Overview
Battle rope wave squats combine a traditional bodyweight squat with the upper body movement of alternating or double waves. This makes squat waves an excellent full body exercise that will get the heart pumping. Because it’s so metabolically demanding the exercise is best used for short high intensity bursts followed by recovery/active recovery.
Teaching Points
- Grab the battle rope by the ends of the rope in a handshake grip, don’t grip the battling rope too tightly otherwise you’ll fatigue the forearm muscles.
- Place the feet shoulder width apart, keep a neutral spine, brace the core muscles, and keep your eyes fixed on the anchor point.
- Drive one end of the rope upwards to shoulder level while you simultaneously drive the other arm downwards towards the floor to hip level (maintain the waves for the entire exercise).
- Lower the hips towards the floor keeping the torso upright and shoulders packed and retracted.
- Drive through the heels, squeeze the glutes and push the floor away from you until you’re back in the standing position.
- Keep the elbows tucked in to the ribs and repeat this movement quickly to create a fluid motion.
- The smaller your waves the faster the undulations move through the rope, the larger your waves the slower the undulations are sent through the rope.
- Inhale during the eccentric phase of the squat and exhale during the concentric phase.
Common Problems Solutions
Error: Torso leaning forward during the squat.
Correction: Keep the chest up proud, shoulders packed and retracted and eyes focused on the anchor point.
Variations
Double wave squats
Outside circle squats
Parallel waves squats
Opposing parallel waves squats
Wave squat holds
Microphone grip variations with above exercises
