Metabolic conditioning has been a popular phrase in the strength and conditioning field for the last twenty years. Basically it refers to getting athletes in shape to play their sport. There are a lot of great articles about analyzing the sport’s movement patterns and getting an idea of work to rest intervals to duplicate that in a conditioning program.
With many sports, the challenge comes in deciding what types of strength and conditioning tools to use in a metabolic conditioning workout. Athletes could run, but the concern there is that then athletes learn to run slowly so it could impact their speed development. Weight training done circuit-style (e.g. bench press for sixty seconds then rotate to the next exercise) is ineffective for strength/power/muscle mass development and conditioning. Sprinting can be used but we sacrifice speed and technique. The list goes on.
One tool that we can use are heavy ropes, sometimes called battle ropes. These are long, thick, heavy ropes that can be used as part of a strength and conditioning program. Heavy ropes tend to be 30-50 feet long and between one to two inches thick. They are also heavy.
Heavy rope exercises can involve the entire body. They can be performed rhythmically. These exercises can also be done for time (for example, perform it for sixty seconds nonstop). This means they are ideal metabolic conditioning tools especially for smaller team sports like baseball or basketball.
One of the most fundamental heavy rope exercises is the two-handed slam. This exercise has two variations, one is a total body exercise and one focuses more on just the upper body and the core.
Two-handed slams (total body):
For this variation, get in an athletic position. This means feet hip-width apart, chest out/shoulders back, hips pushed back into a quarter squat with the knees bent. Hands should be at your sides, each hand should hold a handle of the rope. Slight bend at your elbows.
From here, extend your hips and knees. As you do so, raise your hands (and the ropes) until they are parallel to the ground. From this position, quickly move back into the quarter squat, “slamming” the ropes back towards the ground. Repeat for the desired time.
Two-handed slams (upper body emphasis):
For this variation, get in an athletic position. This means feet hip-width apart, chest out/shoulders back, hips pushed back into a quarter squat with the knees bent. Hands should be at your sides, each hand should hold a handle of the rope. Slight bend at your elbows.
From here we’re only going to use the arms. While maintaining your quarter squat, raise the arms until they are parallel to the ground. From this position, using only the arms, “slam” the ropes back towards the ground. Repeat for the desired time.
