Dip Bar Vs. Gymnastic Rings For The Budget Home Gym
Dip Bar Vs. Gymnastic Rings For The Budget Home Gym
Bodyweight training is one of the most underrated tools to get fit without having the hassle of going to the gym.
That said, it can be difficult to train the back and biceps if you don’t have at least some piece of equipment laying around.
Don’t worry - this can be as simple as a doorway pull-up bar.
While a pull-up bar is sufficient to build a decent base, having it as your only piece of equipment still has some downsides.
Primarily, you end up leaving out important movement patterns like dips and inverted rows on the table.
You see, most people think that bodyweight training means push-ups and pull-ups only.
This is far from the truth.
To build a balanced and strong body, it is smart to incorporate a horizontal pulling pattern like the inverted row which trains the back, biceps and traps and a dip pattern that trains the chest, delts and triceps.
Moreover, a movement like the inverted row can even be used as a progression to pull-ups, so if you’re a beginner who can’t even perform one pull-up yet, this exercise can be a great tool in your arsenal to build up your pulling strength and musculature.
Once you understand the power of these movements, it only makes sense to get a piece of equipment that allows you to train these movement patterns at home.
I assume you want to keep this budget-friendly which is why this post focuses on breaking down the pros and cons of the two most effective and affordable pieces of equipment for your home gym - the dip bar (high parallette bars) and gymnastic rings.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear picture of what is the right fit for you.
Let’s begin!
Pros And Cons Of The Dip Bar
Advantages Of The Dip Bar
1. Beginner Friendly
The main benefit of the dip bar is that it is very beginner-friendly.
Even a total beginner looking to pack on strength and muscle can start out with a few reps of inverted rows without much trouble.
Over time, the exercise can be progressively overloaded by elevating the feet onto a surface to create more tension.
Similarly, a beginner to bodyweight dips can learn the movement safely on the dip bars.
Not only this, but the dip bars also allow for a plethora of other movements that can target the core to help you build up hard and chiseled abs.
It also allows for a few more advanced isometric holds, if that is something that interests you.
2. Does Not Require Anchor Point
One of the reasons why you should be getting a dip bar is if you don’t have an anchor point to hang your gymnastic rings off.
The dip bar doesn’t require any anchor points and can be used around your house.
Once the dip bar is set up, it requires no more adjustments and is ready for use.
You can hop on and rep out a few sets without needing to make any further adjustments unlike the rings, where you might need to adjust the height based on the exercise you plan on performing.
Disadvantages Of The Dip Bar
1. Not Portable
The biggest drawback of the dip bar is that it is not portable.
This means that you are dependent on being home to get in your workouts.
If you plan on using this just for your home gym, this might not be that big of a problem for you.
But if you’re someone who likes to workout at parks or if you would like carrying around your equipment when you’re on vacation or away from home, this can seem to be problematic.
2. Fixed Height
The second drawback is that the height of the dip bar is fixed.
This can be problematic if you want to treat the dip bars as the only piece of equipment you own since they can be limiting when it comes to performing vertical pulling movements like pull-ups.
While you could find a way around it by elevating the apparatus or by combing the exercise with an L-Sit, it is still an ineffective way to get in volume for vertical pulling, especially if you have long limbs.
Similarly, taller individuals may find it difficult to progress to weighted calisthenics (such as weighted dips) using a dip belt on the dip bar because of the height of the equipment.
Of course, you can work around this by using a weighted vest, but that wouldn’t be the most effective way to progress at weighted calisthenics in the long run.
Pros And Cons Of Gymnastic Rings
Advantages Of Gymnastic Rings
1. Larger Catalog Of Exercises
Gymnastic rings are a powerhouse when it comes to exercise selection.
Moves can be as simple as the support hold and can be as advanced as the iron cross.
Moreover, when compared to dip bars, rings can be a lot more effective in ‘isolating’ muscle groups, if that’s what you’re looking for.
They allow you to perform movements like flies, face pulls, curls, extensions and ab rollouts to better target certain groups for aesthetics.
2. Portability
Gymnastic rings can fit in your bag pack and can be attached to any anchor points.
You can hook them up to doorway pull-up bars at home, to swings or pull-up bars at parks and to strong tree branches in nature.
If you keep traveling or prefer training outdoors to keep things fresh, having a pair of rings is a no-brainer.
3. Recruits More Stabilizer Muscles
You can have a decent strength base but will still feel humbled when trying out the rings for the first time.
This is because the gymnastic rings recruit several stabilizer muscles which are often neglected in conventional training.
This is exactly why you see people shaking the very first time they try to get on the rings.
This is actually a great advantage to using rings as it helps with more complete development in strength and muscle.
For example, once you start repping out dips on the rings, not only will you get stronger and bigger, but conventional bar dips will then feel like a piece of cake.
Disadvantages Of Gymnastic Rings
1. Requires Base Level Strength
The rings require base level strength to help you get in a complete workout.
For example, if you can’t perform conventional push-ups, ring push-ups are going to have an even steeper learning curve.
You can often work around this issue as rings allow you to adjust the intensity of the movements by adjusting the strap length and angle.
That said, jumping into ring training as a total beginner will be challenging and might lead to frustration if your expectations are not set right.
2. Requires An Anchor Point
This is the deal-breaker for most people.
If you don’t have an anchor point, you can’t make use of the rings.
Now if you’re someone who already has a sturdy pull-up bar at home, you can simply hang your rings off it.
If you don’t, you will have to anchor them by drilling hooks into your ceiling.
Of course, if you plan on training at a park, this will not be a big issue.
But if you can’t find a solution to anchor your rings at home for your home training, these might not be the best option for you.
Dip Bar Vs. Gymnastic Rings: Final Verdict
When Should You Opt For A Dip Bar?
If you’re someone who is just starting out their fitness journey, the dip bar is a great investment for you.
It can allow you to get complete upper body development by incorporating movements like dips and rows.
Once you combine these with push-ups and pull-ups, you can create full-blown upper body sessions that help you get stronger and gain muscle over time.
You can check out the sample dip bar routines I’ve laid out here for free before making your purchase to get a better idea of what it could look like.
When Should You Opt For Gymnastic Rings?
If you aren’t a total novice and have an anchor point available, the gymnastic rings would be the way to go, in my opinion.
The reason being that they are simply more versatile.
Don’t worry about not being strong enough for the rings as you can progressively build strength and muscle and move to advanced movements over time.
You can check out the sample gym ring routines I’ve laid out here for free before making your purchase to get a better idea of what it could look like.
Is There Any Point In Having Both?
Both have their uses and can be useful in a home gym set up.
That said, rings can do most of what dip bars would let you do, given that you put in the effort to train progressively.
A beginner would benefit by having both, the dip bar and rings more than an experienced lifter.
This is because the dip bar can allow lifters to accumulate volume on movements like dips and rows even if they lack the stabilizer strength to execute the movement on the rings.
The only exceptions are experienced lifters who wish to pursue skill training specific to the dip bar while pursuing hypertrophy (muscle growth) goals as well, where having a dip bar would help with the skill training and the rings would help with accumulating volume for hypertrophy.
Conclusion
I’ll keep the conclusion concise.
If you have a pull-up bar, get a pair of rings and hook them up to your pull-up bar.
If you don’t have a pull-up bar and don’t wish to drill in anchor points, opt for the dip bars.
Both are useful pieces of equipment which can help you get stronger and build muscle and will certainly add value to your home gym set up.
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