WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Hips/Glutes
Back
Lats
Chest
Shoulders
WORKOUT
One partner will hold a plank on the end of the rope for 30 seconds while the other partner does their rope drill for 30 seconds. Then they will switch. After both have gone, they will rest 30 seconds and then repeat.
Pick 5-8 of the rope drills below to include. Do 3-5 rounds of each drill. The more drills you pick, the fewer rounds of each you should do.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Rope Drill
30 seconds Plank Hold
30 seconds Rest
ROPE DRILL OPTIONS:
Alternating Arm Waves
Stage Coach
Rainbows
Sidewinders
Side-to-Side Stage Coach
Stage Coach with Backward Lunges
Alternating Waves with Side-to-Side Lunge
Stage Coach with Forward/Backward Hops
Alternating Waves with Side Shuffle
Sidewinders with Forward/Backward Walk
Snakes
Outward Circles
NOTES:
Many of these drills can be done from your feet, knees or even seated. Mix up your positions. For example, you could do a standing Rainbow and then one seated (which is almost like a Russian Twist with the rope).
Mix up the drills that you use!
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
For Demos of all these moves, check out this Battling Ropes Video.
Stage Coach – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with the handles facing up. Your arms should be bent slightly and your feet should be about hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and then as you stand back up, pull up on the ropes with your arms. Then as you slam the rope back down, squat back down just a little. Move quickly, making small fast waves. Don’t worry about big slams. Keep your chest up and shoulders back as you create the waves. Don’t round forward or keep your legs locked out. Create as many waves as possible. As you advance, step forward closer to the anchor so there is more slack in the rope.
Sidewinders – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Keep more slack in the rope than you would with other battling ropes moves. Relax your arms and stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart. Then sweep your arms to the right, rotating through your core even pivoting a little up onto your left toes. Then quickly sweep your arms to the left. Sweep back and forth. Keep your arms more relaxed and only slightly bent. Use your core to push and pull from side to side. You shouldn’t do huge rotations. Your arms and the rope should stay out in front of you. The ropes should make snake-like waves on the ground and swish side to side. They should not move up and down off the ground.
Alternating Arms Waves – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Your arms can be straight or bent depending on which is more comfortable. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. You can be more in a squat or your legs can be straighter. Don’t be afraid to use your legs as you create waves and either move up and down with them together or slightly step one foot at a time. To create the waves, lift one arm up as you pull the rope down with the other. Then switch pulling one up and the other down. Alternate as quickly as possible using the legs as needed.
Rainbows – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with the handles facing up. Keep your hands pretty close together. Rotate the handles outside your right hip and pivot your left leg. Then pull the rope up and then over toward your left hip. Pivot your right leg as you bring the rope to your left hip. Then arch back up bringing the rope up toward your shoulder than back down to your right hip. Keep pivoting and rotating the rope from hip to hip, arching up toward your shoulders as you bring the rope from one hip to another.
Side-to-side Stage Coach – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with the handles facing up. Your arms should be bent slightly and your feet should be about hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and then as you stand back up, pull up on the ropes with your arms. Then as you slam the rope back down, squat back down just a little. Slam the ropes to one side of your hip. Move quickly, making small fast waves. Don’t worry about big slams. Then bring the rope back and across to the other hip. Keep the stage coach waves moving side to side. Keep your chest up and shoulders back as you create the waves. Don’t round forward or keep your legs locked out. Create as many waves as possible. As you advance, step forward closer to the anchor so there is more slack in the rope.
Stage Coach with Alternating Backwards Lunges – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with the handles facing up. Your arms should be bent slightly and your feet should be about hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and then as you stand back up, pull up on the ropes with your arms. Then as you slam the rope back down, lunge backward. Move quickly, making small fast waves. Your arms will move faster than you lunge. Don’t worry about big slams. Keep your chest up and shoulders back as you create the waves and lunge backward alternating legs. Don’t round forward. As you advance, step forward closer to the anchor so there is more slack in the rope. Also, lunge more quickly.
Alternating Waves with Side-to-Side Lunge – Set your feet nice and wide so that you can go side lunge to side lunge without moving your feet. Hold an end of the rope in each hand. Start with alternating waves and then sink down into a side lunge on one side, bending that knee. Then stay low and move across to a lunge on the other side while keeping the alternating waves going. Do not round your back forward. Keep your chest up nice and tall and your heels down as you create the waves and move side to side.
Stage Coach Forward/Backward Hops – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with the handles facing up. Your arms should be bent slightly and your feet should be about hip-width apart. Start creating the waves with both arms moving together. As you create the waves, hop forward from foot to foot. Once you go forward a few hops, hop from foot to foot backwards. Keep both arms moving together as you hop. Each hop is one rep.
Alternating Waves with Side Shuffle – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Your arms can be straight or bent depending on which is more comfortable. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. You can be more in a squat or your legs can be straighter. Don’t be afraid to use your legs as you create waves and either move up and down with them together or slightly step one foot at a time. To create the waves, lift one arm up as you pull the rope down with the other. Then switch pulling one up and the other down. Alternate as quickly as possible using the legs as needed. As you alternate the waves, begin to move laterally with your feet. Shuffle a few feet one way then shuffle back as you keep your arms moving to create the alternating waves.
Sidewinders with Forward/Backward Walk – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Keep more slack in the rope than you would with other battling ropes moves. Relax your arms and stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart. Then sweep your arms to the right, rotating through your core even pivoting a little up onto your left toes. Then quickly sweep your arms to the left. Sweep back and forth. Keep your arms more relaxed and only slightly bent. Use your core to push and pull from side to side. You shouldn’t do huge rotations. Your arms and the rope should stay out in front of you. The ropes should make snake-like waves on the ground and swish side to side. They should not move up and down off the ground. As you create the waves, step forward. You will first step forward and slightly to the side with your right foot and then your left all the while creating waves. Once you move forward a few feet, step backward. Keeping moving forward and backward while creating waves and keeping your core tight and chest up.
Battling Rope Snakes – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. With your arms relaxed and slightly bent and you feet about hip-width apart, pull the ropes together and then pull them apart. The movement is almost like a chest fly with your arms hanging down. Move quickly creating “snakes” with the ropes on the ground. You can even use your legs to move quickly, squatting just a very little bit and then straightening your legs as you create the waves. Do not round your back. Keep your back flat even if you hinge over just a little.
Battling Ropes Outward Circles – Loop the rope around an anchor and hold one side in each hand. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. With your arms slightly bent, you are going to bend your knees slightly and then start to pull the ropes upward and outward. As you pull them up and out, stand back up. As you pull the rope down and around, squat a little back down and then explode back up as you pull the ropes back up and around. Use your legs to move quickly with the outward circles, pulling down around and then back up and in.