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Crossfit ropes can provide an intense full-body workout that gets your muscles moving in new ways. A 10-minute rope workout results in a high heart rate and energy expenditure that improves cardiorespiratory stress test results. Crossfit rope workouts work the muscles in your upper body, abs, back and glutes, and you can add movements like jumps, lunges and squats that engage your legs. Rope exercises will get your muscles moving in new ways! Crossfit ropes, sometimes called heavy ropes, are one of the newest fitness trends in U.S. gyms, but this workout is hardly a new form of fitness. They have long been used as equipment for soccer players, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters and other athletes. Ropes can provide an intense full-body workout that gets your muscles moving in new ways. Unlike the relatively static movement of lifting and lowering weights, using ropes is a dynamic, constantly changing form of movement that has the added benefit of indicating whether you are doing the exercises correctly. Ropes are often thought of as an upper-body apparatus, which they are. However, their benefits do not end there. They train your abs, back and glutes, and you can add movements such as jumps, lunges and squats that engage your legs. "It's like running, but for the upper body ... It's not just using different muscles, but different types of workouts for the same muscles." Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of program development at Crunch, continued: "It's a great workout. The abs, back and glutes are engaged... Obviously, it tones up the upper body and burns a lot of calories." Studies published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research have even shown that a 10-minute workout increases heart rate and energy expenditure, which improves cardiorespiratory stress test results. Ropes are an easy exercise tool that is available to almost everyone, so don't be intimidated if you are a beginner. They come in different lengths and widths, and the intensity of your workout depends on this. The longer and thicker the rope, the more strength you will need to make waves. The allowable attenuation also determines the intensity. The closer to the binding point, the more resistance you will create. The charm of ropes is that they allow you to move in many directions. The more movements you make (such as side to side, up and down, or in a circle), the more you work different muscles and increase shoulder mobility and range of motion. Waves - Variable pattern with the direction of force to the anchor point. Kick - Aggressive movement with the direction of force downward toward the ground. Whip - Symmetrical pattern with the main direction of force to the anchor point. When working with ropes, there are two types of grip, either from above or below. The choice depends on the specific exercise and the results desired. Ropes can be a form of high-intensity interval training. High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to be one of the best forms of exercise in terms of both efficiency and productivity. In fact, the data show that by focusing on endurance exercises, such as jogging on a treadmill, you are actually giving up many benefits. HIIT brings health benefits that you just can't get from regular aerobics, such as a dramatic increase in human growth hormone (HGH) levels, also known as the "fitness hormone." Best of all, it takes a few minutes, not hours, to do HIIT each week. When men and women participate in this program for four weeks, they increase VO2 max - the maximum amount of oxygen you can absorb during exercise and used as an indicator of cardiovascular health. Interval training with ropes has been shown to potentially improve both aerobic and anaerobic parameters in as little as four weeks. Both the double and alternating wave are movements for beginners, so it's an easy and effective workout to start your introduction to ropes. Fitness expert Jonathan Ross developed this full-body workout with ropes. It starts with a warm-up with side lunges on the spot with a variable wave and lunges with a twist and flip of the ropes over your head. Once you've warmed up, nine different exercises follow. The rope exercises will get your muscles moving in new ways!