Maltese progression

The maltese is a planche with the arms spread wide, held on rings, and it belongs to elite gymnastics. This chain lays out the long road there, starting from a ring frog stand.

Realm
The Planche
Steps
20
Grades
Green to Red
Gear
rings, floor

This chain takes the planche onto rings, then widens it. First the planche is rebuilt on a base that moves, from the Ring Frog Stand up to the full Ring Planche. Then the hands travel out to the sides until your body holds level between wide, straight arms: the Maltese. The Inverted Cross comes just before it, and the chain closes on two named ring sequences, the Zanetti and the Van Gelder.

Be honest about who this is for. Most of the chain is graded Red, and even the Ring Tuck Planche sits at Blue. The early steps still reward anyone who owns rings, because holding planche shapes on a moving base trains the shoulders to steady as well as push. The Maltese itself is a multi-year goal for dedicated athletes, and plenty of strong people never get there.

Chalk grades run White to Red, and this chain starts at Green with the Ring Frog Stand. Blue adds the Ring SA Frog Stand and the Ring Tuck Planche, and Yellow brings the Ring Tuck PL PU and the Ring Adv Tuck PL. From there everything is Red: straddle, one-leg and full ring planche holds and push ups, then the Inverted Cross and the Maltese, then the Victorian holds and the Maltese Press.

The ladder

Every step has a standard. Own it, then climb. Grades run White, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red.

  1. 01
    Ring Frog StandGreen
    3 × 20–30s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core
  2. 02
    Ring SA Frog StandBlue
    3 × 20–30s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core
  3. 03
    Ring Tuck PlancheBlue
    3 × 20–30s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  4. 04
    Ring Tuck PL PUYellow
    3 × 5–8 repsrings · shoulders · chest · core
  5. 05
    Ring Adv Tuck PLYellow
    3 × 20–30s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core
  6. 06
    Ring Straddle PLRed
    4 × 8–15s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  7. 07
    Ring One Leg PLRed
    4 × 8–15s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core
  8. 08
    Ring Adv Tuck PL PURed
    4 × 3–5 repsrings · shoulders · chest · core
  9. 09
    Ring Straddle PL PURed
    4 × 3–5 repsrings · shoulders · chest · core
  10. 10
    Ring PlancheRed
    4 × 8–15s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  11. 11
    Ring OL Planche PURed
    5 × 2–3 repsrings · shoulders · chest · core
  12. 12
    Ring Planche Push UpRed
    5 × 2–3 repsrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  13. 13
    Inverted CrossRed
    4 × 8–15s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  14. 14
    MalteseRed
    4 × 8–15s holdrings · shoulders · chest · core · video
  15. 15
    Floor VictorianRed
    3 × 5s holdfloor · chest · shoulders · core
  16. 16
    PB VictorianRed
    3 × 4s holdfloor · chest · shoulders · core
  17. 17
    Maltese PressRed
    1 clean pressrings · shoulders · chest · core
  18. 18
    Ring Victorian CrossRed
    3s holdrings · chest · shoulders · core
  19. 19
    ZanettiRed
    3s maltese press sequencerings · shoulders · chest · core
  20. 20
    Van GelderRed
    1 clean sequencerings · shoulders · chest · core

How to climb it

Come in with a solid floor Tuck Planche and a steady RTO Sup Hold. Own each step at its standard before moving on: 3 × 20–30s for the early holds, 4 × 8–15s for most Red holds, and fewer, harder reps for the push ups. The early holds fit the BARCROSS ladder: 3 × 10s to start, five seconds more each session, and at 3 × 30s you move up.

Train it twice a week, three times at most, early in the session. Straight-arm ring work is hard on the elbows and the biceps tendon, and the wide-arm holds load them hardest of all. Add volume slowly, keep every set short of failure, and treat a lingering elbow ache as a reason to back off for a while. If pain persists, see a professional.

Form cues

  • Everything from the floor planche, on an unstable surface
  • Turn the rings out as strength allows

Common mistakes

  • Letting the rings lead: the rings add instability to every planche shape, so each ring step should trail the same step on the floor.
  • Soft elbows under fatigue: when the arms start to bend the set is over, and grinding on turns a straight-arm hold into elbow strain.
  • Going wide too early: in this chain the Inverted Cross and the Maltese come after the full Ring Planche, not alongside the tuck steps.
  • Skipping the support work: turned-out ring support holds condition the biceps tendon, and they are the cheapest insurance in ring training.
  • Stacking volume on Red holds: these standards are short for a reason, and extra sets on tired tendons can cost you weeks.

Questions

How long does it take to learn the maltese?

Years, for the athletes who get there at all. The Maltese comes after the full Ring Planche, deep in the Red part of the chain, and the ring planche alone is a multi-year skill for most people. Treat each step on the way as its own goal.

Is the maltese harder than the planche?

Yes, by a long way. With the arms spread wide, the shoulders and chest work against a much longer lever, and on rings the base never sits still.

What is the difference between a ring planche and a planche?

Same shape, different base. Rings move, so your shoulders have to steady them while holding the lean. The grades show it: the tuck steps share a grade on floor and rings, but the Straddle Planche is Yellow while the Ring Straddle PL is Red.

What is an inverted cross?

An iron cross turned upside down: you hold a handstand position between the rings with your arms straight out to the sides. In this chain it is graded Red and comes just before the Maltese.

Track it in the skill treeTrain it todayFind your chalk

The chain follows the r/bodyweightfitness progressions chart. Standards, grades and words: BARCROSS.