A few years back, I saw some videos on Battle Rope Training and it peaked my interest. I wondered if it was just another fad or gimmick. Out of the blue, a trainer friend named Tony Bruno (gave me my first training job in Chicago), called me and asked if I had heard about the ropes. Apparently, he was helping Ingrid Marcum rehab from a lifting injury and she had opened his eyes to the training concept.
Ingrid Marcum helps facilitate the Battle Ropes workshops and certifications with the founder, John Brookfield. You’ve probably seen or heard about John and his program in Perform Better, Youtube, Ironmind, and many other resources. Tony is typically very skeptical about fitness gimmicks, but his enthusiasm gave me the confidence to buy and learn more about the system. I spoke briefly to Ingrid and eventually had she and John visit our gym. We’ve hosted three certifications at our facility and it has become a pillar of our training program.
Battle Rope Training Benefits
Battle Rope Training Benefits:
- Learning to maintain intensity over time helps increase lactic acid threshold in your upper body. This is very unique since the majority of conditioning these days focuses on locomotion, running, climbing, and other drills propelled by the legs. This has helped us with our other lifts and activities outside the gym. It has also become one of our secret weapons when training MMA fighters. I expect each one of them to be able to maintain intensity on a variety of rope drills for at least 5 minutes.
- They are fun. The majority of people that I talk to hate the gym and it’s not because they are lazy. Most people are seriously bored at the typical big box gym. There is no emotion and very little has changed over the last 30 years. Using tools like the ropes is a breath of fresh air for most people; it creates excitement, it is unique, and it gets people “playing” again.
- Developing mental toughness. I think that developing mental toughness and learning to overcome obstacles is one of the most important things we can help people do. When people start using the ropes, the idea of maintaining intensity over 1 minute seems like a pipe dream, but consistent training will help them break through mental barriers and come out with a new outlook and confidence.
- Unilateral dominance/imbalance – The waves tell a story. If you watch the movements carefully, you will notice that one side of your body may move differently than the other; It may generate a smaller wave, be more uncoordinated, etc. The cool part about Rope Training is that over time, these differences go away. Slowly, you will notice your right and left sides start to balance out.
