Comparison of the acute metabolic responses to traditional resistance, body-weight, and battling rope exercises.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized crossover trial comparing acute metabolic responses across 13 exercise conditions
PubMed 24942174 · doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000584
What was done
Ten resistance-trained men (mean age 20.6 ± 1.3 years) performed 13 separate single-exercise protocols on different days in randomized order. Free-weight exercises were performed as 3 sets of up to 10 repetitions at 75% of 1 repetition maximum. Body-weight push-ups (floor and BOSU ball) were performed for 3 sets of 20 repetitions; burpees and push-ups with lateral crawls for 3 sets of 10 repetitions; and planks and battling rope circuits for 3 sets of 30-second bouts. All protocols used a standardized 2-minute rest interval between sets. Mean oxygen consumption was measured and averaged across the entire session, including work and rest intervals.
What was found
Mean oxygen consumption was significantly highest during the battling rope (24.6 ± 2.6 ml/kg/min) and burpee (22.9 ± 2.1 ml/kg/min) protocols. For free weights, highest values were observed during the squat (19.6 ± 1.8 ml/kg/min), deadlift (18.9 ± 3.0 ml/kg/min), and lunge (17.3 ± 2.6 ml/kg/min). Push-ups on the floor versus a BOSU ball showed no significant differences, but adding a lateral crawl significantly increased mean oxygen consumption (19.5 ± 2.9 ml/kg/min). The plank elicited the lowest mean value (7.9 ± 0.7 ml/kg/min).
Why it matters
This study shows that battling rope intervals and whole-body body-weight movements like burpees generate greater acute whole-session metabolic demand than traditional multi-joint resistance exercises when performed with fixed rest intervals.
Limits
The sample size was very small (n = 10) and exclusively comprised young, resistance-trained men, limiting generalizability to women, older adults, or untrained populations. Work bout structures and durations differed across modalities (e.g., fixed repetitions versus timed 30-second intervals), and the study only evaluated acute oxygen uptake rather than chronic training adaptations or post-exercise energy expenditure.