Top Reasons Why Athletes Should Add Rope Climbing in Cross Training Training Routine

There is a push for athletes to master rope climbing because of the benefit it has in improving arm strength, back strength, and grip strength. With rope climbing, you can easily learn how to lift your bodyweight and build confidence in your abilities. If you have not as yet done it, it is important you incorporate this wonderful exercise into your CrossFit training routine.

Among the many benefits you are likely to reap from rope climbing include:

Grip Strength

The grip is often a limiting factor, and this means that any lifts which involve the grip can only be done to the extent of your grip strength. For instance, you may have a strong back, but if you don’t have a great grip, then your deadlift will be limited. Rope climbing is categorized as one of the fantastic exercises that help in building grip strength. To do this, you should first hold your weight for an extended period, and secondly, you should resist gravity as you progressively climb higher and higher. This makes your grip to work unilaterally as well as stabilize your body.

Arm Strength

When climbing the rope, your arms are pushed to extend as they pull your body higher. The dynamic created on your arms by this movement cannot be effectively created or achieved through your regular pull-up and chin-up CrossFit exercises. Every instance you pull yourself up, you are forcing your arms to work in unison.

Back Strength

Adding Rope climbing into your CrossFit training routine can help out in strengthening your lats and the upper back musculature. When climbing the rope, your body is forced to pull close to the rope, and this means your lats are put to work much in the same way they move during a chin-up or pull-up exercise. The major difference between rope climbing and pull-ups is that lots of stabilization are required when climbing the rope.

A Power Indicator

Your ability to climb a rope fast is strongly correlated with upper body power. In 2015, there was a study done and published in Research Gate which compared the power output of a timed 5-meter rope climb with other tests for upper body power such as medicine ball throw, pull-up test, and 1-RM bench press. According to the researchers, having rope climbing in CrossFit training routine is a more reliable and valid test for the assessment of upper body power.

Confidence

Another difference that exists between rope climbing and other exercises you do in the CrossFit gym is the fact that a clear-cut finish line exists which is the top of the rope. Every time you climb and get to the top on your own, your confidence levels rise. As you start adding progressions including removing your feet, you can clearly see that your strength is improving.

For you to engage successfully in rope climbing, your central nervous system must be in shape because the exercise draws heavily on this. For ease of climbing, you must do adequate chin-ups and pull-ups as a prerequisite so that your elbows may not experience much discomfort during the exercise.