight ( though probably would work for 70 pounds ). If I looked around, I might have found better straps. Don't have to worry about the straps rubbing against the skin!

I'm thinking I'm going to try a fisherman's knot instead later tonight.

[Coach Blair]

Fisherman's knot really does the trick. With it, I think I'd trust some kids to be on them and not fail. Still have to tape or sand them for some texture. Fine for supports, however I don't trust in young children's grip.

However, they still aren't great for muscle ups as they pvc pipe moves to much to get a nice transition or false grip.

They do mean I should be able to use them for more ring like back lever work than on a bar. Easier to do front lever pullups in tuck position.

I think I'll sand them or tape them. Total cost is 20-25 bucks a set depending on how long the rope is. I'm sure if I bought the rope online, I could find cheaper prices. Home Depot would be probably be cheaper than the small Ace hardware store.

Btw, TipGuy, would you say rope or straps would be more inherently unstable? I'm thinking rope. PVC straight piece or ring? Would sanding them or taping them be better?

[TipGuy]

Not sure. I'd have to experiment as far as stability of mounting material. I'd go with the nylon though. If the cotton rope has a break strength of 200lbs, that's too close for comfort with an adult on them, you can easily double loads with just a moderately dynamic movement.
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TipGuy
Webmaster DrillsAndSkills.com

[Coach Blair]

Yeah, that's why I bought the nylon rope a long time ago was because of the break strength. I was also looking for a width that would pass through the PVC. It's a real pain that the nylon splits at the ends easier.

Another point is that the rope rubs on the forearms a bit. It could be just as or more uncomfortable than straps. I don't see any marks, dunno.

As short as the rope is now, I could probably go cotton. However if I were to hang these from a high bar, they would probably be 5 or 7 feet long. That means there would be more load and wear and tear. However, more than likely the biggest kid is gonna barely be over 80 ( under 10 ). Let's face it, you don't put overweight kids on rings, period, until they are strong enough to deal with the exercises ( generally on a bar or pbars ).

This all stemmed from me not doing anything on a friday night. I did keep on bumping my head into the support beam of the power tower. I'm going to if I can reverse it's position so my head will clear through.

I still don't think these are as unstable as fitness rings, those kinder rings, or playground rings because I was able to do a 60s support and 30s L with not a lot of problem. They do start getting wobbly as I approach the end of those times. Perhaps, my strength is better than I thought lately. ( Last time I touched rings, it seemed effort to just hold a support past 20 ).

However, they are unstable enough for now and allow me to do back levers a bit safer than before on the parallel or pullup bar of the tower.

Looking at the ceiling beam closer, it looks to only be 3 inches wide by 9 inches thick by 18 feet long. Perhaps it would not be strong enough to hang rings and a rope from. I seriously don't want to crack it.

On a side note, If I spray paint the rope they would look better ( or use a different color rope ). Taping the handles would be a good start, but I probably don't want to paint the handles, I'm guessing [ would look cooler as I'm envisioning a bunch of different colors ]).

Let's see if I can build up to 15 dips by the CF games and start doing cross pullouts. I took it pretty light last night thinking the instability would wreck me if I worked on them a lot since I haven't done that in quite awhile.