Best Gymnastic Rings (and Accessories) for Athletes, Gym Owners and Home Workouts

This extensive guide to the best Gymnastic Rings will help you find the right equipment for your own personal goals, set up and gym.

Whether you are a beginner or elite athlete, a gym or box owner or a dedicated fitness fanatic looking to expand your home gym or find new ways to train outside, we have all the information you need.

A set of Rings provide a full suspension training system for bodyweight fitness with true gymnastic capabilities. More challenging than a pull-up bar, gym rings can dramatically improve any athlete’s upper body and core strength, while training better joint alignment and overall balance.

Which Type of Gymnastic Rings are best for me?

These are many considerations to take into account when choosing the right rings for you; material, cost, personal ability level, where you train and personal goals.

The following information will help you make the right choice and send your training, or the training of your Box/gym members, to the next level.

Birch Wood Gymnastic Rings

With a textured, grip-friendly surface that works with or without chalk, wood rings have a distinct, natural feel preferred by many athletes.

Precision machined in Columbus, Ohio, using quality Baltic birch, the gripping surface on each ring has a natural stick that’s great for holding chalk—or for sustaining a firm grip without it.

Wood rings are the standard in competitive gymnastics for generations, and the Rogue 21st century version has been battle tested for years at the CrossFit Games®.

Wood is often the best choice for indoor setups.

We produces both a 1.25” diameter wood ring (as used in CrossFit® events) and a 1.11” diameter ring built to FIG specifications (FIG = International Gymnastics Federation).

The 1.25” ring is fatter and thus more challenging. Fatter grips are better for developing grip strength.

FIG sizing can be easier to grip or false grip and is the standard for gymnastic competitions.

Each set of wooden rings comes with Rogue’s heavy-duty 1.5” wide nylon ring straps and buckle system, enabling a quick set-up and easy adjustments, indoors or out.

How to Hang Gymnastic Rings

Select a hanging location that is 8–13 ft (2.4–4.0 m) off the ground.

The straps for gymnastic rings are adjustable so the height doesn’t matter if you’re only doing exercises under the rings, but you need a good bit of space if you plan on lifting your body above the rings or spinning around.

When scouting good locations, look for horizontal surfaces that are at least 8–13 ft (2.4–4.0 m) above the ground so you have plenty of space to work out.

Most people hang the rings up when they want to work out and take them down when they’re done. You can leave the rings up permanently if you’re hanging them from a structure in your yard or driveway, though. It’s really up to you.

Some people use gymnastic rings to do modified pushups and other low-hanging exercises. If this is what you’re using them for, you can hang the straps from anything 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) off of the ground.

How to Hang Gymnastic Rings in a Tree

Use a strong tree branch as a convenient platform for the rings. If there are any large, mature trees nearby, look for a thick branch you can hang the straps from. Branches are a good choice if you don’t want to travel far to workout. They’re also a great option if you have a large tree in your backyard or you live near a park.

If you hang the rings on a branch, pull hard on them and hang with your feet off of the ground to make sure the branch doesn’t sway or buckle. If it can hold your body weight when you pull on the straps, you can use the branch to do any exercise on the rings.

The branch doesn’t need to be perfectly horizontal. The straps are adjustable, so you can compensate for a height difference between two points on a branch. However, the branch can’t tilt at too hard of an angle; the straps may slide down the branch while you’re using them if you hang them on a branch with a slope steeper than 15 degrees.

How to Hang Gymnastic Rings on Monkey Bars or a Pull Up Bar

Find some tall monkey bars at a playground for a stable, easy option.

Tall monkey bars are perfect for gymnastic straps, but they can be kind of hard to find. Most playgrounds don’t have tall monkey bars, but you may be able to find some that hang 8–9 ft (2.4–2.7 m) off of the ground.

Just try to time your workouts so you aren’t running into tons of children.

You can use a pull-up bar at a public park, but most of these bars are designed to be reached from the ground and they may not be high enough if you’re doing any exercises over the rings.

Many pull-up bars don’t have a ton of room on the sides either, which can make them dangerous if you don’t have immaculate balance.