One of the best additions to the strength training world in recent years is the use of battling ropes. They are a very simple and versatile piece of equipment to that are suitable for all levels of fitness and experience. They can be used in an infinite number of ways only limited by your imagination and can provide that edge in your training that may be missing. Battle ropes are thick, heavy ropes with one end of the rope wrapped around an anchor at its midpoint so that 2 evenly lengthened ends can be held in each hand. The ropes are usually waved, slammed, or pulled and there are a seemingly endless amount of different exercises and variations to choose from. In this article, I will explain the 7 main benefits to your health and fitness when using ropes in your workout. Also make sure you check out the workout video at the end of the article that features 10 versions you can try.
1. Battling Ropes Improve Cardiovascular Fitness
Everyone wants to improve their cardiovascular fitness and the ropes can be one of the best ways to do this. We all know how important exercise is for our heart health and the ropes is one of the safest and easiest ways to improve our overall cardiovascular function.
Also you do not need a long time to train to feel the benefit, as opposed to running or cycling that often require a significant amount of time. A tough ropes workout is all over in the matter of a few minutes with each set usually lasting between 10 and 20 seconds.
The best part with the ropes is it can be a great addition for the person who cannot run or do much with their legs. Running and jogging can put significant stress on your knees, hips, and lower back and for this reason it turns people away from most cardio activities. The ropes are the perfect alternative as they provide a low-impact version of cardiovascular exercise that people of any age and ability can try.
2. Battling Ropes Improve Power & Speed
This is arguably the best feature of the ropes helping people to move fast. If there is one skill many people find extremely difficult to improve it is the ability to move fast and one of the best exercises to do this is with the ropes!
I never find it hard to make people move slowly, but it find it really hard to help someone move with high speed and power. Many of the exercises we associate with power training are very risky for the average gym enthusiast, such as box jumps, plyometric training, Olympic lifting, and even sprinting itself. The battling ropes is a great way to get around this problem as there is very little danger or risk of injury.
We lose our ability to generate power much faster than we lose muscular strength. Many studies indicate we lose power 2-3 times faster than strength. The fact that power declines so fast has a lot to do with our fast twitch fibres and the “use it or lose it” theory.
3. Battling Ropes Improve Grip Strength
One of the key factors with the battling ropes is the need for incredible grip strength. You simply cannot perform any of the exercises with a weak grip. Grip strength has been proven in many studies to be a good predictor of future injury and even overall body strength. Therefor it makes sense that we should always be looking at improving grip strength using exercises that are completely dependent on this.
Usually we associate exercises like the deadlift or the chin-up for improving grip strength as the incredible loads force the body to grip the bar hard. While the ropes do not weigh that much, the grip strength required for you to be able to complete the complex movements at high speeds without letting the rope go is incredibly high.
This is something that many people underestimate with regards to strength development and the ropes can be a great way to improve this with beginners who are unable to lift big loads with deadlifts or chin-ups.
4. Battling Ropes Improve Core Strength
Many people do not realize just how hard the core works when you use battling ropes as they are more concerned with fatigue in their arms and being out of breath to notice. To allow your arms to move violently with speed and power you need total body activation of your core muscles to maintain a steady base of your trunk.The core is just as important to the movement as the arms are!
This is another reason why you need to learn how to strengthen the core using the slings as they act as diagonal spirals that help connect the arms and legs together.
Watch the video below to see more about core strength and how to use these slings.
5. Battling Ropes Improve Coordination & Neuromuscular Strength
Neuromuscular activation is at its highest when the body performs complex movements such as battling ropes exercises. Beginners often struggle with exercise, not because they are weak, but because their timing is off. They lack coordination and skill to complete movements efficiently. The battling ropes exercises demand high levels of coordination, especially when you begin to combine leg movements like squats and lunges with arm movement.
By changing certain variables such as how you grip and move the rope, or even what stance you use, you can potentially recruit most of your body’s major muscle groups all at once! A great training tool to help improve functional movement skills that enable you to enhance how you move in life.
6. Battling Ropes Help Break Through Training Plateaus
We have all got that point in our training where it feels like no matter what you do, nothing changes. This is when you hit the dreaded plateau, and it means it is time to change things up. One of the best ways to do this is using battling ropes.
Why? It all has to do with inefficiency.
Whenever you train, you force your body to respond to the stimulus by adapting. This could involve improving nervous system efficiency, strengthening tendons, ligaments, and muscles, increasing muscle size/cross sectional area, or a combination of all these factors. The body wants to find a way to become better at the activity you are doing so it uses less energy. It wants to become efficient, and it wants to find an easier way fast!
It is impossible to become efficient at using the ropes if you are using them correctly which is why they work so well.
This is why it is important to keep changing your workouts with different exercises, sets, reps and tempos to keep your body guessing. However, sometimes even when you do this it still feels like the same old workout as your body is so used to the constant training methods you use.
This is where the value of the ropes comes in for it is one of those exercises that is really difficult to become efficient at. The inefficiency is what makes it so hard, and why you can barely do a set for more than 20 seconds. This is a great piece of equipment to smash through a training plateau and get your body back on track.
7. They Are Great Fun!
Exercise should be fun, but for many people they see it as a bore and something they have to get done. Often these people will find strength training really boring and hard to find motivation to get out there and get the workout done. However, when it comes to the battling ropes this can breathe a new life into their training and the way they look at exercise.
Check out the video below that features 10 different versions you can try.
The ropes are so different to other types of exercise equipment and they can be great fun to use, especially the first time you try it out. Everyone has a smile and a bit of a laugh the first time they ever use the battle ropes. It feels like something you would do when you are a kid and not something you would associate with strength training.
If you feel you are getting bored with your normal routine and are sick of using the same equipment and exercises each day then try adding the ropes into your workout one or two times per week. Trust me, you will find this a great addition and it might give you that spark you were missing.
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Summary
There is no doubting that the battling ropes are an excellent training tool for anyone to add to their workout. Not only does it help with cardiovascular fitness and upper body strength but builds tremendous core strength and coordination. I would say its most important benefit is the ability to make people move really fast without the risk or safety factors that are often associated with exercises that usually demand this. I hope this article gives you some great ideas and a better understanding of the value of the battle ropes.
About The Author
Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.
References
•Movement – By Gray Cook
•Corrective Exercise Solutions – by Evan Osar
•Anatomy Trains – by Thomas Meyers
•Motor Learning and Performance – By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
•Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance – By Vladimir Janda
•Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course – By Paul Chek
•Advanced Program Design – By Paul Chek
•Twist Conditioning Sports Strength – By Peter Twist