Battle Ropes as a workout tool!

Long gone are the days when the only way to work out was to lift weights such as barbells or dumbells. More and more fitness equipment is now available, widening your workout options such as kettlebells, weighted sledgehammers and battle ropes. Functionality seems to be the key to workouts now, and with the rise of Mixed Martial Ars, many are turning to training methods employed by these athletes to improve stamina, strength and endurance for all round fitness. Among these methods is the battle rope, which although nothing new, is now gaining popularity rapidly as a fun, functional and effective workout. Battle ropes are basically long thick bits of rope which, after attaching one end you lift and slam into the ground. They are a great high intensity, low impact exercise that can be tailored around your fitness level, or how you want to incorporate them in to your workout. They can be great as a workout on their own, with a variety of different exercises available that you can do or a great way to burn fat, get the heart rate up and the muscles burning at the end of a workout. An hour long workout with battle ropes can burn up to 1000 calories, nearly double the amount that jogging at 6 miles per hour will burn, and within 10 minutes you can be a sweaty, dribbling mess on the floor, safe in the knowledge you've had a great workout! Check out UFC and WWE legend Brock Lesnar using battle ropes at 2 minutes 25 seconds of this video! Beast! Spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, Jonathan Ross states that training with battle ropes is a "little like running with the upper body. It's not just using different muscles but training muscles in different ways", and battle ropes employ both the muscles and the brain by developing the posture and coordination to effectively manoeuvre the ropes. A recent study published in the April 2015 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research1 shows thats just 10 minutes of rope training results in higher heart rates and enough exercise to increase respiratory fitness.  Battle ropes work the lungs, heart, shoulders, biceps, abs, legs, glutes...pretty much everything and can be a great way to mix up your workout program giving both the mind and body a fun and engaging workout to keep you fit, healthy and committed to your exercise goals. 1 - http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2015/04000/Metabolic_Cost_of_Rope_Training.4.aspx