Strength and conditioning professionals have been using “new” exercise modes in prehab, metabolic conditioning, and strength training workouts for a number of years now. Things like suspension training, kettlebells, strongman implements, and heavy (aka battling) ropes are common tools today. These newer exercises are an area where the research is far behind the practice of strength training.
Ratamess et al published a study looking at the metabolic responses of a number of exercises including free weight exercises, bodyweight exercises, and battling ropes. The authors used resistance trained subjects and studied them on 13 separate occasions, one occasion for each exercise studied. Subjects performed free weight exercises (three sets of ~10 reps with 75% of max), battling rope exercises (3 sets of 30 seconds for each exercise), and 3 sets of 20 reps on the bodyweight exercises.
Exercises studied were:
- Free weight: squat, bench press, curl, bent-over row, high pull, lunge, deadlift
- Bodyweight: burpee, plank, push-up, push-up with lateral crawl, BOSU push-up
- Battling rope circuit
Results:
- Of the free weight exercises; the squat, deadlift, and lunge resulted in the greatest oxygen consumption values and the greatest energy expenditure in terms of kcals/minute.
- Of the bodyweight exercises, the burpee and push-up with a lateral crawl had the highest oxygen consumption values and the greatest energy expenditure in terms of kcal/minute.
- The battling rope exercises had the highest oxygen consumption and energy expenditure values for all the exercise studied.
- The battling rope and burpee exercises had greater oxygen consumptions and energy expenditure values than any free weight exercise.
I’ll start my thoughts with the free weight exercises. It should be no surprise that the three exercises that involved the largest muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, and lunges) had the greatest metabolic response. For example, the squat had a mean oxygen consumption of almost 20 ml/kg/min compared to the curl which was a little over 12 ml/kg/min.
The bodyweight exercises studied were not terribly strenuous with the exception of the burpee and push-up with a lateral crawl. The 23 ml/kg/min mean oxygen consumption of the burpee was greater than any of the free weight exercises studied and the almost 20 of the push-up was equivalent to the squat.
The real surprise, to me, was the battling rope exercises. At a mean oxygen consumption of almost 25 ml/kg/min, they exceeded any of the other exercises studied.
Before I get to take home messages, one caution. While the subjects studied were resistance trained males (age in the early 20’s, bench press around 120% of bodyweight, squat around 160% of bodyweight) it is not clear if their results transfer to other populations. With training on the bodyweight and battling rope exercises, the metabolic response won’t be the same as in the study.
One of the adaptations from training is that it reduces the magnitude of the metabolic disruption of any exercises, that’s also known as becoming more fit. This is going to be the case with every exercise mode and it’s why we have to continually find ways to make things more difficult in order to keep making gains. Having said that, it appears that if metabolic conditioning/calorie expenditure are goals then a metabolic conditioning workout needs to focus on large muscle mass exercises and exercises that recruit a large number of muscle groups (such as battling ropes and burpees). It’s good to begin seeing some of the “new” exercise modes like battling ropes being studied now.
Ratamess, N.A., Rosenberg, J.G., Klei, S., Dougherty, B.M., Kang, J., Smith, C.R., Ross, R.E., and Faigenbaum, A.D. (2015). Comparison of the acute metabolic responses to traditional resistance, body-weight, and battling rope exercises. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(1), 47-57.
