Skin The Cat with gym rings
"Skin the Cat" is a full-body exercise that promotes shoulder mobility and trains upper body strength, particularly in the back, abdominal, and shoulder muscles. For this exercise, you hang from a bar or rings and slowly rotate your body through your arms until your hips are above your shoulders. It can be seen as an extension of the Toes to Bar or Toes to Rings, as it requires not only lifting the legs but also a complete body rotation, demanding greater flexibility and control.
The name "Skin the Cat" likely originates from the English expression "there's more than one way to skin a cat," which roughly means that there are different ways to achieve a goal. In gymnastics terminology, the phrase refers to overcoming an obstacle by turning or "skinning" the body through a tight movement.
Necessary equipment
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Skin The Cat with gym rings - the correct execution
- Start in a hang position
- Pull your shoulder blades back down
- Pull your hips to the rings with your legs extended
- Lower yourself into the hang backwards in a controlled manner
- Go only as far into the stretch as feels good for you
- Pull the hips back to the rings
- Lower yourself back into the hang in a controlled manner
- Arms and legs remain as stretched as possible throughout the stretch
- Choose between a supinated or pronated wrist position
The exercise Skin The Cat is intended to be used as a hypertrophy exercise.
Which muscles are trained by Skin The Cat?
Primary trained muscles for Skin The Cat
Shoulders - The deltoid muscle shapes your shoulder and helps you move your arm in different directions. It consists of three parts: the anterior part moves the arm forward, the middle part lifts the arm to the side, and the posterior part moves the arm backward.
Latissimus - The latissimus dorsi is a large muscle in your back that helps you pull your arm down and back. It also supports breathing and stabilizes the spine.
Chest - The pectoralis major muscle is the large muscle on your chest. It helps you bring your arm towards your body and rotate it inward.
Abs - This muscle group includes the rectus abdominis and the lateral abdominal muscles, which help you bend and twist your torso.
Secondary trained muscles for Skin The Cat
Triceps - The triceps brachii muscle is located at the back of your upper arm. It extends your arm at the elbow and also helps move the arm backward.
Biceps - The biceps brachii muscle is located on the front of your upper arm. It helps you bend your arm at the elbow, rotate your palm upwards, and lift your arm forward.
Forearm - The forearm muscles are divided into flexors and extensors. The flexors bend your wrist, while the extensors straighten it.
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Alternative variants of Skin The Cat with gym rings:
Tuck Skin The Cat with gym rings
In the Tuck Skin the Cat, the movement pattern of the Skin the Cat is maintained, but the knees are pulled to the chest. This reduces the leverage, making it easier to control the movement while still training the shoulders, chest, and back.
Necessary equipment
Tuck Skin The Cat with gym rings - the correct execution
- Start in the hang position
- Pull your shoulder blades back down
- Pull the hips to the rings with legs tightened
- Lower yourself into the in a controlled manner
- Just go so far into the stretch as it feels good for you
- Pull the hips back to the rings
- Lower yourself back into the hang position in a controlled manner
- Arms remain extended throughout
- Legs remain tucked throughout
- Choose between a supinated or pronated wrist position
Skin The Cat Chin Ups with gym rings
Compared to the conventional Skin the Cat, this exercise incorporates a pull-up into the backward movement. As a result, the shoulders are less heavily engaged, while the load on the latissimus and biceps is intensified.
Necessary equipment
Skin The Cat Chin Ups with gym rings - the correct execution
- Start in the hang position
- Pull your shoulder blades back down
- Pull your hips to the rings with your legs extended
- Lower yourself backward into the inverted hang in a controlled manner
- Go only as far into the stretch as feels good for you
- Pull the hips back to the rings
- Bend arms and pull rings to chest
- Lower yourself back into the hang with legs extended in a controlled manner
- Choose between a supinated or pronated wrist position
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