You might have heard of ropes being used for tug-of-war, mountain climbing, or sailing, but did you know that ropes are also one of the latest trends in workout gear? That’s right, they’re called battle ropes, and they’re a simple workout tool that anyone can use.

While these thick, weighted ropes might look intimidating, they are a unique piece of workout equipment that can train the muscles in your arms, abs, back, core, and glutes. You can also work out your legs with battle ropes by incorporating lunges, squats, and jumps into your session. In addition to strength training, throwing these heavy ropes around also provides an intense cardio workout.

Adventure Fitness Athletic Club has battle ropes at our Thornton gym where our members are free to sweat it out with these unique pieces of equipment. If you need assistance on how to exercise with battle ropes, please feel free to ask a member of the AFAC staff. We’re happy to help you add some battle ropes to your fitness adventure!

Where did battle ropes come from?

While he didn’t invent ropes, the Battling Ropes® System was created and trademarked by John Brookfield. Now in his 60s, John has been an internationally known leader in the strength and fitness world for many decades. Famous for his feats of strength and physical endurance, John has created workout systems for athletes, trainers, and coaches worldwide and has also been seen on many television programs including Good Morning America, The Today Show, and Regis and Kathie Lee.

Around 2006, John invented the Battling Ropes® System in his backyard. He had been looking for a new training technique that helped him sustain strength, power, speed, and mental endurance. As he developed the Battling Ropes® System over a year, he was astonished by the phenomenal results he achieved. After doing some testing, he realized that he needed to share the system with others.

Since he lived close to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was friends with some of the commanders there, the first groups to try John’s new Battling Ropes® System were a few of our military Special Forces. Over time, he trained thousands of athletes and military personnel including the Cincinnati Bengals, other NFL teams, and the Olympic Wrestling Team. According to John, everyone absolutely loved the Battling Ropes® System and was amazed at how difficult it is to manipulate a 24-pound rope.

After training thousands of people, John noticed that even world-class athletes would struggle to the last minute with the Battling Ropes® System. Through his research, John realized that it was the velocity of the ropes that made the difference. The strength and speed required to keep the ropes moving was the missing link in many athletes’ training. As these athletes learned to sustain velocity, they were able to play much harder at their chosen sport thanks to much improved endurance.

Battle rope basics

Battle ropes, also known as training ropes, come in various thicknesses and lengths. Standard lengths can range from 30-50 inches, and typical thicknesses can be 1-2 inches. To use the rope, you anchor it by looping it around a pole, or you can use an anchor strap kit. The anchor allows you to fold the rope in half and hold the two ends for your workout.

While you could flail around with the ends of the rope in the beginning, if you really want results, you should add some structure to your battle rope workout. Here are a couple exercises to master as you get started:

Battle Rope Waves — As the classic battle rope exercise, battle rope waves work your arms independently and keep your muscles engaged for an extended period of time. To perform this exercise, hold the ends of the rope at arm’s length in front of your hips. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart. Brace yourself and alternate raising and lowering your left and right arms as vigorously as you can, which should make the ropes create a wave effect. Keep alternating your arms for 1-2 minutes.

Battle Rope Crossovers — This exercise involves slamming the rope to the ground. Keep both feet flat on the floor and lift both ends of the rope above your head to the left, then slam the ropes down hard to your right. Repeat the exercise in the opposite direction. Continue alternating for 1-2 minutes.

In and Outs — Start by holding the ends of the rope close together right in front of your abdomen, and then swing both arms out to the side a little beyond your shoulders, and return your hands back to the center quickly, overlapping one hand over the other. Repeat to create a side-to-side wave with the ropes and continue for 1-2 minutes.

Benefits of using battle ropes

While battle ropes can be used by people of all ages and activity levels, they provide a deceptively tough workout. That is one of the main benefits of battle ropes — in theory, they are fairly simple to use but the difficulty of the workout can be off the charts. If done correctly, battle ropes will leave you sweating and out of breath after a few minutes.

Here are some other benefits of working out with battle ropes:

• They can be used by anyone — As previously mentioned, battle ropes can be picked up and used by anyone, regardless of their fitness level. They’re great for professional athletes and beginners alike!

• They work new muscles — You can whip, wave, or slam the ropes to move your body in different directions and increase your range of motion to work muscles you’ve never touched before.

• You can easily change the difficulty — Moving away from the anchor point decreases the exercise intensity, while stepping toward the anchor point increases intensity. In other words, creating more slack in the rope by moving closer to the anchor makes the workout harder. You can also hold the ends overhanded or underhanded to switch things up.

• You can get a full-body workout — Battle ropes aren’t only for your arms. You can work your entire body based on your grip, how you move the ropes, and by incorporating different moves like lunches, squats, lateral movements, and jumps.

• You’ll get stronger — Battle ropes are heavy, and this resistance will strengthen your arms, shoulders, quads, glutes, abs, and more.

• They’re great for cardio, too — Battle ropes provide the perfect combination of strength training and cardio in one workout.

• You’ll work your brain — The wave effect you create with the ropes will challenge your brain to keep the motion going.

• You’ll have fun — Battle ropes are challenging, different, exciting, and fun to use. They feel like a game more than a workout.

Give AFAC’s battle ropes a whirl, a wave, and a spin

Are you ready to add battle ropes to your fitness adventure? Come by Adventure Fitness Athletic Club and pick up our battle ropes for a ruthlessly effective workout. If you have any questions about how to use battle ropes, our staff is here to help you every step, and wave, of the way. That’s why AFAC is the best gym in the Thornton area! To learn more, stop by AFAC and speak to a member of our team. You can also call Susan at 720-849-0245 or email her at susan@adventurefitness.club.

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