Gymnastic rings are an amazing way to develop functional strength in your upper body. Exercises that are tough from a fixed apparatus, such as pull-ups from a bar, or dips from a dip station, are many times more grueling from a set of gymnastics rings. Why is that? Because you have to expend so much effort just to keep the rings stationary. Each exercise recruits all of the little stabilizing muscles of the upper body. A person that can do 25-30 normal pushups may only be able to do 10 ring pushups.

I have found several sources online for purchasing gymnastics rings.

Elite Rings - Gymnastics Rings for Fitness - Probably the best known source of gymnastic rings on the internet. At around $70, these are the most expensive of the rings I have found. Each set of rings comes with an instructional training manual. They also carry a ring strength DVD that includes over 40 gymnastics rings fitness exercises.

Xtreme Rings - The next set of rings offered online are Xtreme Rings. These can be found for $49.95 plus shipping and are very similiar to Elite Rings. These rings have a texture that many people prefer to the smooth Elite Rings. They also have a longer strap.

Custom PVC Rings - The last and least expensive type of gymnastics rings availabe online are Custom made PVC rings available on eBay. There are a couple of sellers that make them at home and offer them for sale on eBay for $35-$37 plus shipping. They are basically a section of 1 inch PVC that they have heated and wrapped around a round object to get the desired diameter. With a little grip tape, these are sufficiant to get a good workout, and you can then use your cash for other needed equipment.