Build Strength, Power, and Endurance with Battle Ropes

Building endurance, strength, strength endurance, and power is about embracing the science of physiological adaptation, and this information will give a practical and basic approach to this science.

Aerobic Capacity and Endurance

There are few exercises in the fitness community that build aerobic capacity and endurance in the upper body, while creating significant intensity in the cardio-pulmonary systems like ropes training.

The dual-force dynamic can build aerobic capacity and endurance for the cardiovascular, pulmonary, muscular, and nervous system (to include the central nervous system – brain), by adjusting the output methodology. If you generate waves as fast as you can (100% output), this will tend to build the power output once the nervous development and timing is there to provide the higher levels of output.

70% to 90% output will create strength and strength endurance adaptation; but if you are looking to build a huge gas tank, there are ways to adjust the variables of the ropes exercise to get 30% to 70% output for longer periods of time. Or you can adjust the active to rest ratios where all the body’s systems are adapting high levels of aerobic capacity and endurance (to include mental toughness and pain tolerance that comes with increased load and volume).

Workouts for Aerobic Capacity and Endurance:

Lower level intensity (30% to 50%) for prolonged periods of time with alternating waves (or several other wave-producing exercises). Try to maintain wave height, length, and speed throughout. (i.e. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 30 minutes)

Moderate level intensity for prolonged periods of time with alternating waves (or several other wave-producing exercises). Try to maintain wave height, length, and speed throughout, or use intervals with more work and less rest. (i.e. 40 seconds work and 20 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 50 seconds work and 10 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; or just 3 minutes work, 5 minutes work, 7 minutes work, etc.)

Continuous pulling of the rope with varied resistance wraps around an anchor in a variety of pulling positions. (i.e. 10 lengths of pulling, 40 lengths of pulling, or 5 minutes of pulling, 10 minutes of pulling, etc.)

As a general rule, the work time should always be equal to or greater than your rest times. Total work volume should not be less than two minutes. The output of your intensity will never be able to reach 100% if the total work volume and work to rest ratios are built appropriately. Building endurance, strength, strength endurance, and power is about embracing the science of physiological adaptation. This information will give a practical and basic approach to this science.

Strength and Strength Endurance

Battle ropes are an excellent implement to increase strength and strength endurance.

Being level 1 and level 2 qualified through John Brookfield’s Battling Ropes certification, as well as using the ropes as a vital component for Innovative Results clients (which include several MMA Champions, several Special Operations Elite Military, and high school/collegiate/professional athletes) for several years, we are frustrated when the fitness community says battle ropes are just a good conditioning tool for the upper body.

It would be like saying, “the barbell is just good to hang my clothes when they need to air dry.” If I said that, I obviously have very little idea of how the implement works. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Battle ropes, if utilized correctly, can create an extremely high demand on the musculo-skeletal system and create incredible muscular adaptations.

Workouts for Strength and Strength Endurance:

Moderate to moderate-high intensity (60% to 90%) for prolonged time or intervals with alternating waves (or other wave-producing exercises). Try to maintain wave height, length, and speed throughout work sets or rounds. (i.e. 2 minutes of work once or several times; 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 40 seconds work/40 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 60 seconds work/60 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 20 seconds work/40 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 40 seconds work/60 seconds rest for several sets or rounds).

Moderate to moderate-high intensity (60% to 90%) with extra wraps while pulling ropes around or through anchored points. (i.e. 5 to 40 pulls with 1 to 3 minutes of rest between sets or rounds).

As a general rule, the work time should always be equal to or less than your rest times (equal rest to work or greater rest to work ratios to build strength endurance or strength), and total work volume should not be less than twenty seconds or more than 40 minutes otherwise you’ll be going into aerobic or power work.

The output of your intensity will never be able to reach 100% nor go below 70% if the total work volume and work to rest ratios are built appropriately. Building endurance, strength, strength endurance, and power is about embracing the science of physiological adaptation.

Power

I have found no better power improvement tool than the rope. When utilized correctly, the rope provides a ceiling-less growth to the body’s power output, while keeping injuries to an all time low (putting thousands of people through several power programming sequences and progressions, I have seen no injuries from the ropes – I am not saying injury is impossible, but it is highly improbable).

Workouts for Power:

High intensity (90% to 100%) for intervals with alternating waves (or other wave-producing exercises). Try to maintain wave height, length, and speed throughout work sets or rounds. The intensity is the same for pulling exercises, and is built through wraps to increase friction, as well as force output from the body. (i.e. 20 seconds of work once or several times; 20 seconds work/60 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 10 seconds work/50 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 5 seconds work/30 seconds rest for several sets or rounds; 6 reps with 20-60 seconds of rest; 3 reps with 20-60 seconds of rest and the list goes on).

As a general rule, the work time should always be five times less than your rest times (at minimum, a 1:5 work to rest ratio), and total work volume should not exceed 20 minutes. That amount of total work volume is usually only possible with elite athletes.

The output of your intensity should always strive to be 100%. The biggest inhibitor here is nervous development and mental understanding of complete force output. If the total work volume and work to rest ratios are built appropriately, the athlete will build an amazing amount of power without injuries.

Battle Ropes Improve the Basic Movement Standards

The squat, hinge, push, and pull can be performed while producing waves, while pulling the rope around an anchor, or while simply loading under an outstretched rope attached securely to an anchor.

With the ropes dual-force dynamic, the body learns positioning, movement, and timing through two chains of movement: gravity through the body to the ground, and the body through the rope to the anchor. This creates an amplified experience for any athlete, helping adaptation and body awareness significantly.

Through varying the exercise, intensity, load, time, planes of motion, work, and rest, you have an endless supply of techniques to help build a human to the highest level of optimization through one of the most ancient inventions ever used in a fitness capacity.