Ropes are nothing new. Neither are battles. So it’s sort of surprising that one of the latest trends in fitness is an old-school piece of gear. We are talking about Battle ropes and battle rope exercises. 

After years of being confined to martial arts gyms and football training rooms, weighted battle ropes are finally entering the mainstream. And that means it’s time to add them to your fitness routine. Today we will tell you the best battle rope exercises and the benefits of doing it regularly. From exercises like inside circle, jumping power slams, battle ropes fly whip to benefits like improved balance, better heart health and increased mental toughness and more, read till the end to learn about all of them. 

Battle Rope Waves

The battle rope wave is the most classic battle rope exercise. It’s great for blasting fat, getting lean, and building muscle particularly in the biceps, forearms, shoulders and core.

Grab the battle ropes with a neutral grip and position your body so there is some slack in the ropes. Get into an athletic stance and bring your arms out in front of you like you are driving a horse and buggy.

Bring your right arm up and flick your wrist like you are throwing the rope up and away and then bring your arm down. As your right arm is coming down, bring your left arm up and do the same motion. Keep alternating right and left as you create undulating waves down the rope. Be sure to keep your elbows in to keep the movement at the biceps. This will allow you to not burn out as quickly. Do this for 5 sets of 30 seconds each.

Inside Circle

This exercise is great for your arms, shoulders, upper chest, lats, traps, and all the scapula stabilizer muscles. It promotes strengthening of your postural muscles, helping to combat society’s ever present tech neck and rounded shoulder issue.

Of course, it is also great for your legs, glutes and abs, as they need to work in an isometric fashion to keep your upper body stable.

Grab the battle ropes with a neutral grip and position your body so there is some slack in the ropes. Get into an athletic stance and bring your arms slightly out in front of you.

From here, create a big inward circle motion with both hands simultaneously. Your arms will move outward and then inward to create the circle counterclockwise. When both hands reach the middle, they will be about a hand width away from each other, they should not come in contact. Continue this circular motion with your arms for 2 sets of 30 seconds each.

Jumping Power Slams

Jumping power slams offer a total-body plyometric burn that tires your muscles out fast.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart in a quarter squat, facing the anchor. Hold one side of the rope in each hand, then lower the battle ropes down to your sides with your arms extended. Lower into a squat, tighten your core, and then explode into the air, jumping high, while raising both hands overhead. As you land softly back down into a squat, forcefully slam the ropes onto the ground in a wave motion. Repeat 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Do 3-4 sets.

Squat To Shoulder Press

Strengthen your shoulders as you work your lower body and core, too. This movement is especially beneficial for barbell athletes because it uses the same muscles as the thruster or clean and jerk. Instead of going for HIIT-style for this movement, focus on form. When your form starts to break, it’s time to stop.

Start with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Hold the ropes on your shoulders, making sure that there is very little slack in the rope itself. Lower down into a squat. As you stand back up, simultaneously press the ropes overhead to straighten your arms. Then, in one fluid motion lower the ropes back to the tops of your shoulders as you sink back into a squat. Repeat for 10-20 reps, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat for 3-4 sets.

Alternating Jump Wave

Finish up arm day with a little full-body workout action that requires solid coordination and power. You’ll feel it in your shoulders, arms and back, while the squats target your glutes and legs, too.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and grab one side of the rope with each hand. Place both hands to the right side of your hips and drop down into a squat. Explode off the ground as you swing the ropes up and over to the outside of your left hip, landing softly back into a squat. Continue alternating swings as you do jump squats for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Do 3-4 sets.

Battle Ropes Fly Whip

The whip is another popular movement for battle ropes. The whipping movement is sort of like an explosive rear delt fly to chest fly. As such, your arms, shoulders, chest, traps, and rhomboids will be emphasized the most. With the Whip, you will essentially be creating horizontal waves.

Grab the battle ropes with a neutral grip and position your body so there is some slack in the ropes. Get into an athletic stance and extend your arms up to about sternum level with a slight bend in your elbow. Whip the ropes in a horizontal outward motion away from each other while keeping your elbows fixed. When your elbows are about in line with your shoulders, whip the ropes back inward towards each other through the same path of motion.

As your arms come to your centerline, don’t bang your hands together, whip them back out immediately. Keep your arms up at about upper ab level as you continue this horizontal outward and inward motion for the duration of the set. Do 3-4 sets of 60 seconds each in one go.

Single Arm Plank Waves

The plank exercise by itself already does a great job of targeting your core, particularly the deep, supporting muscles of your transverse abdominis. The single-arm plank waves take the challenge up a notch by requiring you to maintain a plank position while balancing on one arm and controlling a lateral wave with the battle rope with your opposite arm. Remember, you’ll need to perform the exercise to each side, so complete a set with your right arm, then switch to your left side.

Set up in a high plank position with your palms under your shoulders, your legs fully extended, and your body forming a straight line from your head to your heels. Shift your weight slightly to the left side and grab the right end of the rope with your right hand. WIth your hips square to the ground and feet out wide, begin whipping your right arm outward, then inward, creating a lateral, snake-like wave along the right half of the rope. Your hand should remain lifted, but it’s fine if the rope itself touches the ground. Perform a full set of 10 reps before switching sides.

A Few Benefits Of Doing Battle Rope Exercises Regularly:

Explosive Full Body Workout

By nature of design, the exercises you perform with battle ropes work your entire body in a dynamic, explosive manner. Not every piece of fitness equipment can say that.

Battle ropes are revered for their strength and conditioning ability. It’s a total body workout for strength, hypertrophy, endurance, power, and cardiovascular health all in one long, thick rope.

Great For Burning Fat And Building Muscles

Cardio exercises like biking or running have long been surefire methods for fat burning. However, battle ropes can be strenuous enough to increase your heart rate and shed some fat.

Additionally, the ropes are amazing for building muscle since they are typically heavy enough to provide substantial resistance. Both an elevated heart rate and the building of muscle will aid in fat loss.

Improve Balance

Since the ropes are great at building your core and legs, you’re likely to see an improvement in balance in your everyday life. Furthermore, since this workout is a total-body movement, you might even see some refinement and correction in the symmetry of your body.

It is common for our bodies to favor muscle building on one side or in a particular group. However, battle ropes can help fix these balance-inhibiting occurrences, such as a larger right bicep.

Increases Mental Toughness

We all go through it but hate to admit it: there are gym sessions in which we find ourselves out of focus and feeling mentally weak. Any workout that requires a strong body also requires a strong mind. Especially when used to build endurance, battle ropes may strengthen your mental toughness.

If you find yourself tiring out in your gym sessions even though you feel like you could go harder, this mental boost may be what you need. Furthermore, successfully using the battle ropes can be very empowering. This feeling of empowerment and strength can be incredibly helpful for giving each gym session your absolute all, resulting in huge gains.

Battle Rope Exercises Are Quick, Efficient Workouts

Battle rope exercises target multiple muscle groups at once. As such, you burn a lot of calories and work many muscles in a short period of time. Rather than spending a lot of time focusing on isolation exercises or single muscle groups, you can do intense total body exercises with battle ropes and get a more effective all-round workout in a fraction of the time. This is how you get into fantastic shape.

Of course, if you want to grow specific muscles, do what you must with dumbbells and the like, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you want a quick and effective workout, then battle ropes are one of the best training tools that exist for that. After a 20-30 minute battle rope workout, you will be toast.

Better Heart Health

Battle rope workouts are cardio times resistance training. It’s like doing a run and a weightlifting session at the same time. As long as you keep your rest time as it should, then your heart rate will stay elevated for the length of your battle rope workout. This will boost your cardiovascular health and your endurance, which will translate to better performance both with weightlifting and sports.

People with knee, hip and low back issues should use battle ropes for cardio as running puts stress on their joints. Whereas battle ropes are low impact and they still give you the same heart health benefits.