Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is an elite gymnastics ring exercise where you hold your body suspended with arms extended horizontally to the sides in a 'T' shape. It requires immense straight-arm strength and stability, targeting the chest, shoulders, and biceps.
Because the Iron Cross places extraordinary stress on the elbows and shoulders, AI coaching is vital for monitoring recovery and injury prevention. The app tracks your recovery status and RPE to determine if your connective tissue is ready for this high-intensity isometric hold, or if you should scale back to prevent overuse injuries based on your historical pain data.
Form Cues
- Lock your elbows completely throughout the hold
- Depress your shoulders down away from your ears
- Maintain a hollow body position with core engaged
- Squeeze the rings tightly to generate tension
- Keep your head neutral and look straight ahead
- Don't allow your elbows to bend even slightly
- Don't shrug your shoulders up towards your ears
- Don't arch your lower back
- Don't let the rings drift behind your body
- Don't relax your core tension
Common Mistakes
- Bending elbows to compensate for weakness
- Shrugging shoulders excessively
- Breaking the hollow body position
- Rolling shoulders forward aggressively
- Attempting the hold without proper tendon conditioning
Muscles Worked
The Iron Cross primarily targets the sternal head of the pectoralis major and the anterior deltoids, which must generate massive force to keep the arms adducted against gravity. It also heavily recruits the biceps brachii and elbow flexors to maintain the straight-arm lock, along with the latissimus dorsi and core for stabilization.
Primary
Secondary
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