8 Highly Effective Alternative Exercises for Battle Ropes

When working out, it is important to change your routine from time to time in order to keep your muscles guessing. Over the last several years, battle ropes have become a popular piece of exercise equipment for strengthening the whole body, increasing power output, and burning lots of calories. Not everyone has a set of battle ropes handy, but that does not have to derail your training. Choosing a battle rope alternative doesn’t have to be difficult.

Introduce a battle rope alternative into your routine to ensure you still get the maximum out of your workouts. A good battle rope alternative will hit your body in three key ways. Firstly, using a battle rope alternative is great for building strength in your muscles. Secondly, a good battle rope alternative will target your cardiorespiratory levels. Finally, the right battle rope alternative improves your overall athletic capabilities.  

What is the best battle rope alternative?

Below are the eight best battle rope alternative moves that you should incorporate into your gym routine. 

1. Medicine Ball Slams

Medicine ball slams are an excellent alternative exercise for battle ropes. Like battle rope slams, they target the core as well as the major muscles of the upper and lower body. You can use them to increase your ability to generate power, too.

To do medicine ball slams correctly, follow these four steps:

1. Start by holding a medicine ball and standing with the feet separated about shoulder-distance and knees slightly bent
2. Inhale and lift the medicine ball up overhead
3. Exhale and throw the ball down on the ground in front of you, contracting your abs and using as much force as possible
4. End in a half squat position with your arms down by your side

For beginners, it’s best to use a sand-filled medicine ball that won’t bounce when you slam it. This helps minimize the risk of it bouncing up and hitting you in the face!

2. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings are another good full-body alternative that you can add to your workout if you don’t have a set of battle ropes handy.

Remember, the key to a good kettlebell swing is focusing on the hip hinge. Please don’t make the mistake a lot of people make by squatting and then using their upper body strength to lift the kettlebell.

Follow the below eight steps to ensure you’re doing a kettlebell swing correctly:

1. Start with the kettlebell on the ground about six inches in front of you
2. Separate your feet hip-distance or slightly wider
3. Hinge at the hips, pushing them back behind you, as you bend to grasp the kettlebell handle
4. When you have a grip on the handle, inhale and hike the kettlebell back behind you, in between your legs
5. Keep your forearms pressed against the hips when doing this movement, and keep the back flat
6. Exhale, squeeze the glutes, and push the hips forward
7. The momentum from this movement is what pushes the kettlebell forward and causes your arms and the bell to rise
8. Inhale and pull the kettlebell back between your legs to set up for another rep

3. Single-Arm Kettlebell Swings

If you’re looking for a substitute for battle ropes and, specifically, single- or alternating-arm battle rope exercises, give single-arm kettlebell swings a try.

The basic set up and movement pattern are the same for a single-arm kettlebell swing compared to a two-arm swing.

Below are four steps that will help you do this exercise properly:

1. Don’t let your non-working hand rest on the body (don’t set it on the hip, on the knee, etc.), as this can throw off your alignment
2. Use your non-working arm to help you with the swing (don’t just let it dangle to the side, either)
3. When you hinge and pull the kettlebell back between your legs, try pulling your non-working arm back behind you (similar to the position it ends in when you’re doing a medicine ball slam)
4. As you swing the kettlebell forward, try pulling it up close to your chest (sort of like you’re doing a kettlebell clean)

If you want to make this exercise more challenging, practice alternating kettlebell swings. When you swing the kettlebell forward, release your grip and catch it with the other hand before sitting back and pulling it between the legs once more.

4. Box Jumps

Box jumps are many people’s favorite plyometric exercise and for good reason. They’re easy to scale based on your skill level (simply choose a lower or higher box as needed), and they do a great job of strengthening all the major muscle groups, just like battle ropes.

If you don’t have ropes handy but do have a box or bench, try box jumps.

Below are four easy-to-follow steps that help if you’re new to this movement:

1. Stand in front of the box, about a foot away, with your feet separated about hip-distance and toes pointing forward
2. Inhale as you swing your arms back behind you, lean forward with your torso, and lower into a half squat
3. Exhale and jump up onto the box, landing with both feet at the same time
4. Step down (don’t jump and accidentally hurt your knees!) from the box and set up for another rep

Remember, the goal of box jumps is to work on your power output. This shouldn’t be a cardio exercise where you do tons of reps over and over again. Allow plenty of rest between sets so you can utilize your power and produce as much force as possible.

5. Burpees

For a full-body calorie-burning exercise that doesn’t require any equipment, it doesn’t get much better than burpees!

Below are five steps to follow if you’ve never done burpees before or if you just need a bit of a refresher:

1. Start by standing up straight; feet separated about hip distance, arms at your sides
2. Inhale and bend down, placing your hands on the ground so they line up with your shoulders
3. Jump your feet back into a plank position, lowering your body down to the floor
4. Push yourself back up to a plank, then jump the feet back up toward the hands
5. Jump up in the air, reaching toward the ceiling as you exhale

If you want to make these easier, you can eliminate the push-up in the middle of the exercise. You can also step the feet back to the plank position instead of jumping.

6. Airdyne Bike

If your main goal in looking for an alternative for battle ropes is to find a new way to fit in your HIIT cardio or interval training, the Airdyne bike (also known as an assault bike) is a good option.

The following three steps make using the Airdyne bike easier:

1. Use your legs (don’t try and let your arms do all the work, in the same way that you need to use your whole body help you out when using the battle ropes)
2. Keep the knees pointing forward (don’t let the flare out to the sides)
3. Adjust the seat farther over the top of the petal for more quad focus, and set it farther back for more posterior chain focus

7. Rowing Machine

Rowing is another good alternative for the cardio portion of your workout. As with the Airdyne bike, you can also use the rowing machine for HIIT cardio or intervals.

Keep these steps in mind to ensure you use the rower correctly:

1. Drive with your legs (don’t let your arms do all the work)
2. Think about doing a barbell clean with the handle to help you move as efficiently as possible
3. Push yourself straight back (you shouldn’t be popping up off the seat)
4. Relax your elbows, and don’t shrug your shoulders
5. Sit up tall and keep your core engaged

8. Barbell Thrusters

Thrusters of all kinds are an effective alternative to battle ropes. The barbell thruster is an especially good exercise to have in your arsenal, though.

Remember to follow the below six steps when doing barbell thrusters to stay safe and make sure you’re performing them correctly:

1. Start by holding the barbell in a front racked position so that it’s resting on your chest
2. Hands should be separated a little wider than shoulder-distance
3. From here, inhale, brace your core, and lower into a front squat, keeping your chest lifted as you squat down
4. When you’ve reached the bottom of the squat, push into the ground to rise up and exhale
5. After you’ve stood up all the way, immediately press the barbell up into an overhead press
6. Return it to the front racked position to set up for another rep

If you’re new to barbell thrusters, start with an empty barbell or a light pre-loaded barbell. You can always add more weight if needed.

Should you try a battle rope alternative?

Yes, you should definitely try a battle rope alternative. Not only will it switch up your gym sessions and shock your body into new gains, but doing so also offers a wide range of new moves that means you can keep working out even if you don’t have the standard equipment you usually use. Using a battle rope alternative does not mean removing battle ropes from your sessions but rather gives you an extra dimension that you can bring to your gym routine. 

Always remember to prioritize maintaining proper form over weights or repetitions. Ensuring you use correct form for any battle rope alternative will yield better results than sloppy form with a higher weight or higher rep total. Good form also reduces the chance of injury, which derails any progress you’re making.