Heavy rope training packs a supreme punch in improving conditioning and takes your fitness to another level. Improved core and shoulder girdle strength headline the benefit spectrum of heavy rope or battle rope exercises.
Joe Hashey from Synergy athletics shows some MMA style work that is sure to challenge any athlete and gives you some great ideas on how to incorporate heavy ropes into your training.
Grab a rope or fire hose and get to work.
Through working with beginners and teaching proper swing technique I have found some useful tips to ensuring success:
I hope this helps and encourages you to try the swing if you haven’t. Let me know what tips you have had success with.
Fish oil supplements are great for improving cardio-vascular health, lubricating the joints, and metabolizing fat.
I guess GSK is banking on there being a bunch of suckers out there. Prescription fish oil? Wow, I guess congratulations are in order for Glaxo, the pharmacist, and doctor that can pull off charging someone into filling that prescription. Go ahead and save some money, do yourself a favor and go to Wal-Mart and pick some up fish oil w/out the dr. visit.
Glaxo’s marketing of prescription and FDA approved fish oil may have more product and highly regulated, but is it worth the cost and time of a dr. visit? I’ll just keep buying it the same way I always have, and leave the doctor out of it. I can read and use the internet, and feel pretty good about the product I’ve been getting. Thanks, but I’ll take a pass Glaxo.
Turkish Get Up an exercise for the development of strength, flexibility, and coordination of your entire body.
Adding complex exercises like the Turkish Get Up and variations of will bring into balance areas of your body that might be neglected from more traditional strength training approaches. Balance is the key to building a strong foundation and addressing areas in need of improvement.
Heavy rope training will add variety and intensity to your workout. Several movements can be performed for an entire body exercise, beneficial for shoulder rehab, stability, and strength training. Ropes provide multi- joint, multi- plane movements that will deliver an intense conditioning training element to anyone’s workout.
Ropes can be purchased in the mid $100 range (depending on length) at performbetter.com. They offer free shipping a couple of times a year. I would recommend longer ropes for greater versatility.
For those looking for money saving alternatives, contact your favorite local fireman and ask if you can have an old fire hose. Fire stations throw out old hoses when they wear out. Duct or electrical tape up the ends for handles, and get to work.
Equipment needed for today’s 4 minute conditioning finish (Tabata).
• Box, step, or bench (height that you can jump onto for 10+ reps)
• 2 Kettlebells or dumbbells (weight that you can perform 10+ reps of variety of exercises)
Exercises performed at high intensity for 20 seconds (@10+ reps) / followed by 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds.
• Box Jumps
• Double long cycle kettlebell, dumbbell, or kettlebull (clean and jerk)
• Double High Pull
• Box Jumps
• Double long cycle kettlebell, dumbbell, or kettlebull (clean and jerk)
• 2 handed swings
• Double High Pull
Yesterday work went long, and I had a meeting coming up with little time to workout. I had about 15 minutes to squeeze one in, and this is what I did.
Equipment: 53 lb. and 70 lb. kettlebell
Warm up: Swings
Round #1: 53 lb kettlebell snatches. 10 snatches every 30 seconds for 5 minutes. 100 reps total (50 with each arm)
Rest: 3 minutes
Round #2: 70 lb. kettlebell snatches. 8 snatches every 30 seconds for 4 minutes. 64 total reps (32 with each arm)
Tips for building your own 12 minute workout:
•Increase intensity
•Focus on Complex (multi-joint exercises) – Snatch, Burpees, Clean and Jerks, Squats, Thrusters…
•Limit rest
Give this a try and let me know what you think. Comment with your favorite variations.
This week’s collection of blog posts and web links is all about the benefits and advantages of kettlebell training.
Be sure and comment with your favorite links.
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Spring is here and it is gorgeous in San Antonio. Don’t let the few weeks of this weather slip away without making the most of it. Go for a Sunday stroll with the family. Take a 25 minute walk, sprinkling in lunges, body weight squats, and push-ups every 2 minutes.
2 minute walk (jog)
20 walking lunges
2 minute walk (jog)
20 body weight squats
2 minute walk (jog)
20 push-ups
(repeat)
*For a greater challenge, add reps or exercises or decrease active rest or walk time to less than 2 minutes.