In the latest episode of my podcast, 2 Guys on Fitness, I show my colleague Allen Therisa how to integrate battling ropes into a productive gym workout.
I’m a fan of this type of exercise because it is demanding and exhilarating, gets the heart rate up and involves our brains when exercising.
This in itself is a good thing, because if we approach our workouts as technical processes we lose something vital in the process - which is active engagement of our cognitive abilities. In my opinion workouts should be about more than our physical development and aesthetics, they should also be about engaging our brains in what we do, as well as our coordination and reasoning skills.
So incorporating this kind of exercise into our workout engages our brains as much as our muscles and cardiovascular system.
It's a win win.
The other reason I am a fan of this type of exercise is because it disrupts a typical workout and in the process ‘wakes up’ the person exercising. It introduce a spike of intensity to the gym session that drives it forward.
As such, it makes the workout active and not passive.
Delivering a decent battling ropes exercise is relatively straightforward and involves balancing good posture (stable, balanced footing and a straight back) with a sustainable release of energy over a set period of time while battling the ropes.
To see how this works in the real world, check out the short video below and aim for 3 sets of 30 seconds bursts when delivering the exercise yourself.
So, want to shake up and wake up your workout?
Then pick up those ropes and get them working.
Julien