I LOVE this Battle Rope Tabata Workout
I’m a fan of Tabata workouts in general…
But in the fitness industry they tend to get watered down…
The original Tabata workout protocol designed by Dr Izumi Tabata in 1996 went for 4mins and participants were working at 170% of their VO2 max…
This study was revolutionary at the time because the “interval group” was compared to a “steady state” group.
The “interval group” worked for 4 minutes.
The “steady state group” worked for 20 minutes.
And the “interval group” got better results even though they were only training 4 minutes.
So the moral of the story was – 4 minutes of exercise can be better than 20 minutes.
In the fitness industry, this isn’t often how Tabata is used…
It’s usually used as like a 30-45min Group Fitness class where variations of Tabata timings are used.
I get why workouts are programmed like that – the timing can still work and people are still working out which is great…
But that’s not really what the original Tabata was about…
However this 4 minute Battle Rope Tabata Workout is EXACTLY what the original was about!
Here it is
Battle Rope Tabata Workout
At first glance, it’s pretty straight forward
Timing: 20:10 x 8
Exercise: Battle Rope Power Slams
But here’s where it gets fun
You need to COUNT how many power slams you complete in the 20 seconds
You then need to try and match your score (or beat it) for the remaining 7 rounds
And it gets better…
Your end score is actually your ‘lowest number’
So let’s say your scores are
Round 1: 15
Round 2: 15
Round 3: 15
Round 4: 15
Round 5: 9
Round 6: 9
Round 7: 5
Round 8: 10
Your end score is “5”… so you can’t drop the ball even once!
Check out Dean complete the workout in the video below
Summary
That’s my favourite Battle Rope Tabata workout.
I like to use it as a “finisher” at the end of the workout and also as a fitness test!
Give it a go and let me know what you think ☺
If you’d like to up skill when it comes to using Battle Ropes, at Fitness Education Online, we have a Battle Rope certification that will give you both NASM CEUs and AFAA CEUs.
PS: If you liked this blog, you may also like the following blogs
Battle Rope Workout Finisher for Bootcamp: The Rope Race
Battle Rope Double Wave: 3 Variations to Try
References
Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.
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