How do I make the Ring Chest Fly easier or harder?

Change where your feet are. Standing closer to the anchor keeps your body more upright and easier, while walking your feet back lets you lean further forward and puts more of your weight on the rings. In a study of suspension-strap push-ups, lengthening the straps so the body sat lower shifted load off the feet and onto the straps, and the same principle applies to a leaning fly.

How is the Ring Chest Fly different from a dumbbell fly?

Both train the same arm-closing action, but the Dumbbell Fly is done lying on a bench against a set weight, while the ring version uses your body weight and needs no bench. The free-hanging rings and the plank-like body position also demand more control from the shoulders and core, and the load is changed by your foot position rather than by picking a different dumbbell.

Can I do this exercise with suspension straps instead of rings?

Yes, the same leaning fly works with suspension straps and handles. Straps are usually a little more stable, while rings are free to rotate and drift, so expect the ring version to feel a bit harder at the same body angle.

Where does the Ring Chest Fly fit in a workout?

It usually comes after a heavier press such as push-ups or dips, as an accessory for the chest. Moderate to higher reps, such as 8 to 15 with a slow lowering, suit it better than heavy, grinding sets.

Why do I feel the Ring Chest Fly in the front of my shoulders?

It usually means the rings are going too deep, the shoulders are shrugging forward, or the lean is steeper than your chest can control. Stand more upright, stop the rings at about chest level and keep the shoulders set down, and if the discomfort stays, switch to a band or cable fly.

Ring Chest Fly

What Is the Ring Chest Fly?

Ring Chest Fly is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the chest and also engages the front of the shoulders, the biceps and the core. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you stand leaning into a pair of gymnastic rings and sweep your arms open and closed, so your own body weight provides the resistance.

Like the Dumbbell Fly, it trains the chest's main job of drawing the arms together across the body. The elbows hold a slight, fixed bend the whole time, so the chest does the work and the triceps contribute very little. What changes is where the load comes from: instead of lifting a weight, you let your body tip forward as the rings open and pull it back up by drawing them together. Because each ring hangs free, each arm has to steer its own path, which asks more of the shoulder stabilizers than a machine or cable fly, and your trunk has to stay rigid like a plank throughout.

The load is set by where you stand. With the feet close under the anchor and the body nearly upright, only a small share of your body weight rests on the rings; walking the feet back lets the body fall further forward and makes each rep much harder. Because the arms act as long levers, a small change in foot position makes a big change in effort, so it is worth adjusting a step at a time. In a session it usually follows a heavier press such as the Push-Up or Ring Dip, as an accessory for moderate to higher reps, and it is a practical chest fly for anyone who trains with rings but has no dumbbells or cable station.

It suits trainees who can already do solid push-ups and hold a firm plank. If it is too hard, build up with push-ups and a band or cable fly such as the Band Middle Fly or Middle Cable Chest Fly, then return to the rings standing more upright. Once a steep lean feels controlled, the Ring Long-Arm Push-Up Hold is a harder ring chest exercise to work toward. Thinking about squeezing the chest to bring the rings together, rather than pulling them in with the shoulders, helps keep the work where it belongs.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Pectoralis Major: Primary
Deltoid: High
Biceps Brachii: Medium
Rectus Abdominis: Medium
Serratus Anterior: Medium
External Oblique: Low
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Triceps Brachii (Long Head): Minimal

Instructions

Set the rings to hang at about chest height and stand facing away from the anchor, with the straps running up past your shoulders.
Hold one ring in each hand with your palms facing each other and stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
Push the rings out in front of your chest at shoulder height until your arms are nearly straight and the rings almost touch, keeping a slight bend in the elbows.
Lean into the rings until the straps are taut, with your body in one straight line from head to heels.
Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and set your shoulders down away from your ears.
Keeping the elbow bend fixed, open your arms out to the sides in a wide arc and let your body tip forward, rising onto the balls of your feet as you go.
Lower until your hands are about level with your chest and you feel a stretch across it, without letting them travel behind the line of your body.
Squeeze your chest to sweep the rings back together in front of you, pulling your body back up to the start.
Exhale as the rings meet, pause briefly and repeat, keeping your hips in line on every rep.

Common Mistakes

Bending the elbows as you lower
Letting the elbows bend more at the bottom and straighten on the way up turns the fly into a press, so keep the same slight bend on every rep.
Sagging or piking at the hips
The hips should stay in line with the shoulders and heels, because a sagging or bent body loads the lower back and takes tension off the chest.
Going too deep
Letting the hands drift behind the line of the body stretches the front of the shoulder under load without adding useful chest work.
Shrugging toward the ears
Hiking the shoulders up shifts the work to the neck and shoulders, so keep them set down and away from the ears.
Starting too steep
Setting the feet so far back that you cannot pull yourself up from the bottom leads to lost form and a risk of dropping forward.
Dropping into the bottom
Falling quickly into the stretch lets the rings wobble and jolts the shoulders, so lower slowly and under control.

Injuries

Ring Chest Fly is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The arms work as long levers against your body weight, and the rings are free to drift, so the demand on the shoulder rises quickly as the rings open.

The front of the shoulder takes the most strain. At the bottom of the fly the arms are spread wide with your body weight hanging from them, which stretches the front of the joint and the chest muscle where it attaches near the armpit. Letting the hands travel behind the line of the body, or locking the elbows straight, adds to that stress. There is also a simple fall risk: if you set your feet too far back and the arms give out at the bottom, you drop forward toward the floor.

Start with the body nearly upright and a range you can control, keep the same slight bend in the elbows on every rep, and stop the rings at about chest level rather than chasing a deeper stretch. Move your feet back only once every rep of the set looks the same. If the fly is too demanding, stand more upright, shorten the range, or use a Band Middle Fly or Incline Push-Up instead. To progress, walk the feet back a step at a time before moving on to harder ring work such as the Ring Long-Arm Push-Up Hold.

Stop if you feel a sharp or pinching pain at the front of the shoulder, a pulling or tearing sensation in the chest or armpit, or pain around the elbow. Pain that persists after the session, or any bruising or loss of strength in the chest, should be checked by a medical professional before you continue.

Overview

Primary Focus: Chest
Equipment: Rings and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I make the Ring Chest Fly easier or harder?: Change where your feet are. Standing closer to the anchor keeps your body more upright and easier, while walking your feet back lets you lean further forward and puts more of your weight on the rings. In a study of suspension-strap push-ups, lengthening the straps so the body sat lower shifted load off the feet and onto the straps, and the same principle applies to a leaning fly.
Q: How is the Ring Chest Fly different from a dumbbell fly?: Both train the same arm-closing action, but the Dumbbell Fly is done lying on a bench against a set weight, while the ring version uses your body weight and needs no bench. The free-hanging rings and the plank-like body position also demand more control from the shoulders and core, and the load is changed by your foot position rather than by picking a different dumbbell.
Q: Can I do this exercise with suspension straps instead of rings?: Yes, the same leaning fly works with suspension straps and handles. Straps are usually a little more stable, while rings are free to rotate and drift, so expect the ring version to feel a bit harder at the same body angle.
Q: Where does the Ring Chest Fly fit in a workout?: It usually comes after a heavier press such as push-ups or dips, as an accessory for the chest. Moderate to higher reps, such as 8 to 15 with a slow lowering, suit it better than heavy, grinding sets.
Q: Why do I feel the Ring Chest Fly in the front of my shoulders?: It usually means the rings are going too deep, the shoulders are shrugging forward, or the lean is steeper than your chest can control. Stand more upright, stop the rings at about chest level and keep the shoulders set down, and if the discomfort stays, switch to a band or cable fly.