Battle Rope Exercises: Benefits And How To Get Started - Healthline

Maybe your like

HealthlineSubscribe

Fitness

How to Get Started with Battle Rope Exercises

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Mathe, MS, CSCS, NATA-BOC — Written by Katey Davidson, MScFN, RD, CPT on March 7, 2022

Benefits
Exercises
Tips
Bottom line

If you’ve ever been to a gym, you’ve probably seen someone tossing thick, heavy ropes around.

These ropes are known as battle ropes, and many people use them for an intense strength-building and calorie-burning workout.

While it may seem easy to swing a rope up and down, you’d be surprised how challenging lifting and moving those heavy ropes can be, especially for more than a few seconds.

If this sounds interesting, you may want to learn more about the benefits of battle rope exercises and how you can add them to your workout routine.

This article tells you all you need to know about battle rope exercises, their benefits, tips, and five exercises you can try.

woman using battle ropes in gym — svetikd/Getty Images

What are the benefits of battle rope exercises?

Battle rope exercises are popular for their many benefits.

Battle ropes offer a full-body workout

Battle ropes target most of the muscles in your body, including those in your abdominals, shoulders, arms, upper and lower back, and lower body (1, 2).

If you’re looking to target a specific area, you can change how you swing the ropes.

For example, bilateral waves (swinging the ropes with both arms at the same time) better target the erector spinae muscles, while unilateral waves (alternating arms) target the external obliques more effectively (2).

One study found that performing battle rope exercises three times per week for 6 weeks led to significant improvements in upper body and core strength (3).

After 6 weeks, men and women were able to perform an average of 7 and 10 additional pushups, respectively. The authors noted that increasing the rope weight over the duration of the study helped further improve strength (3).

Because you can swing battle ropes in many ways, you can target a variety of different muscle groups.

Battle ropes improve cardiorespiratory fitness

Swinging battle ropes requires your heart to quickly pump blood to all your working muscles.

For this reason, numerous studies have shown significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness after incorporating battle rope exercises for as little as 10 minutes per session (1, 3, 4).

What’s more, one study showed that battle rope exercises significantly increase heart rate and are classified as vigorous activity. This can burn a high volume of calories in a short time frame while strengthening your heart (4).

Battle ropes enhance athletic performance

Thanks to the strength training and cardio benefits of battle rope exercises, research has shown that incorporating battle rope exercises into sports training can significantly improve athletic performance.

In one study, 30 collegiate basketball players took part in either a battle ropes training program or an aerobic endurance program (1).

After 8 weeks, the battle ropes group had significant improvements in chest pass speed, jump height, core endurance, and shooting accuracy. In comparison, the aerobic endurance group had improvements in only aerobic capacity and upper body strength (1).

However, using battle ropes can also lead to increased soreness and muscle fatigue, which may prolong recovery time and affect performance. This is an important consideration when designing a training program specifically for athletes (1).

Battle ropes are low impact

Battle rope exercises can be a good option for people who have lower body injuries or prefer low impact workouts.

Most traditional battle rope exercises require your feet to be planted on the floor. Therefore, you can get your heart rate up without putting excessive strain on your lower body.

Battle rope exercises can be done sitting down

If you’re unable to exercise standing up, you can use battle ropes while sitting in a chair.

But don’t worry — you’ll still get in a great workout. In fact, one study found that battle rope exercises performed standing or sitting can improve aerobic fitness (5).

Summary
Battle rope exercises are great for building muscular strength, increasing cardiorespiratory fitness, and enhancing athletic performance. They’re low impact and can be performed sitting down, so they’re a great alternative to other cardio exercises.

5 battle rope exercises to try

If you’re new to battle rope exercises, you’ll likely have to go to a gym to try them. Most gyms have battle rope stations.

It’s best to start with a lighter and shorter rope, which is usually around 10 feet (3 meters) long and 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) thick.

As you get stronger, you can try longer lengths (up to 20–30 feet or 6–9 meters) and thicknesses (2 inches or 5 cm). However, this will depend on the ropes available at your gym.

Once you’ve selected your rope, you’re ready to get started. Here are five battle rope exercises you can try.

1. Bilateral waves

Start with your feet hip-width apart, holding one rope in each hand. The ropes should have some slack.
Bend your knees slightly, bring your shoulders back, and engage your core.
Swing both ropes up to just below shoulder height at the same time, and then swing them back down. It will look like a wave along the ropes.
Immediately bring the ropes back up. Repeat the motion without stopping.
Continue this movement for 30 seconds. Take a 30-second break and repeat for 3–4 reps or move on to the next exercise.

2. Unilateral waves

Start with your feet hip-width apart, holding one rope in each hand. The ropes should have some slack.
Bend your knees slightly, bring your shoulders back, and engage your core.
Swing one rope up with your right hand. As you swing it back down, swing the other rope up with your left hand. The ropes should be moving opposite one another.
Continue this movement for 30 seconds. Take a 30-second break and repeat for 3–4 reps or move on to the next exercise.

3. Rope slams

Start with your feet hip-width apart, holding one rope in each hand. The ropes should have some slack.
Bend your knees slightly, bring your shoulders back, and engage your core.
Push into the balls of your feet and extend your legs as you lift the ropes with both arms over your shoulders.
As the ropes reach their peak, slam the ropes down as hard as you can into the floor.
Immediately reverse the movement, bringing the ropes up again.
Continue this movement for 30 seconds. Take a 30-second break and repeat for 3–4 reps or move on to the next exercise.

4. Alternating wide circles

Start with your feet hip-width apart, holding one rope in each hand. The ropes should have some slack..
Bend your knees slightly, bring your shoulders back, and engage your core.
With your right hand, swing one rope out to the side in a circular motion.
As the rope returns to the starting position, do the same with your left hand.
Continue alternating hands for 30 seconds without stopping. Take a 30-second break and repeat for 3–4 reps or move on to the next exercise.
For added challenge and to change the muscular emphasis, reverse the circles.

5. Jumping slams

This move is more difficult and is higher impact, so it may not be suitable for everyone.

Start with your feet hip-width apart, holding one rope in each hand at your sides.
Lower into a squat position, engage your core, and push into the balls of your feet to extend your legs and jump up into the air. As you do this, swing the ropes up as high as you can.
As you come back down, land gently on the balls of your feet and descend into a squat position. At the same time, slam the ropes into the floor.
Repeat this movement for 30 seconds. Take a 30-second break and repeat for 3–4 reps or move on to the next exercise.

Summary
To target different muscle groups, try performing different battle rope exercises.

Tips for battle rope exercises

To get the best results, consider the following tips:

Perfect your form first. Before increasing the rope weight or your speed, make sure you’re performing the moves properly.
Try different movements. Battle ropes are very versatile, meaning you can move them in many directions. Play around with different movements to target different muscle groups.
Increase the rope length. If you’re looking for a greater challenge, try using a longer rope. The farther you are from the anchor (where the rope is tethered), the harder it will be to move the ropes.
Add them as a finisher to other workouts. If you don’t want to use battle ropes for your entire workout, use them as a finisher at the end. Try to go as long as you can before needing to stop.
Engage your core. Be sure to engage your core throughout these exercises. This will strengthen your core and ensure that you’re performing the moves safely and effectively.
Mind your shoulders. When lifting, swinging, and slamming heavy ropes, it’s easy to let your shoulder blades elevate or hunch forward, putting excess strain on your neck. To strengthen your shoulder stabilizers and move pain-free, keep your shoulder blades down, gently sliding them down and back throughout the movements.
Breathe. Beginners tend to hold their breath as they swing the ropes. This can hinder your performance and make the exercises less enjoyable. As you increase your intensity, make sure you also increase your breathing.
Get help. If you’re struggling or unsure of how to use battle ropes, ask a personal trainer or another gym employee for assistance.

Summary
When performing battle rope exercises, make sure to breathe correctly, engage your core, and focus on proper form.

The bottom line

Battle rope exercises are a fun way to get in an intense workout.

If you can get your hands on battle ropes, you can get a full-body strength training and cardio workout.

For best results, try to perform different battle rope exercises as an entire workout on their own. Alternatively, you can add a few battle rope exercises at the end of your typical workout routine.

Whether you’re new to exercising or an experienced gym-goer, battle rope exercises are for everyone.

How we reviewed this article:

History

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Mathe, MS, CSCS, NATA-BOC — Written by Katey Davidson, MScFN, RD, CPT on March 7, 2022

Health Conditions

Condition Spotlight

Wellness Topics

Product Reviews

Featured Programs

Featured

Lessons

Newsletters

Lifestyle Quizzes

Health News

This Just In

Top Reads

Video Series

Find Your Bezzy Community

Follow us on social media