Battle Ropes

I tried a lot of new things at the Warrior Room recently. It was hard after taking 2 weeks off (holidays and being sick). The Warrior Workout (a 90 minute class) was a bit of a struggle at times because I wasn’t back at 100%. I wanted to share a few of the things we did because they were really fun! The description of the class is this:

“This is the big gulp of the Warrior Room – for a brutally intense 90-minutes, Ashley will offer a one-off weekly work out that will focus on blasting calories leaving you with detox grade shakes. Not for wimps or wieners, you’ll be empty faced after this once a week punishing work out.”

TRUTH. Not for wimps or wieners.

This time it was another station workout. There were 3 stations and we were divided into groups of about 5 or 6. Each group would work within the station and then move on to the next. For example, one station was box jumps, battle ropes, the sledge hammer and then burpees with a bosu ball. The person doing the battle ropes was the leader and once they got to 50 we all rotated to a different exercise within the section.

This was the first time I tried the sledge hammer. It was REALLY fun! I can totally see that being a good exercise to get some anger and frustration out, much like a punching bag. I’d swing the sledge hammer down onto the huge tire and then repeat. At first it was awkward but then I got the hang of it.

I love the battle ropes. By far that is one of my favorite activities. I can totally feel it in my core during, after and the next day when I do that exercise. I feel like it’s helped me with core strength and even balance. But really the improvements I’ve seen in my balance the last few months are probably a combination of the kettle bell workouts and consistent yoga. Check out this video to get an idea of different battle rope workouts.

One of the other stations was all kettle bell work–one handed swing, chest press, and bent over rows. Then we did a “static walk.” Basically everyone grabbed two kettle bells, raised them high above our heads and then walked about a 1/4 mile around the neighborhood and then back to the gym. That is a LOT harder than it sounds. Keeping your arms up for a long period of time holding two kettle bells caused shoulder fatigue quickly. It also looked really weird. People driving by were staring with curiosity and probably confusion! Haha!

We also did something new to me called a “waterfall pushup.” In our small groups of 5, we all got into plank position in a circle with our heads in the center of the circle. The first person would do a pushup while everyone else held the plank position and then the next person did a pushup and so-on until each person had done one. Then we did it again and this time everyone did 2 pushups, then 3, all the way up to 8! 8 pushups doesn’t sound like a lot but it is when you’re holding a plank position for several minutes in between! My arms were shaking by the end!

Towards the end we did a similar workout but with squat jumps. Again we were all in a circle, then one person did one squat jump while the rest of us held a squat position all the up to 10 instead of the 8 like the pushup waterfall. Yowza! Thighs on fire!

Have you ever done squat jumps? They are harder than they look. Despite being slow and not quite 100%, it was a fantastic workout and I left drenched in sweat and happy.

Almost 900 calories burned! Intense! Have you tried anything new to you lately?