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Tsunami Training

Manila Rope Products

by admin on May 20, 2010

NEW! MANILA ROPES NOW COME END CAPPED!Capped Manila Battling Ropes

**Proper Usage – CAPS ARE NOT TO BE USED AS HANDLES!  To avoid issues with the ends coming off, hold the rope below the cap.  **

Generally we suggest that the manila ropes be used mostly for outdoor training since they are braided manila and will shed.  That’s not to say they can’t be used indoors, but there would be some clean up involved.

These are the preferred ropes of many professional and amateur football teams at universities throughout the country! Rope ends come end capped to prevent unraveling.  Available in 16.5 ft. (partner ropes), 50 or 100 ft. lengths and 1.5″ or 2″ diameters.  30 day return policy from date of purchase.

The 1.5” 50 ft. rope is the best rope to start with for general physical preparedness & conditioning.  The benefits of training with this rope are as follows:

  1. Increased muscular & strength endurance (work capacity & sustained power/velocity)
  2. Increased cardiovascular endurance
  3. Great for warm up & cool down
  4. Helps remove blood lactate (lactic acid build up)
  5. Builds mental toughness
  6. Great for core training (when done properly)
  7. Trains & balances both sides of the body
  8. Can be used for foot work & balance drills (i.e. lunges, Bosu, jumping  jacks, stability discs, etc.)
  9. Can be used by beginners, intermediate or advanced by varying rope length or by adding training complexes.
  10. Develops basic grip strength
  11. Good for rehab or working around an injury
  12. Weight loss/fat burning
  13. Develops balance & rootedness
  14. Can be used for modified partner training (16.5 ft.  ropes are best for this)

The 2” 50 ft. rope is best for specific or specialty physical preparedness and athletic conditioning:

  1. Intermediate & advanced or for larger, heaver athletes
  2. Power & explosive training (short duration)
  3. Extreme mental toughness
  4. Great for core training
  5. Advanced grip training (grappling or racket sports)
  6. Used by NFL and MMA Pro’s.
  7. Develops balance & rootedness
  8. Develops strength
  9. Can be used for Pole Training System (100 ft. rope is best length)
  10. Best for conditioning test (Tsunami)

Manila Battling Ropes® Price: From $117.00 to $331.99 – These manila Battling Ropes® are great for outdoor use. Choose from 50 ft. or 100 ft. lengths and 1.5″ or 2″ diameters. John Brookfield designed the Battling Ropes® Tsunami training using the 2″ 50 ft. manila Battling Rope® (also called the Anaconda). This has quickly become the standard for athletic testing. John explains this testing system below:

Manila Battling Rope® (50 ft.) & Challenge DVD Combo Price: From $146.99 to $206.99 – This combo includes one (1) 50 ft. manila Battling Rope® in the size of your choice and John Brookfield’s Challenge Level 1 DVD.  The Challenge DVD will take you beyond the basics and into the advanced! The “Battling Ropes® Challenge DVD” is a dynamic training DVD that shows you a wide variety of exercises in the Battling Rope® Level 1 training.  In Level 1 he takes you through the basics, but then takes you onto the intermediate exercises and then the advanced.

Manila Battling Rope® Combo (1.5″ & 2″ 50 ft.) Price: $283.95 You Save!: $10.05 – This manila Battling Rope® Combo gives you the ability to start your training off with the 1.5″ and finish with the 2″, making this the perfect duo for a great conditioning workout! Plus, if you train in a group the two ropes allow people of different fitness levels to train side-by-side.  You will receive one (1) 50 ft. 1.5″ and one (1) 50 ft. 2″ rope.

Manila Battling Ropes® 1.5″ 50 ft. (Pair) Price: $224.00 You Save!: $10.00 on two ropes – In this combo you get two (2) 1.5″ 50 ft. manila Battling Ropes®. This combo is perfect when you need more than one rope during training sessions. Having multiple ropes allows athletes to train side by side pushing each other to their maximum potential. Or, keep one for yourself and give the gift of health by giving one to a friend!

Manila Partner Battling Ropes® (16.5 ft. ea.) Price: From $81.30 to $120.90 – By adding a partner to your rope training, you double the difficulty and result due to the added partner resistance. Partner training will also increase your balance and your base while helping you and your partner to develop the ability to change your movement and direction of your arms dynamically. This training will increase your hand speed, coordination, grip strength, timing, and muscular & cardiovascular endurance. You’ll receive two (2) ropes both measuring 16.5 ft. in length and available in either 1.5″ or 2″ sizes.

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Training Strategies

by Coach Bruce Pahl on March 30, 2010

The Battling Ropes® training system is redefining how athletes and average joes are training and the incredible results they’re getting aren’t easily achieved with any other training system. This system was created by multi-world record holder John Brookfield and it’s taking the fitness industry by storm including professional and amateur school sports teams, MMA fighters, top coaches and personal trainers. This revolutionary method of training is redefining interval and cardio training.

Most trainees that we speak to say that they are amazed at how hard and challenging a 50 ft 1.5” or 2” piece of rope can be, but that they as well as their clients & athletes LOVE the immediate effects and results that they’re experiencing. Most people that are new to the ropes completely gas out in 30 to 60 seconds. This training fatigue is happening both cardiovascularly and muscularly.

TRAINING SUGGESTIONS & METHODS

  1. Start with a 1.5” 50 ft. poly or manila rope (the 1.5″ 50 ft. poly is our standard rope) unless you are a well conditioned athlete, then you could start with the 2” poly or anaconda (manila). After you have trained with the 1.5” rope for a few months, then add the 2” rope to your training. The 1.5” poly rope weighs 23 lbs where as the 2” poly rope weighs 40 lbs. This is quite a jump and will fatigue your muscles and heart very quickly. Alternating between the 1.5” and the 2” rope is a good way to build up your endurance and strength.
  2. Do a variety of exercises per set and instead of doing only one exercise for one minute straight, try doing five different exercises for 10-20 seconds per exercise. This method will help to keep you from having one major muscle area fatigue out so quickly. Have someone with a stop watch calling out the different exercises and when it’s time to switch. If you are alone just count one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand until you get to ten then switch exercises. If you count out loud it will make it that more difficult. Rest for as long as necessary depending on your goals, then choose five more exercises and do another set.

    Battling Ropes

    Smokin' it on the Ropes!

  3. Use core and legs and not just arms – If your arms and shoulders are tiring out quickly try to incorporate your abs and legs into your movements more. Try making smaller or tighter movements and alternate these with larger movements.
  4. Change training positions – By using a variety of training positions such as standing, kneeling, seated on a stability ball or sitting on the ground, you will be able to target different working muscles and intensities. For advanced training you can stand on two stability discs while using the rope which will increase the difficulty and intensity. We have found that if you are able to pump your legs your heart rate goes up much faster while on the stability discs. Another method that John suggests is interval training by doing a set of weights like bench press or kettlebell swings, then immediately doing one minute on the ropes instead of resting between your weight lifting sets. If you have really good balance, try performing the ropes while kneeling on a stability ball.
  5. Partner training – By using a pair of 16.5’ partner ropes 1.5” or 2” you can greatly increase the complexity and intensity of the training by having a resisting partner. Below you can view a video of myself and John Brookfield doing the partner ropes. However, in this video we are using a pair of 25 ft. 1.5” ropes.  It also looks like the video has been speed up, but I can tell you it is actual speed! It just goes to show how beneficial the partner ropes can be for grip strength, balance and hand and arm speed. In the video we are also doing the rope press with the 2” rope and it is very challenging and develops a lot of shoulder strength.
  6. Competition – The name is Battling Ropes® for a reason. Having multiple people competing on the ropes will greatly multiply your training intensity and motivation. You can have one person doing the wave training on a 1.5” rope and another more advanced person using the 2” rope but they can still compete against each other. This method works great for kids, women or beginners.
  7. Variable intensity – You can vary the rope intensity by shortening or lengthening the rope. If you have a 50 ft. rope which is normally 25 ft. away from the anchor, you can wrap it around the anchor or pole a few extra times thereby shortening the length and lessening the weight of the rope. You can also tie down the end of the rope and stretch it out straight the entire 50 feet length then hold the rope with one hand in front of the other. The length of the rope will greatly enhance the intensity. You can also add ankle or wrist weight to the rope and increase the weight.

You can learn a lot from John Brookfield’s DVDs, manuals and e-books. I hope you enjoy trying out the above training suggestions and I would love to hear your comments and other rope training routines that you’re using.

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Power vs. Velocity

by John Brookfield on January 4, 2010

The Battling Ropes® Training System is a unique one of a kind training system which forces the athlete to use velocity and the athlete must be able to maintain velocity to be successful. Simply put, velocity is the combination of strength and speed together.

Velocity is seldom discussed or understood and even less implemented into training routines. Unlike training where momentum is used, velocity is high output and gives the athlete no time to rest physically or mentally. For example, let’s look at the humming bird. Most people have seen the speed and intensity that the wings move on the humming bird. This intensity of the wings must be maintained to keep the bird in flight. This is a form of velocity being used with momentum being non-existent. Another form of velocity is the cheetah as it runs and maintains velocity chasing its food in the wild.

Battling Ropes® Training System helps the athlete to be able to train or compete at a higher level of intensity for longer durations of time.

POWER IS NOT THE SAME AS VELOCITY

Power and velocity are quite different and often power is mistaken for velocity. A simple example of power would be someone hammering railroad spikes on the railroad. When the person swings the sledgehammer and strikes the spike explosively they are using power. Once the spike is struck with the hammer the user must reset for another strike. As he swings the hammer and strikes the spike he must reset over and over again.

With this in mind, velocity would be like an arrow shot out of a crossbow where as long as the arrow can maintain velocity it continues to travel. Another simple example in training would be an athlete training with a kettlebell. When the athlete swings the kettlebell he uses power as he thrusts and swings it forward and upward. Once the kettlebell reaches its height, gravity takes over and momentum is used as the kettlebells travels back towards the ground. In fact the kettlebell swing or snatch relies on a high percentage of momentum. Once again true velocity training uses no momentum but forces the athlete to use total output to be successful.

With this understood the Battling Ropes® Training System helps the athlete to be able to train or compete at a higher level of intensity for longer durations of time due to the ability of being able to maintain velocity. Battling Ropes® training actually has seven different concepts or elements to the training.  The first being the ability to maintain velocity.  The second element is the ability to maintain strength without the use of momentum or the use of gravity.

Even though the system is extremely vast and has many levels of improving and countless ways to up the intensity, we will examine and look at one simple technique to start with. It is also important to understand that the training system is very easy to measure your workload capacity and very easy to track your improvement. The Battling Ropes® can be used to simply train or also be used to compete with others.

TRAINING & TESTING USING THE TSUNAMI WAVE METHOD

This method is the ability to maintain velocity by creating a series of waves with the Battling Ropes®. In general, research shows that the 50 ft. ropes either 1.5″ or 2″ in diameter are the best for this method. For much of the training we wrap the rope around an anchor point which gives us two 25 ft. sections which are grasped one in each hand. However, the Battling Ropes® Tsunami which is the exercise we will look at today requires the athlete to simply lay the 50 ft. rope out length wise on the ground. In most cases the 2″ 50 ft. rope is used for training and testing purposes. Depending on the testing environment, the manila ropes or poly ropes are used for testing purposes.

Once your 50 ft. 2″ rope is stretched out length wise on the ground you can either have someone stand on the very end, the end can be weighted down by a couple of weight plates, or it can be tied off to an anchor point. If you are having someone stand on the very end or using weight plates, it is important to understand that it does not require a lot of weight since the athlete training is not actually pulling back or trying to stretch the rope tightly.

Once you are ready with your one end anchored, the athlete simply grasps the opposite end with both hands using either an overhand grip or an underhanded grip. Also, be sure that the athlete grasps the end of the rope hand over hand and not with the hands and fingers interlocked. Now, while grasping the rope with most of the slack out of the rope, the athlete thrusts the rope up and down as quickly as possible which gets the rope moving and creates a wave or series of waves which travels all the way to the other end of the rope.

You will notice that the faster you can move the more waves will flow in the rope. You will also notice that the Battling Ropes® Tsunami may be the hardest drill you have experienced because you are now forced to use velocity and no momentum can be used. The goal is to sustain velocity and maintain the flow of the waves all the way to the other end. Once your waves don’t reach the other end you are through, or if your wave or waves don’t reach the other end you are not successfully completing the drill.

The Battling Ropes® Tsunami can be used for training purposes as well as a way of testing the athlete’s ability to maintain velocity. The testing method can be measured several ways, however, let’s look at a simple way to measure work capacity and workload. This method or formula will measure how fast the athlete can cover a mile of distance with the wave of the rope. By measuring this you must understand that the athlete must successfully complete the Battling Ropes® Tsunami.

To successfully complete the Tsunami you must have the wave or waves travel the complete distance of the 50 ft. every time you force the rope up and down. With this being successful each time you can figure out the distance the rope will travel over time. With this in mind, if you would take 105 50 ft. ropes and lay each rope end to end you would have one mile in distance. With this understood, if the athlete successfully forces the wave of the rope to the other end every time 105 times without stopping or losing velocity, he has covered a mile in distance with the wave of the rope.

Once the athlete can complete the series of waves 105 times without the rope stopping or not reaching the other end he has successfully completed the mile Tsunami. From here you simply time the athlete and see how quickly he can complete the mile Tsunami. The Battling Ropes® Tsunami will force the athlete into total intensity by taking away the ability to use momentum and gravity to his advantage.

You will also find that someone who is quite strong and not fast will not do well on this drill, or someone who is fast but, not strong will not do well either. The Tsunami will not only expose weak links in the athlete but, also correct the weak links as well. You will find that the Battling Ropes® training and velocity training will greatly enhance anyone’s work capacity in any sport or competition by increasing their ability to work at a higher level of intensity for longer durations of time.

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Weathering The Storms

by Tim Anderson on December 10, 2009

A Tsunami is a series of waves that carry large volumes of water and energy. Tsunami’s are know for the devastation they cause in coastal regions. A Tsunami is also a Battling Ropes® exercise created by John Brookfield; also known for the devastation it unleashes on it’s victims.

If you’ve never experienced it, in the Tsunami, you take a 50 ft, 2 inch rope and your goal is to create a series of waves through the entire length of the rope, at first glance you might not think this would be too difficult. This is where looks can be deceiving. The Tsunami can not be truly appreciated until you actually try to perform the drill. In less than 10 seconds you will feel the wrath of the Tsunami and have a whole new respect for the awesome, effective simplicity of the Battling Ropes system. I can not think of a more demanding exercise.

The Tsunami requires an enormous amount of energy and power from it. It is a total body exercise; head to toe, heart and lungs. In order to get the rope to travel 50 feet, you have to explode your body upwards and then perform a powerful slam downwards.

To create a series of waves, you have to powerfully and efficiently transition from extension to flexion like a jack hammer. This is a phenomenal drill for developing and sustaining explosive power. (See John Brookfield’s demo at the end of this article.)

To implement the Tsunami into your training, keep it simple. Try to incorporate it into your routine twice a week. You can try to sustain the waves for intervals of time, or try to reach a certain number of waves for “sets.” However you choose to train the Tsunami, you can progressively increase your duration, or waves, a little each week. Once you can perform the Tsunami for a whole minute, you will have just survived a Class 3 hurricane!

A word of caution: Because the Tsunami is so demanding, if you are going to incorporate it into your strength training days, you may want to perform it last. The Tsunami may leave you too wiped out to safely perform strength training after you have weathered the storm.

For more ideas of how to infuse the Tsunami into your training check out John Brookfield’s new DVD: Hurricane Ingrid: The Workout.

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Battling Ropes® Tsunami

January 10, 2009

The Battling Ropes® Tsunami is quickly becoming the wave of the future when it comes to a standard way to test an athlete’s ability to maintain and sustain velocity and power. “This has been a great eye opener to a missing link in training, which is the ability to maintain and sustain velocity and power [...]

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