Maltese on Rings: Assisted Practice and Progressions
A Maltese on rings is a strength hold in which the gymnast keeps the body horizontal and face down at ring height, with straight arms reaching wide. In gymnastics rules, it is also called a swallow. Learning it involves controlling that exact position under a load the gymnast can manage, then gradually reducing the help.
Contents
Start by separating three tasks: reaching the position, holding it still and leaving it under control. An athlete can improve one before mastering the others. This guide explains what to look for in assisted practice, with a video example and a simple record of progress.
What should a Maltese on rings look like?
The 2025–2028 FIG men’s Code of Points gives a precise reference: the body is straight and horizontal, the middle of the shoulders lines up with the bottom of the rings, and the wide arms do not rest against the torso. That is more useful than the vague instruction to lower the shoulders “below the rings.”
A side view helps show the height of the shoulders and any bend at the hips. A front or angled view helps show whether both arms are straight and clear of the body. Neither view alone reveals everything.
The independent hold is listed as Element Group II, number 10, with D difficulty, worth 0.40, and a two-second hold. The entire body must become still; time spent moving into position is not the hold. These are competition criteria, not a beginner’s training prescription. Our still rings scoring guide explains how holds and their entries are judged.
A Maltese is different from a planche, where the shoulders are above the rings, and from an upright iron cross. For those distinctions, see iron cross vs. Maltese.
What comes before Maltese-specific practice?
A coach needs to know how the gymnast handles rings, straight-arm loading and the rest of the training week. A large bench press or a long back lever cannot answer all three questions.
Start with the gymnast’s existing supports, pulling and pressing work: can the assigned movements be entered and finished under control? Then assess the target position with suitable assistance. The athlete should be able to keep the elbows straight, the legs together and the hips in line with the torso, without pain. General strength and ring control support the process, but they are not interchangeable with holding a Maltese.
Discuss previous shoulder or elbow problems before adding unfamiliar loading. For a young gymnast, parents should also tell the coach about extra practice outside the gym. The American Academy of Pediatrics explains that overuse develops when training demands outpace recovery; a short additional session still contributes to the total.
If basic straight-arm control is still developing, use the broader straight-arm strength guide with the coach before selecting advanced ring work.
How assisted Maltese practice works
Assistance supports part of the gymnast’s weight while the athlete works on the position. The rings research by Hübner and Schärer describes both coach support and pulley systems. The amount of help, where it acts and the movement being practiced all affect the exercise.
Watch an assisted training example
In Gymnastics Forza’s Maltese workout, you can see an athlete training on rings with a rope-and-weight assistance system. It is a commercial workout demonstration, useful for seeing assisted practice; it is not a narrated beginner lesson or independent evidence for the equipment’s claims.
At about 0:12, notice the blue rope and weight apparatus around the rings exercise. The assistance is part of the attempt: a photograph of the athlete alone would leave out information you need to understand the performance. The on-screen weights and repetitions describe that workout, not a starting program for everyone.
Use the clip to identify the support being used and the position being practiced. It does not establish a suitable load for you or show everything needed to install and use the system. A qualified rings coach should check the apparatus, assistance and finish before practice begins.
Enter, hold and finish as separate tasks
With the chosen assistance in place, establish a straight body: knees straight, legs together and hips aligned with the torso. Keep the elbows straight as the body approaches the horizontal position. From the side, check the shoulder height against the rings; a high chest or hips folded upward can make the attempt look easier without producing the target shape.
If the session uses a lowering entry, the aim is to control the approach to the hold rather than swing through it. Being helped into position and then maintaining it is a useful separate exercise. Do not count the time spent descending as part of a static hold.
Once the shoulders, hips and feet have settled, assess the hold itself. Watch for the elbows bending, the hips dropping or the arms pressing against the torso. These are visible changes in the task. More seconds in a changed shape should not be recorded as a longer Maltese.
Finish by the route established for that exercise while assistance remains available. A return toward support, a supported lowering and being helped out are different finishes; none should be assumed from a short workout clip. Do not improvise an exit after control has already gone.
| What you see | What to separate in the next attempt |
|---|---|
| The gymnast swings past horizontal before settling. | Practice arrival separately from hold duration. A supported static position can reveal whether the hold is controllable without that entry. |
| The shoulders reach ring height but the hips stay high. | Check the whole body line. Adjust the assistance or task to allow the intended shape instead of accepting a folded position. |
| The elbows bend as the hold continues. | Record when the straight-arm position ended. Reassess the demand before trying to extend the hold. |
| The middle looks controlled but the finish is abrupt. | Review the exit and available assistance. The complete attempt is not repeatable yet. |
Once the same assisted hold is repeatable, work on one change: a more controlled entry, a cleaner finish or less help. These do not have to advance together. Changing the support point or device creates a different exercise; even a band’s color does not tell you how much assistance it supplies throughout the movement.
Which supporting exercises are useful?
Supporting strength work should address a problem identified in practice. A coach might select controlled pressing work to develop general force, or a closely supervised straight-arm exercise to work through relevant shoulder positions. Adding several demanding drills simply because they resemble a Maltese makes the training harder to evaluate.
In the 2015 study of ten Swiss national-team gymnasts, researchers compared seven conditioning exercises with rings holds. Swallow performance was associated with bench-press strength and one supine swallow exercise, but not every similar-looking exercise showed the same relationship. Association in a small trained group does not prove that one lift causes another skill or provides a universal readiness threshold.
A 2022 study of ten elite male gymnasts found improvements after a short program using a computer-controlled resistance device. It studied athletes already training professionally, not beginners learning a first Maltese. Its protocol is not a three-week promise or a substitute for assessing the individual gymnast.
For a supporting exercise, the useful question is: what should this improve in the assisted hold, and how will we check? For example, stronger pressing matters to this goal when it helps the gymnast control the intended straight-arm position. A better score in a different exercise is encouraging, but it does not by itself establish Maltese readiness.
How to tell whether you are progressing
Record the assistance method and setting, the entry used, the time actually spent in the target shape and any discomfort during or after practice. Add a short video from a consistent angle when useful. Include enough of the apparatus to identify the setup, as the training clip above illustrates. Comparing the same task across sessions is more informative than collecting isolated best-looking photos.
A useful entry might read: “Same pulley setting and entry; body reached horizontal without swinging; elbows stayed straight until the finish.” On another day, “cleaner shape with more assistance” records technical improvement without claiming greater unassisted strength. Keep those achievements distinct.
Before increasing the challenge, agree on one change to evaluate. Reducing assistance while also adding attempts and changing the entry makes the result difficult to interpret. Keep the rest of the setup stable where practical.
If pain appears, stop the painful work rather than adjust the grip and keep testing. Seek a clinician’s advice for persistent or recurring symptoms. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons advises discussing exercise pain with a doctor or physical therapist. Its rehabilitation exercises should not be treated as a Maltese training plan.
Common questions
Do I need an iron cross first?
It is not a universal pass-or-fail test for Maltese readiness. The holds require different positions, and a coach should assess the target skill directly. If the cross is also a goal, our iron cross preparation guide covers that separate progression.
How long does it take to learn a Maltese?
There is no reliable timetable for an individual. Short studies showing stronger elite gymnasts do not establish how long a beginner needs. Use repeatable assisted performance and recovery to assess progress, not a promised completion date.
Does a Maltese on parallettes prove I can do it on rings?
No. The equipment provides different support conditions. Record it as a different exercise and have the rings version assessed separately.
Final Takeaway
Maltese training starts with a clearly defined position and an appropriate amount of assistance. Review the entry, hold and exit separately, then change the task deliberately.
The most useful progress is repeatable: the same body position, controlled movement and an honest record of the help used. Let that evidence guide the next step with your coach.
Main Sources
- FIG Men’s Code of Points 2025–2028 — Article 12.2.3 and rings Element Group II, number 10.
- Gymnastics Forza: Maltese workout — visual example of assisted training, not a prescribed routine or equipment endorsement.
- Hübner and Schärer (2015): rings holds and conditioning exercises — a small study of trained national-team gymnasts.
- Schärer and colleagues (2022): ring-specific strength training in elite gymnasts — specialized training and testing, not a beginner progression.
- American Academy of Pediatrics: preventing overuse injuries in young athletes — workload, recovery and reporting symptoms.
- AAOS: rotator cuff and shoulder conditioning — exercise-pain guidance; not a Maltese rehabilitation program.