Battle Rope HIIT Workouts Improve Fitness
Study shows fitness benefits in just 3 weeks.
Battle rope HIIT workouts—the ones many people love to hate—offer a great reason to get back into the gym. In a 6-week study of 18 men and 15 women (ages 21–25), researchers found that high-intensity interval sessions with battle ropes improved muscle and aerobic performance in 3 weeks, and there was even more improvement after 6 weeks. Participants experienced gains in upper-body VO2max, shoulder flexion and extension strength, shoulder power output, and pushup and situp endurance.
The battle rope HIIT workouts consisted of 10 half-minute bouts of all-out effort, interchanging between double and alternating whip exercises. Sixty seconds of rest followed each work bout. Participants trained three times per week for 6 weeks, and midway through, study leaders increased the rope weight by 10 pounds.
The study is published in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2021; doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003470).
See also: Battle Rope Mastery
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
