Why Is It Hot?
Don't get confused -- this isn't like the ropes you had to climb in junior high gym class. Rope training gives you a cardiovascular challenge through intensive interval training while also increasing your lean muscle tissue, giving your body an all-over workout -- and blasting your jibbly bits. Plus, Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez burned up the gossip hotlines when shots of them doing a couples workout surfaced on the Internet -- not because they were dating, but because of how ripped it made them.


What's a Typical Workout Like? Challenging, but fun. "You warm up, then perform an intensive one minute movement with the ropes, then rest for 30-60 seconds, then perform the movement again," explains Jim Karas, a personal trainer in Chicago. "The basic movement is to simply move the ropes up and down. As you get stronger and leaner, you can then move them side to side or in a circular motion. These movements virtually challenge every muscle of the body and that's the key to success."

Advice For Beginners? Start small and work your way up. "I would add about 10 minutes of Combat Ropes to each workout, but your workouts don't have to be long," Karas explains. "They simply have to be intense and that's the luxury of the ropes. They get the job done and they get it done fast."

Where You Can Find Them:
• Jim Karas Chicago Personal Training
• City Sports (Washington, D.C.)
• Sports Chalet