How to do Battle Ropes
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Battle Ropes
Workouts with Battle Ropes
Instructions for Proper Form
Battle Ropes are a high intensity compound movement that target a wide range of muscle groups throughout the body, but primarily hit your shoulders, arms, and core. They are a fast paced, explosive exercise that can be used for cardio, building muscle, and developing power.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart holding the ends of an extended battle rope.
- Drop into a quarter squat while bringing your elbows into your side and brace your core to maintain a neutral spine with your chest up.
- Begin by quickly raising the rope in your left hand up towards chest height before dropping back down and raising the rope in your right hand.
- Continue this alternating movement quickly to create ripples in the rope for an allotted time.
Common Form Mistakes
Leave Some Slack
There should be some slack on the ropes prior to performing this exercise. Leaning back is an easy way to get the ropes off the ground. You want to get the ropes off the ground, but you want to do this through movement, not bodyweight. If you think you may be leaning back, try taking a half step forward before starting the exercise.
Lighter Grip
You don’t need to squeeze the life out of the ropes. You want to stay fairly loose with this exercise. Of course you need to grip hard enough not to lose the ropes, but gripping too hard will leave you stiff, and limit the effectiveness of this exercise.
Alternatives & Variations to Battle Ropes
1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
99.5 mSCORESWAPPED 342 TIMESDumbbell Shoulder Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for slightly more instability than with equipment like barbells. This can help you recruit and develop stabilizing muscles around the shoulders. In addition, by using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.
2. Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise
94.7 mSCORESWAPPED 305 TIMESDumbbell Rear Delt Raise is a variation of Dumbbell Shoulder Raise. Similar to other shoulder raises, this is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders. By hinging your hips back, and leaning forward slightly, you can further emphasize your rear deltoids (back of the shoulder).
3. Dumbbell Front Raise
98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 303 TIMESDumbbell Front Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, more specifically the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder). This is a very common shoulder exercise, and can work well to isolate the shoulders to build strength and muscle mass. By using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.
4. Cable Lateral Raise
97.7 mSCORESWAPPED 295 TIMESCable Lateral Raise is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Shoulder Raise. Similar to the Dumbbell Shoulder Raise, this isolation exercise primarily targets the shoulders, and more specifically the medial deltoid (middle of the shoulder). By using a cable machine, you have more control over the direction your resistance is coming from, and can easily make adjustments. In addition, by isolating each side of the body, you can more easily identify and address strength imbalances between sides.
5. Cable Face Pull
96 mSCORESWAPPED 228 TIMESCable Face Pull is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders, more specifically your posterior deltoids (back of the shoulder). By using a cable machine, you have more control over where the resistance is coming from, and can easily make adjustments by either moving towards or away from the cable machine, or by adjusting the height of the pulley.
- Intermediate
- Shoulders
- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
6. Barbell Shoulder Press
97 mSCORESWAPPED 172 TIMESBarbell Shoulder Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets your shoulders. By using a barbell instead of other pieces of equipment, you can add more stability to the movement, which allows you to focus more on exertion rather than stability. This is one of the best exercises for developing vertical pressing strength.
7. Dumbbell Shoulder Raise
97.8 mSCORESWAPPED 158 TIMESDumbbell Shoulder Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders, more specifically the medial deltoid (middle of the shoulder). This is a very common shoulder exercise and can work well for building muscle mass and strengthening the shoulders. By using dumbbells, you can help identify and address any strength imbalances between sides.
8. Dumbbell Back Fly
93.6 mSCORESWAPPED 157 TIMESDumbbell Back Fly is an isolation exercise that primarily targets your shoulder, more specifically your posterior deltoid (back of the shoulder). It’s most closely related to a shoulder raise, with the main difference being that you’re leaning forward into an incline bench. This position allows you to better isolate the back of your shoulder. In addition, the incline bench adds more stability than some other variations.
9. Arnold Dumbbell Press
93.2 mSCORESWAPPED 146 TIMESArnold Dumbbell Press is a compound movement that primarily targets the shoulders. The difference between the Arnold Press and a standard Shoulder Press is that you bring the dumbbells in front of you at the bottom of the movement rather than stopping when they reach your shoulders. Bringing the dumbbells in front of you can be more a comfortable movement as well as improve muscle activation.
10. Front Plate Raise
79.2 mSCORESWAPPED 120 TIMESFront Plate Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder). By using a weight plate, you ensure an even distribution of weight, which can help maintain consistency throughout the movement. This exercise is great for emphasizing the front of your shoulder and adding some variety to your shoulder workouts.
- Intermediate
- Shoulders
- Plates