Exercise ropes are nothing new to an elevated fitness and workout regime but are an underrated piece of home-workout kit. With an extreme looking workout in the first place, the sheer benefits of including ropes in your work out far outweigh the high intensity and ruthlessness it carries. And we’re not talking about the usual jumping ropes in general, but the battle or exercise ropes per se that you often see in gyms.
So if you’re someone who’s already a fitness freak but is looking:
- To intensify core strength
- To shed body fat
- To build muscles without turning to ultra-high weights
- To develop muscular endurance, and
- To indulge in a high-intensity cardio workout, then ropes will for sure prove to be one of your best friends, whether at the gym or home.
Exercise ropes you need to work out with for visible outcome
Don’t just pass by the battle ropes or get intimidated on seeing them thinking that they are for experienced exercisers only. If you’re someone who has been working out for some time now, then you can incorporate the same in your regular exercise routine.
The best materials for working with battle ropes are Poly Dacron and Polyester. They provide resistance against friction and fray, besides providing lightweight core and added strength. If you want to go with a DIY battle rope, then get the best material here. You must go with a 3 strand twist design and a bit thicker ropes for a more strenuous workout regime and maximum durability.
The aforementioned battle ropes guidelines will ensure that you start right when working out with ropes and don’t go wrong at the beginning itself.
Benefits of exercise rope training
- Helps develop mental toughness
Making waves with exercise ropes helps in developing mental toughness as it helps remove obstacles when you jerk the rope and try to get smoother waves. The movements become an intense movement with time.
- A great break from the monotonous routine
You might be someone who changes their reps or workout routine in general but ropes, in general, give you enough room to “play around”. It is unique and produces excitement in even non-exercisers.
- Help keep your body relaxed
Now how come your body will be relaxed when working out for 10 mins (including working out and rest) could take your heartbeat rate up to 163 beats per min? If you control your breathing and keep the intensity low, then your body instead feels relaxed!
- Improves mobility and stability
As this exercise involves thrashing, jerking, and much more, your joints experience more motion and mobility. And with your feet planted stiffly on the ground, your stability enhances via increased repeated movements with the rope.
- Highly portable
If weights seem too much to handle, then this complete-body-workout tool will surely be a savior. Use them anywhere around like park, beach et al and you’re good to go! Buy one for yourself here and get your flex working.
How can you incorporate rope better in your existing routine?
Working with ropes involves working with both arms, core, along with your back, chest, and legs, depending on your routine. But you won’t see any benefits if you fly away from the ropes aimlessly.
- Work in different motions and directions to give a shock to discrete muscles. Slamming it down on the ground will train you for power but going from side to side will further emphasize your hips and core.
- It’s not just one exercise tool, instead of a complete workout routine in itself. Do different types of waves for a fixed duration of time while switching from one form to another. Doing a single exercise for an extended time-span helps flush lactic acid and increases focus. It also extends the time under which your muscles are in tension.
- When you set up the ropes, don’t forget to pull them tight and straight. Keep your feet outside your hips so that you can gather some additional power from the legs and core. Build a weighty and stable position to stand and bow with chest lifted, elbows close to the chest (for most of the drills), and shoulders down. Focus on breathing.
- Lastly, start setting up waves with your ropes in different ways and directions to target the desired body part or area of your body. Initially, keep your rest time double the workout time. As time passes by, you can decrease your rest time!
Simple yet easy-to-do rope exercises
You don’t need to go too harsh when working with ropes. Instead, some simple, easy, and beginner-friendly exercises are enough to give your muscles a shock and go all out.
- Alternating waves
It is the most sought-after and go-to rope workout involving hitting the rope in an alternating manner for generating waves. You can couple this with squats or even side lunges for more upper body and even lower body strain!
- Arm circles
Keeping your arms extended and closer to your rib cage, circle your arms both inwards and outwards alternatively for an effective push to the shoulder balls bidirectionally.
- Power slams
Get out all the accumulated energy within you with these power slams. Use both arms at the same time and jump as high as you can. But when landing, slam the rope as hard as possible on the ground.
Conclusion
So you see that ropes are a perfect dynamic, fat-burning, full-body cardio workout (but without the weights). If you have got excited to start using some, then buy one for yourself from here. Build those muscles and also a much leaner and athletic structure.
