This is what Ice Box Fit is all about! We’re in the middle of a cold snap in Eastern Canada. Temperatures have been around -28 degrees Celsius (with the wind chill) for around a week now. The Ice Box is, quite literally, an Ice Box. -7 degrees in there this morning for a Monday morning workout.
These are the kinds of morning where it’d be nice to just stay in bed. These are the kinds of mornings where you better have your Self-Discipline in check or else you ARE going to stay in bed. I’ve been doing well with this. I rarely miss a workout on a workday. The only time I usually do is if I have to snow-blow the driveway because we had a storm overnight.
These are also the kinds of mornings where you want to concentrate on Cardio. Move fast, move continuously. This will keep you warm while giving you a hell of a workout at the same time.
I don’t have a lot of garage space for the Ice Box. I have about 15 feet wide by 10 feet deep so sometimes I’m limited in what I can and can’t use for equipment. I spent a lot of time trying to find Battle ropes that would work for me. I had basically resigned myself to buying just some 1.5 inch thick rope to use when I came across this set of battle ropes at Walmart. It’s a 20 foot long rope which when you fold it in half is perfect to use in a 15foot gym. I added the 2×4 pictured to the left which runs from one of the braces of my Pull-up Bar, down to the floor of the garage so that I could put a hook at the bottom to loop the rope through.
Perfect, simple setup. Awesome workout. Battle ropes are also one of those tools you can move around and use where you want. Got a small tree in your yard? Loop them around the tree and have at it and get some Vitamin D at the same time.
My battle rope routine consists of 8 rounds of 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest. I do a different exercise in each round and I’ll list those below.
Alternating Waves – Move ropes up and down. One hand up, One hand down. Then alternate.
Up and Down Waves – Move ropes up and down. Both hands up at the same time or Both hands down at the same time.
Side to Side Waves – Swing ropes in unison, back and forth left to right.
In and Out Waves – Swing ropes from outside to inside keeping them at the same level all the time.
Grappler Toss – Hold ropes underhand. Pull ropes to right side as if throwing a person over your shoulder. Repeat on right side.
Upper Cuts – Hold ropes underhand. Punch right hand up and to the left. Bring right hand back down and do the same with the left hand. Up and to the Right.
Figure 8 – Pull rope tight so it’s off the floor. Rotate hands in a figure 8, at chest height, without letting the rope touch the ground.
Ultimate Warrior Rope Shake – Hold both rope ends in one hand, then grab rope approximately 18″ from the end with other hands. Shake rope up and down, fast and hard.
I don’t know if the fact that the ropes are short mean I’m not getting as good a workout as if they were 40 feet long but it IS a workout doing the routine above and that’s really all I’m after, after all.
This is part of the routine that I used during Cardio Week last year. If the temperatures keep going the way they are, this may end up being another Cardio Week because that’s the easiest way to stay warm in the Ice Box.