I don’t know if anyone considers these “legitimate” because they sort of come from the cross fit world but man…ropes will give you a serious workout on your shoulders and chest and leave you a sweaty mess. I did several sets with maybe a minute rest between and I really felt it in my shoulders.
Anyone else here introducing ropes into their workouts? Do these have any place or is this just some sort of fad that will pass in time?
I am giving serious thought to adding these into my weekly workouts. Amazed at how these things can work your shoulders and even into my chest.
I love climbing ropes. It’s a great way to build grip strength and pulling strength. I usually mix them into circuit training with pullups, dips, pushups, etc with my Squad. Great way to work your back and arms and, on the psychological side, it builds resilience and confidence.
Personally, I use it as a measurement of strength much like many guys use the overhead press or power clean. For my guys, if they can’t climb a rope with just their arms, they’re too weak and we work on it.
If you’re talking about doing the type of workouts where you whip the ropes for a set period of time/reps, no, I don’t do those. I haven’t tried it, but I will when I get back to Bragg to see what the fuss is all about.
I have a 30’ rope that I like to use during circuit training or sometimes at the end of either arms/shoulders or chest/back workouts. I don’t always use it though, something to help mix it up. Usually do 1 min goes, with 1 min breaks.
Speaking of climbing ropes…I miss the one here. They removed the one they had when they took out the basketball court and made it the main floor of the gym. I’m hoping they bring it back though in the new gym being built.
That is how I used the rope. A 30 footer that I went 1 minute on and 1 minute rest…5 sets…it left me amazingly sweaty! LOL
This was also done after my usual workout of bench, rows, dead lifts, lunges, etc.
At first I thought this was a gimmick like those guys rolling tractor tires in the cross fit gym but the rope will really work your shoulders.
Going to add it in and suggest my daughter try it as well. She was looking for some alternative strength conditioning for upper body to help with her tennis…this might be good for her shoulders.
i like doing rope climbs without using the legs - my old gym had one but i let that membership expire. my company gym (free, which is why i go to it now) has heavy ropes for doing those whipping exercises, and i’ve tried those. man, they really get tiring after just a few seconds. harder than they look.
i think that body-weight exercises are great - pullups, dips, etc, and i also use them as my own personal measure of my strength/endurance, rather than the amount of iron i can lift or push. i’m a smaller/older (46 years old) guy, so i don’t lift/push as heavy as i used to any more - i’m more protective of my joints/ligaments/tendons as i grow older.
the one sport that has really done wonders for my physical confidence, grip strength, back and overall core is indoor rock climbing. my wife snapped these pics of me on the incline ‘ladder’ - climbing up using the side holds and no legs. i couldn’t hold onto those when i first started, but now it’s just part of the routine.
Did a great cyclic workout finisher Wednesday with ropes. Do slams for 20 seconds, 10 second break, three sets, as many as you can do in those 20 seconds. Then do jumping jacks with the ropes, same cycle. Try to beat your previous reps in the next 20 seconds. Rinse and repeat until you can’t lift your arms…it’s a burner!!!
