Posted by Andy Petranek : Monday, Aug 13, 2012

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Why climb a rope? Is it something you find yourself doing often - doing a rope climb each day up throught the window of your third-floor office? Probably not. And those of you that have mastered the skill might not even remember because it now comes so naturally. But rope climbing requires an incredible amount of coordination and skill.

If you have a good rope climb, you've become adept at: a) jumping off the ground, grabbing a rope and hanging on without sliding down, b) looking at your feet and telling each what to do (different than the other one) simultaneously, c) anchoring yourself strongly to the rope with your feet that you trust yourself enough to move your hands up the rope (that means, yes, letting go of one), d) hanging on to the rope with enough confidence that you're willing to let go of it with BOTH feet at the same time while you lift your knees and re-establish your anchor higher on the rope, e) coordinating your inch-worming total body movement up the rope.

There's also nothing like the feeling of suddenly finding yourself 15-25 feet up above the ground wondering how in the world you got up there, and not caring at all because you're so damn excited that you made it! Rope climbing is as much about confidence as it is about anything else because for many people, once you get to the top, you feel like you can pretty much do anything!

So if you haven't mastered it yet, I invite you... get on a rope - at the gym, at the beach, at another CrossFit Affiliate - anywhere you can find one. Let's go climb a rope...

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Monday's Workout (NO CAP)
Ten rounds for time of:
5 burpees
10 pullups
15 pushups
20 squats

...and coming Tuesday
Hang Squat Clean 2-2-2-2-2
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Tabata Kettlebell swings (32/20)