16 Battle Rope Exercises for a Lean, Powerful Body

The battle rope is a simple piece of fitness equipment that can help you accomplish stellar conditioning and a more attractive physique. Use the battle rope strategically to create a lean, powerful, and well-shaped body.

Athletes typically add one or two battle rope exercises to their workout. However, doing a workout comprising all battle rope exercises can sometimes be highly effective and fun.

I encourage you to experiment with the battle rope workout outlined in this article:

• to adjust the difficulty of the exercise, play with the slackness of the rope, and move closer to – or farther away – from the rope’s anchor point.
• to make the workout more challenging, go faster, and exaggerate the range of motion during each movement.
• advanced athletes can take much shorter breaks between exercises – as little as 30 seconds.
• to make the workout easier, go slower and make the range of motion smaller for each movement.

• beginning-level athletes can take longer rest periods between exercises – as long as 2 minutes.
• consider using your phone’s timer to monitor rest periods accurately.

The video lower within this article can help guide you through your battle rope workout.

The Benefits of Using a Battle Rope During Your Workout

Because the human body can adapt to movements, rep, and resistance patterns very quickly, you might find that your physique results hit a plateau – and you will experience little or no change to your mobility, fitness, or health (even though you’ve been exercising regularly and experiencing a rapid pace of progress before hitting a plateau).

When reaching a plateau, a smart course of action is to do a completely different type of workout with completely different equipment.

Battle rope to the rescue!

The Battle Rope Workout

Be cautious of your shoulders.

Warm-up beforehand, and if your rotator cuffs (shoulder joints) start to feel painful, stop the workout.

Consult your medical doctor before undertaking significant lifestyle changes, including exercise.

1. The Battle Rope Crunch

On your back, direct your arms over your shoulders – stabilize – then crunch.

Even though you’re crunching, try to maintain some length in your spine as you compress your top rib.

Hollow out your abdomen and pull the belly button toward the ground with intensity.

3 sets, 30 reps each.

2. V-Sit Arm Pumps

Sit in a sort of V-shape with your legs up and your arms out. Keep your core muscles tight as you pump the rope.

3 sets, 20 reps each.

3. V-Sit Side-to-Side Heel Taps

Focus here on the abdominal muscles located below your navel. Pull your lower abdominal plate in with ferocious intensity!

Each end of the battle rope runs alongside you on the ground, so you can lightly grip it to secure your balance.

3 sets, 30 reps each.

4. Single-Arm Plank Front Waves

Now you’ll begin to feel the kind of unique resistance that the battle rope provides.

At this point in the workout, you’re still warming up the shoulder area, so take it easy (the intensity will increase as the workout continues).

3 sets, 10 reps each side.

5. Push-Ups

Though not strictly a battle rope exercise, push-ups are part of this complete workout.

As you push up, imagine pushing from your pectoral muscles especially (instead of initiating from the arms only). Beginners separate their feet wide; advanced-level athletes keep their feet together.

3 sets of 10 reps. Beginners can lower their knees to the mat. More push-ups are coming later in the workout, so save some juice in your battery!

6. Double-Handed Waves

Here, be mindful of the placement of your feet. Your feet form the secure foundation for the entire exercise:

• resist the temptation to roll to one side of your foot.
• visualize yourself planting firmly into the earth by letting the entire soles of your feet make contact.
• keep your knees very bent.
• squeeze your buttocks a bit.
• stay mentally connected to your body’s powerhouse – keep your core muscles activated!
• let your breath flow freely.

3 sets of 20 reps.

7. Standing Facing Pulls (“Tug of War”)

If possible, have a friend or training buddy help you on this one to provide extra resistance from the other end of the rope.

3 sets.

8. Toddler Jumps

Like the push-ups above, this is not strictly a battle rope exercise – however, it is a part of this complete workout. Toddler Jumps are a core strengthener, a calorie-burner, and – perhaps most importantly – a mobility maneuver that prepares you for more battle rope exercises yet to come.

3 sets of 20 reps.

9. Lateral Raises

This particular exercise develops the deltoid muscles. However, if you feel any awkwardness in your shoulder joints, skip this exercise and move on to the next.

3 sets of 10 reps.

10. Battle Rope Jumping Jacks

Be mindful of your knees and feet. Knees are slightly soft, and the entire soles of the feet land.

3 sets of 20 reps.

11. Side-to-Side Forward Jumps

This is a speed and agility drill that serves as a high-intensity interval. It also conditions your leg muscles.

Be sure to pull your navel toward your spine, keep your knees slightly soft, glutes active, and allow your heels to land with each jump.

3 sets, all the way down the length of the rope, and back.

12. Jumping Wave Thrusters

You might be tempted to hold your breath at this point in the workout. Breathe through your nose if possible or your mouth if your heart rate is climbing quickly.

Remember to keep your core tight, and to be considerate of your shoulder joints – only lift your arms as high as your shoulder girdle comfortably allows.

3 sets of 15 reps.

13. Double-Handed Lunge Wave

This one is great for firming and lifting your glute muscles. Consider this the high point of your workout.

3 sets of 20 reps.

14. Clapping Push-Ups

Proceed with caution. In between each push-up, add a clap over the battle rope. Beginner-level athletes can skip this exercise if it compromises their safety or is too challenging.

3 sets of 10 reps. Beginners can lower their knees to the mat or omit the claps.

15. Supine Battle Rope Pull

Lying face upward, engage your back muscles by pulling the rope toward you through your knees.

Use your friend or workout buddy for this one to provide a little extra resistance from the other end of the rope.

3 sets.

16. Single-Leg Forward Jump Hop-Overs

Careful here. Do not let your mind wander. Focus on the location of the rope and how your feet are landing.

3 sets, all the way down the length of the rope, and back.

Now that the hard part of the workout is complete, you might choose to do some cool-down movements to gradually decrease your heart rate and limber up your muscles.

Take Your Battle Rope Anywhere

Yes, you can use the battle rope at your local gym. However, many people still don’t realize that you can use ropes or fitness tubes at home or take them outside.

Keep a battle rope in your car’s trunk – and take your workouts outside to your neighborhood park, driveway, or backyard patio. There’s a lot to say about working out in the fresh air.

There are also more options for battle ropes today. You can get one of the original, heavy black industrial ropes that CrossFit popularized, or one of the new, sleeker, lighter-colored tubes that are more portable.

The above battle rope workout is a serious calorie burner. You’ll notice at times that your heart rate is accelerated and you’re breathing heavily. This indicates that you’re burning your body’s fat stores for energy.