If you’re looking to get shredded as fast as possible, then high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the best options to reach your goal. And battle ropes are one of the staples of HIIT since they combine resistance training with cardio, making for an intense workout.
Most battle rope exercises engage the entire body, but you’ll find many that target only the upper body or even the arms.
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But if you don’t even have access to a battle rope station, whether it’s because you train at home or your gym doesn’t have one, you can still get shredded arms without them. Let’s find out the best battle rope alternative movements!
How to Shred Your Arms Without Battle Rope Exercises
The key to shredding is to maximize fat loss and muscle mass. Nutrition plays a huge role in both, but efficient exercise is vital to gaining muscle mass.
And it’s not only about doing the same couple of exercises repeatedly. Instead, you have to target each muscle head equally to attain a balanced look.
What makes battle ropes handy is that they allow you to work multiple muscle groups and heads at once. And they take the muscles to the edge, making them very efficient.
But battling ropes isn’t the only way. Traditional weightlifting is still an excellent alternative, whether you go for compound exercises or isolation movements.
Compound vs Isolation Exercises – Which Is Better for Me?
Compound exercises refer to movements that work multiple muscle groups in one go. The most popular examples of these are the deadlift, bench press, and squat, all of which work several major muscles.
In contrast, isolation exercises are movements that isolate one muscle and target it. A prime example is the standard bicep curl.
So if you’re looking to grow your whole body or upper body, then look for compound exercises. But if you only want to focus on certain parts of your arms, consider isolation exercises.
7 Battle Rope Alternative Compound Exercises
Let’s start with seven of the best compound exercises for shredded arms. Note that most of these will also give the rest of your upper body an intense workout, but because you’ll work multiple muscles simultaneously, you can lift heavier and put more strain on the muscle fibers.
1. Chin-Ups
The chin-up is one of the best compound exercises for building your biceps, and it’s a great alternative for battle ropes.
As a pull-up variation, the chin-up mainly targets your latissimus dorsi muscles, which are the large fan-shaped muscles on the lateral side of your back. However, thanks to the supinated (underhand) grip, they also engage the biceps, especially if you go for a narrower grip.
You might struggle with this exercise if your pull muscles aren’t strong enough. In that case, I suggest you use a resistance band by tying it around the bar and one of your feet or a pull-up machine if your gym has one.
How to Perform
Grab the pull-up bar with a supinated grip. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, though you can go a little narrower for an extra challenge and more focus on the biceps.
Then lift yourself up until the bar reaches your chin, but make sure not to use the rest of your body to swing.
Slowly lower yourself into the starting position, and that’s one rep.
2. V-Bar Close-Grip Lat Pulldowns
We have another compound movement that primarily targets the back muscles, specifically the lats, but also engages the biceps and shoulders.
The traditional lat pulldown, done with a wide bar and a pronated (overhand) grip, is a back exercise, but thanks to the close grip with the v-bar, combined with the neutral grip, your biceps should feel a good burn after a few reps, making it a great battle rope alternative.
How to Perform
Grab the v-bar and keep your head and shoulders back to avoid colliding with them when you pull down. Fix yourself on the seat by keeping your lower body against the brace if necessary.
Pull the weight down until the v-bar is just under your chin or almost touches your chest. While pulling, squeeze your shoulder blades and lats and make sure your shoulders and back don’t swing.
Control the v-bar up but don’t let gravity do the work for you. Instead, try to take a second or two to return to the starting position.
3. Inverted Rows
If you can’t perform pull-ups, chin-ups, or any of their variations with your body weight, then inverted rows (also known as Australian pull-ups) are a good alternative exercise.
This compound movement engages your lats, traps, rear delts, core, and biceps, the latter of which plays a big role in completing the lift, especially since you’ll use an underhand grip.
How to Perform
You’ll need a rack or Smith machine to perform this battle rope alternative. If you don’t have access to one, then I suggest you find any stable surface where you can anchor the bar.
The bar should be around waist-height since that allows you to extend your arms on the way down fully. So get it in that position, lie down underneath, and grab the bar with an underhand grip.
Keep your body upright throughout the movement, don’t let your waist or back bend. You can also rest your lower body on your heels.
Now pull yourself up until the bar almost touches your chest. Once you’re at the top, hold that position for a second, then slowly lower yourself back until your arms are fully extended.
4. Close-Grip Bench Press
The rule of thumb with the bench press is that the wider your grip is, the more focus there is on the chest. Contrarily, a narrow grip puts less focus on the chest (although it remains a primary mover) and more on the triceps. And that’s what makes the close-grip bench press a good battle rope alternative exercise.
How to Perform
You can do this exercise with a standard barbell, but you can also do it with an EZ bar or tricep bar.
Keep your back flat on the bench, grab the bar at your chosen grip, and slowly let it down until it nearly touches your stomach while keeping your elbows close. Then lift the bar up until your arms are fully extended, and that’s one rep.
5. Diamond Push-Ups
Standard push-ups are chest exercises, but you can move your hands into different positions to target other muscles. With the diamond push-up, the focus shifts to your triceps.
How to Perform
The proper form of diamond push-ups is similar to standard push-ups. But instead of your hands being shoulder-width apart parallel to your body, you’ll bring them closer to form a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers.
While keeping your hands under your chest and your elbows tucked in as much as you can, press your body up and down in a controlled movement pattern.
6. Barbell Overhead Press
Overhead presses are a staple shoulder exercise, but performing them in a standing position with a barbell engages more upper-body muscles, such as the traps, triceps, and core. But if you can’t balance yourself while standing up, you can perform them while seated.
How to Perform
Grab the barbell with a pronated grip and your hands and feet shoulder-width apart, though the hands can be a little wider if you wish.
Rest the bar right under your neck, tuck your head back to avoid collision, and lift the bar up until your arms lock out. Then lower the bar slowly until you’re back in the starting position.
7. Tricep Dips
Dips are popular for growing your triceps and chest, so they’re excellent battle rope alternatives.
They’re also fairly versatile, as you can perform them on a dip station, rings, a bench, or your furniture.
How to Perform
Grab the handles on the dip station, lift yourself up, and keep your body upright and as perpendicular to the ground as possible. Remember that leaning forward too much will turn it into a chest dip.
Lower yourself slowly and prevent your elbows from flaring out. Go down until your chest is nearly level with your hands, then raise yourself until your arms are extended.
If you’re dipping on a bench, the form is largely similar, but your hands should be close to you as you hold onto the edge.
7 Isolation Movements for Shredded Arms
Now let’s look at seven isolation movements that can build shredded arms. I picked three exercises for the triceps, three for the biceps, and one for the forearms.
1. Overhead Extensions
Overhead extensions are a staple tricep exercise that will demolish your triceps, mainly the long head. I’ll talk about dumbbell extensions, but you can also perform them with a kettlebell or on a cable machine.
How to Perform
Grab one dumbbell and hold it above your hand by resting the inside of one of the plates on your palms, and keep your arms extended.
Keep your arms parallel with your upright body as you slowly lower the dumbbell until your elbows roughly form a 45-degree angle, then raise the dumbbell back without swinging.
2. Rope Pushdowns
This exercise focuses on the lateral head of the tricep, which is on the outer side of your arm.
You can also perform this exercise with a v-bar, EZ bar, or resistance band, but I recommend a rope to get your hands behind your body for the full range of motion.
How to Perform
Fix the cable above your head and grab the rope by its ends, then keep your body upright and your shoulder joints retracted before you pull.
You should pull the rope down and toward your body until your arms are extended, and your hands are nearly behind your hips. Flex your triceps at the end, then slowly lower the weight into the start position.
3. Supinated Tricep Pushdowns
Supinated pushdowns are similar to rope pushdowns but with an underhand grip. This shifts the focus from the lateral head to the medial head, which lies under the long head of the tricep.
How to Perform
Supinated pushdowns are also similar to rope pushdowns in terms of body position. But instead of grabbing the rope ends, you’ll grab a straight bar or EZ bar cable attachment in an underhand position, then pull the weight down until your hands touch your lower body. The rest of your body should remain fixed during the movement.
4. Preacher Curls
The preacher curl is an iconic isolation exercise that focuses on the short (medial) head of the biceps. If you don’t have a preacher curl machine, then you can incline a bench and use it to do one-hand preacher curls.
How to Perform
Adjust the seat height so that your armpits and elbows can rest on the machine as you extend your arms to grab the EZ bar.
Once you do, take the bar off the rack and curl it up as much as possible, then slowly lower it until your arms are nearly fully extended, then repeat for 10-12 reps.
5. Incline Dumbbell Curls
This next exercise focuses on the long head of your bicep. You’ll need to lower the weight a bit on this one, but it’s sure to give you some big bicep peaks – excellent if you don’t have battle ropes.
How to Perform
Incline a bench to a 45-60-degree angle, grab a pair of humble-weight dumbbells, then sit down and rest your arms until they’re fully extended and flared out.
Without moving your elbows, curl the dumbbells up to squeeze your biceps, then lower them back until they’re behind your body, and repeat for repetitions.
You can curl both dumbbells or alternate; it’s up to you.
6. Hammer Curls
For some arm thickness, you need to focus on your brachialis muscles, and the best exercise for this is the hammer curl.
How to Perform
Stand upright, grab two dumbbells, and keep them at your side with your arms fully extended and your hands in a neutral grip, making your palms face your hips.
Curl the dumbbells, again with a neutral grip, without moving your elbows. Go up to squeeze your biceps, then slowly lower the weights to finish the rep.
7. Reverse Curls
Lastly, let’s not ignore the forearms! Although most of the exercises I listed will engage your forearms to a degree, it’s always nice to finish off with a dedicated set to complete the look.
How to Perform
Reverse curls are fairly straightforward; you can do them with a barbell, EZ bar, or dumbbells. I prefer using dumbbells for symmetry, so grab them with an overhand grip, keep your body upright, and curl the dumbbells as if you’re trying to flex your biceps.
Final Words on Shredding Arms Without Battle Ropes
While battle ropes are excellent for shredding your arms and whole body, you can still attain that look without a battle rope station! For instance, you can rely on the seven compound movements and incorporate them into your workout routine as you like.
Alternatively, you can dedicate an arm day every week (or twice a week) to do the seven isolation movements I listed. This way, you’ll hit every he
