WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
Wrist/Forearms

WORKOUT

Set a timer for 20 second intervals. Work on one exercise for 20 seconds then switch to the second exercise (or side if the move is unilateral) then rest 20 seconds before repeating the circuit. Complete 5 rounds of each circuit then rest for 1-2 minutes before moving on to the next circuit. This workout with a quick warm up and cool down shouldn’t take you longer than 30 minutes!

CIRCUIT #1:
20 seconds (Right) Lunge to Press
20 seconds (Left) Lunge to Press
20 seconds Rest

CIRCUIT #2:
20 seconds Landmine Burpee
20 seconds Ab Twists
20 seconds Rest

CIRCUIT #3:
20 seconds (Right) Rotational Deadlift Press
20 seconds (Left) Rotational Deadlift Press
20 seconds Rest

CIRCUIT #4:
20 seconds (Right) Standing Knees
20 seconds (Left) Standing Knees
20 seconds Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
Wrist/Forearms

NOTES:

Adjust weight as needed. You want to start light and make sure that even as you add weight you can move quickly and really work the entire 20 seconds. Remember to rest only 20 seconds after the two exercises and then 1-2 minutes after all five rounds are completed.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Lunge to Press – Grab the barbell in one hand and face the Landmine. Bring your hand up to your shoulder. Then lunge back on the side holding the barbell. Keep your chest up as you lunge back and make sure to sit back into that front heel. Do not go up onto your front toe. As you come back up to standing, drive through that front heel and press the barbell up overhead. Fully extend your arm. Then bring the barbell back down to your shoulder and repeat, lunging back again on the same side. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Keep your chest up tall and your abs braced through the entire movement. Do not lean toward the side holding the barbell. Because your legs will also be helping you press if move straight from the lunge to the press, you may find you can also use a bit more weight.

Landmine Burpee – Hold the barbell in both hands at chest height. Stand with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Press the barbell quickly overhead. Then squat down and lower the barbell down to the ground. Place the barbell on the ground and then place your hands on the ground besides the barbell. Jump your feet back so that you are in the high plank position. Then jump your feet back in about shoulder-width apart so that you are in a squat. Pick up the barbell while in the squat and bring it up to your chest. Stand back up and press the barbell overhead to repeat the burpee. Make sure to use your legs as you pick up and lower the barbell to the ground. You don’t want to use only your back to lift especially as you add weight!

Ab Twists – Hold the barbell in both hands at shoulder height with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Press the bar overhead. Keeping your arms straight and your shoulders down (do not shrug), lower the bar down toward one hip, pivoting your back foot as you lower the bar. Then, pivot back forward, bringing the bar back up center. Then drop the bar down toward the other hip, pivoting the back foot as you rotate. When the bar is lighter you can move very slowly and work on stability. Make sure that you still pivot your back foot to keep your hip, knee and ankle in proper alignment. As the bar gets heavier (and if you want to make this move more explosive), you will want to get your legs and hips more involved and really “pop” the bar up off your hip to drive it to the other hip. You will pivot hard to use the legs to twist the bar from hip to hip. With both moves, make sure to brace your abs as if preparing to be punched to protect your low back during the movement.

Rotational Deadlift Press – Stand at the end of the barbell facing the barbell, sideways to the Landmine anchor. Grab toward the very end of the barbell with an overhead grip and almost at the end of the barbell with an underhand grip. Your hands on the barbell should be about shoulder-width apart. Stand facing the barbell with your feet about shoulder-width apart. They may even be a bit wider. Hinge over like with a deadlift, bending your knees and sinking your butt while keeping your chest up and arms straight. Make sure your heels stay on the ground as you sink your butt. With your arms straight down holding the bar, pull up just slightly so there is tension on the bar before you lift. Your arms will be inside your legs and your shins should be right up against the bar. Then quickly stand up out of the deadlift and as you do, rotate toward the Landmine attachment and press the bar across and overhead. Your back foot, the foot closest to the end of the barbell, should pivot as you rotate and press across. Then bring the bar back down and sink back into a deadlift. Do not just lean over to bring the barbell back down to the ground. Sink your butt back down to drop the bar back down. Move slowly back down then explosively to bring the weight back up and across. Use your legs to power your press up and across. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Make sure you are using your legs to lift the barbell and not your back. Keep your abs braced and a nice tall posture through the movement. You want to power the deadlift and even the rotational press with your glutes not your low back.

Standing Knees – Stand facing the Landmine with the barbell in both hands. Press the barbell up overhead and move back behind the barbell. Set up in a staggered stance with one leg straight back. Then pull the weight down and toward the side of the foot that is staggered back. As you pull the weight down, bring that knee up and in toward your chest. Pull the weight and drive the knee toward each other. Crunch slightly as you bring the two together. Then quickly press back overhead and put the knee back down, driving the foot back into the staggered stance. Again, quickly pull the weight down and drive the knee up. Move quickly and explosively. Complete all reps on one side before switching. If you find you can’t bring the knee close to the bar, you may be in too close to the barbell and need to set up a little more behind it. Start light as this move will challenge your balance more than you realize. Keep your abs braced the entire time so that you don’t feel this move in your low back.

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps

WORKOUT

Perform 3 rounds of each of the circuits below. Rest at least 30 seconds between rounds. Beginners may need up to 2 minutes. Rest 2-3 minutes between circuits.

CIRCUIT #1:
20 seconds VersaClimber Sprint
20 seconds Sidewinders
20 seconds Pike Plank Inchworm

CIRCUIT #2:
20 seconds VersaClimber Sprint
20 seconds Rainbows
20 seconds Snow Angels

CIRCUIT #3:
20 seconds VersaClimber Sprint
20 seconds Right Hand Plank Waves
20 seconds Left Hand Plank Waves

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps

NOTES:

This is a great small group or partner workouts because one or two people can work as their partners rest. Then they will get enough rest as their partners go.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

VersaClimber Sprint – Step onto the VeraClimber and grab the handles. Make sure that you push and pull with both your upper and lower body. Try to keep your core still and not wiggle a ton from side to side. Take long, quick strides to sprint as fast as you can for 20 seconds.
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.

Pike Plank Inchworm – Set up in a plank on your forearms with your elbows under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line down to your heels. Your feet should be only an inch or two apart. Then begin to walk your feet in toward your head. Keep your legs straight as you walk in, but allow your butt to go up in the air. Walk in as far as you can without bending your legs. Beginners will then walk back out while more advanced exercisers will jump both feet back out. Do not let your hips sag when you jump back out. Keep your core engaged as you walk in and out. Then repeat, walking back in. Beginners may find this move difficult and may need to regress it to a simple plank hold from their feet or even their knees.

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 down and outside your right hip and pivot your left leg. Then pull the rope up and then over and down toward your left hip. Pivot your right leg as you bring the rope to your left hip. Then arch the rope 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. You are creating a rainbow with the rope as you bring it up from one hip to your shoulders and down and across to the other hip.

Snow Angels –  Start seated on your butt with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Advanced exercisers will then lift their feet off the ground while beginners will keep their feet on the ground. Hinge back and reach your arms overhead. Keeping your arms pretty straight arch them down toward the ground as if creating a snow angel. Then sweep them back up, remaining balanced on your butt. Do not round forward. Stay up nice and tall. Keep sweeping your arms until all reps are complete.

Plank Waves – Set up in a high plank from your hands and knees (beginner) or hands and toes (advanced). Your plank will be over one handle of the battling rope. Your feet should be about hip-width apart to help you stabilize and prevent rotation. Grab the rope in one hand while holding a nice straight plank line from your head down to your knees or heels. Then start to create waves with the arm holding the rope. Straighten it a little out in front of you and then begin to lift the rope up and down, almost a little like you are drumming on something. Move as quickly as you can without shifting your hips open. You will do waves on one side for 20 seconds then switch to the other side.

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.