7 Ways to Build Muscle with Battle Ropes Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training 7 Ways to Build Muscle with Battle Ropes And Get Ripped Too by Dan North July 10, 2021April 21, 2022 You can only fit in so many standard arm workouts before your elbows start hating you. But battle ropes allow you to add an extra arm workout without the repercussions. Bonus: You can build pecs and delts, too, while boosting your conditioning. It's a concentric-only workout. In other words, there are no eccentric contractions or "negatives." This allows your muscles to recover faster between workouts with less wear and tear on your joints and ligaments. Battle ropes build grip strength. Battle rope training improves conditioning in a different way. If you like lifting weights, chances are you hate doing cardio. Battle ropes are a fun alternative to the monotonous treadmill. Variety. Boredom will never be an issue. There's an endless list of exercise variations to choose from. It's a relatively low-impact workout. Conventional HIIT typically involves movements that can be taxing on your joints and nervous system. It's time-efficient. You got other stuff to do, right? 1 Alternating Waves Biceps 2 Double Waves Biceps 3 Lateral Waves Pecs 4 Lateral Raise Slams Delts 5 Front Raise Slams Delts 6 Reverse Flye Slams Rear Delts 7 Skull Crusher Waves Use this routine as its own workout or as a finisher to your upper-body days. You'll be doing a Tabata circuit: twenty seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds (4 minutes total). Start your timer! Alternating waves for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Double waves for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Lateral waves for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Lateral raise slams (right side) for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Lateral raise slams (left side) for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Front raise slams for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Reverse fly slams for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds. Skull crusher waves for 20 seconds. If you're using this as a finisher, one round should be enough. If you're using this as your entire workout, rest 2-3 minutes after the full circuit and repeat for 3 circuits. Note: Want some battle ropes for home use? Check these out. T Nation earns from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. Read more about our policy. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Workouts Big Arms in 8 Workouts Here's a brutal workout that'll build noticeable size on your biceps and triceps in just one month. Guaranteed. Arms, Bodybuilding, Training Paul Carter March 8 Training In Defense of CrossFit For all its flaws, CrossFit has done wonders for fitness. It's time we give credit where credit is due, even if CrossFitters are kinda annoying. CrossFit, Metcon, Training Chris Shugart April 14 Training Strengthen Your Strict Pull-Up Want a better body? You need to get good at strict pull-ups. And that means no kipping. Bodybuilding, Pull-Up, Training Christian Thibaudeau October 27 Training Tip Stop It With The Obsessive Counting Here's how "over-quantification syndrome" leads to poor results with training and diet. Tips, Training Scott Abel October 27