Victory Ropes Climber Variations | Abdominal Exercises
The abdominal muscles are a group of muscles which work to flex, extend, and rotate the trunk of the body, These core muscles are essential for explosive movements such as sprinting or jumping, A weak or unstable core will result in a decrease in an athletes ability to be agile, quick, and explosive during training or competition.
Incorporating abdominal exercises into a workout routine will result in an effective and easy way for athletes to increase their ability to control their body and perform high speed, agility, and explosive movements.
The Kbands Victory Ropes Climber Variations will take athletes through various abdominal exercises which will work to increase abdominal strength, foot speed, and low back strength.
Increase Core Strength With These Abdominal Exercises
Utilizing body weight abdominal exercises such as sit-ups or crunches are a basic way for athletes to strengthen their core. However, one of the best ways to increase core strength is by implementing resistance into abdominal exercises. By incorporating resistance with this high tempo abdominal exercise athletes will achieve a greater level of muscular activation in their abdominal region than they would by performing sit-ups or even unresisted mountain climbers.
To set up this Victory Ropes abdominal exercise athletes will need 2 Victory Ropes and a partner. Athletes will begin by placing the Victory Ropes around the athlete’s feet, pulling the Victory Ropes over the toes and sliding them over their foot. The athlete with the Victory Ropes attached around their feet will be facing away from their partner and have their body in the upward phase of a pushup, ready to perform the abdominal exercise. Athletes performing the mountain climber portion of the abdominal exercise need to keep their toes pointed up while performing the entire core exercise. By keeping the toes up athletes will be able to complete the entire abdominal exercise without having the anchor straps slip off their feet.
The partner will act as an anchor by holding one Victory Rope in each hand and securing the anchor straps around each of their wrists. This anchoring partner will then sit down with legs straight and the bottom of their feet will be facing their partner. Anchoring partners will stay in a static position keeping their upper arm running down the side of their torso so there is a steady 90-degree angle in the partner’s elbows.
Athletes need to keep distance in mind as they are performing this abdominal exercise. The Victory Ropes can stretch a maximum of 20 feet and athletes need to work within this range. Remember, the farther athletes are away from each other the more difficult the abdominal exercise becomes. Athletes should work somewhere between 12-13 feet of distance between them and the anchoring partner as they are performing the Victory Ropes Climber Variations. This distance can be adjusted based on the athlete’s age, level of strength, and how easy or difficult the drill is to complete from the starting distance.
Most Effective Abdominal Exercises To Use With Victory Ropes
Once athletes are in place and the Victory Ropes are secured athletes can begin the abdominal exercises. Athletes with the Victory Ropes attached around their feet will begin the abdominal exercise by driving one knee toward their chest, holding at the top of this movement for 2-3 seconds before returning the foot to its starting position and driving the opposite knee into the chest and hesitating for 2-3 seconds at the top of the movement. Athletes will perform 8-10 alternating repetitions per leg before moving into the next portion of the abdominal exercises.
For the next Victory Ropes Climber Variation athletes will perform a “tuck” in which they simultaneously move both legs. The tuck portion of the abdominal exercises should be performed without the hesitations or holds which were used in the mountain climber portion of the Victory Ropes drill. Athletes will begin by driving both knees into the chest 8-10 times, followed by 8-10 repetitions in which the athlete jumps to the side trying to take their knee just to the outside of their elbow which is opposite to that knee. Athletes will perform 8-10 tucks to the right side then 8-10 tucks to the left side. Following the athletes first set of tucks athletes will perform tucks in which they alternate performing one tuck down the middle, one to the left, one down the middle, then one to the right. Athletes will continue this alternating set until ten full rotations have been completed. Athletes should perform 2-3 rounds of the Victory Ropes Climber Variations. The sets of this abdominal exercise can be performed by alternating with the anchor, or rotating in a circuit or interval style training session.
Throughout this abdominal exercise set the anchoring partners will remain in a static hold, their arms at a 90-degree angle at their elbows, chest and back are up and erect. It is very important partners do not let their shoulders roll forward or let their back round off. By keeping a big chest and steady arms athletes holding the Victory Ropes will be strengthening their lower and upper back as well as their arms and shoulders. This allows both athlete and partner to get a great workout.
Other Great Abdominal Strengthening Exercises
Even though the Victory Ropes Climber Variations is a great abdominal exercise to strengthen athletes core it should be used with other abdominal exercises which challenge the core muscles in different ways. Incorporating a wide variety of abdominal exercises will help athletes to keep their bodies from adjusting to one kind of abdominal exercise and force the body to continually adapt to different types of outside stimuli. Athletes can go to the training section and check out exercises such as the KB Duo Pikes for a slower strength abdominal exercise or the Kbands Wide Bicycles for a higher tempo core workout. Just remember to continually try to work new and different abdominal exercises into your workout routine to develop and maintain a strong core.