Crossrope Review

When most people think about cardio workouts they think about pounding miles and miles into a treadmill, climbing thousands of stairs on a stairmaster, or spinning for hours on a stationary bike.

But that’s starting to change, particularly with people involved in CrossFit style workout routines – and one of the most exciting new products designed to help people get better cardio workouts in (faster and without having to go to the gym) has to be the new Crossrope products.

There are currently two different options available from the folks at Crossrope (the Get Lean and the Get Strong set of ropes) and both of them are touted as being able to totally transform the way you get in a cardio workout.

Do they live up to these lofty expectations, though?

Or are they just another piece of workout equipment hyped to the moon and back without actually able to deliver the goods?

Let’s dig into this quick Crossrope review and find out right now!

Quick Overview of the Crossrope Approach to Cardio

The folks at Crossrope were looking for a new way to shake things up in the world of cardio, helping to mix and match some of the key components of CrossFit into the style of exercise that most people just cannot get themselves to do on a regular basis – even if they don’t mind spending hours at the gym pumping iron or running through machines.

Looking at the options available in the cardio equipment marketplace and recognizing that most were too big, too bulky, and almost overwhelmingly expensive – especially the quality cardio machines and treadmills available right now – they decided to take it a little old-school and get back to the basics with a jump rope training system redeveloped from the ground up.

Fighters and boxers have used jump rope training systems for decades to dramatically improve their cardio routines, but outside of the mixed martial arts world and the fighter training protocols the jump rope hasn’t really “crossed over”.

Until now.

With the new Crossrope system (either of the systems, at that) men and women alike are able to take advantage of interchangeable handles and weighted jump ropes that can provide a much higher quality cardio experience at a fraction of the cost of even the least expensive treadmill – with a lot more flexibility and adaptability when it comes to cardio training, too.

Breaking Down the Crossrope Systems

Both the Get Lean and Get Strong Crossrope systems take advantage of interchangeable jump rope handles that can be effortlessly attached to a number of different weighted and color-coded ropes.

Aside from the fact that these jump ropes are considerably heavier than what you’ll find traditionally available on the market, the Crossrope systems are unique in that these ropes are available in lengths specifically designed to match your height perfectly.

This is a major step above “off the rack” jump ropes that you might have used in the past.

Available in Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large sizes – all of which are again designed to match your height perfectly – you’ll be able to use these jump ropes a lot more effectively, a lot more efficiently, and with a lot less wasted energy (improving your cardio experience and your results along the way).

What Makes the Crossrope System so Special?

Number one thing that helps to separate the Crossrope system of jump ropes from the rest of the pack has to be the introduction of the weighted ropes themselves.

In the past you’d only have been able to train with a standard jump rope with next to no weight whatsoever, which isn’t going to be all that useful if you want to start speed training, if you want to start throwing in different training variations (like scissor kicks, side to sides, squat jumps, etc.).

Standard ropes definitely aren’t going to allow you to go through a more progressive training program like what you do in the gym.

With these weighted ropes you’re going to be pushing your body harder, even if ropes that only way between ¼ pound and 2 pounds don’t seem all that heavy to begin with.

According to the reviews online almost anyone that’s tried this jump rope system notices IMMEDIATELY that there’s something different about them that has everything to do with their additional weight.

Another major benefit of these weighted ropes is that they are going to work your upper body while you are getting in a quality cardio training session, too. Swinging every rope is going to put you through your paces in your arms, your shoulders, and your back.

It’s also going to ask more of your actual cardiovascular system – your heart and your lungs – which means your energy expenditure is going to be significantly higher. You’ll have to push more to get your training session completed which will improve your cardiovascular conditioning, but it’s also going to help you consume more calories and triggering the biomechanical cascade of reactions necessary to elevate your metabolism around-the-clock as well.

All of this is going to have a huge impact on your overall health and wellness regardless of whether you’re trying to melt fat or build more lean muscle mass and get stronger.

How Does the Crossrope System Stack up Against Traditional Cardio?

I’ll be brutally honest with you here.

Cardio training is not my favorite thing in the world.

Shocker, I know, I know – but I don’t think I am alone in feeling this way. Plenty of people that I train without a regular basis would rather do almost anything else (ANYTHING) than pound a little bit of pavement or crush mile after mile out on a treadmill.

It’s probably the least amount of fun you can have when working out.

Another brutally honest admission here – before training with the Crossrope systems I had never really fooled around with jump ropes before. We’ve all seen the Rocky training montages where he goes all out with a jump rope, but because I wasn’t ever slipping on the gloves I just didn’t really think of mixing it into my regular routine.

I thought (like most people, probably) that jump roping was going to be kind bland and kind of boring and that there really wasn’t going to be all that much to it. I also kind of wondered whether or not the results people guaranteed a jump roping routine could bring to the table were more than a little bit overblown, a throwback to a more nostalgic way of getting shredded.

I was so, so wrong.

Now that I’ve been able to try the Crossrope system for a little while, however, I can’t imagine tackling cardio without having a set of these weighted jump ropes as the cornerstone of my routine.

The first session was absolutely brutal, but I have no one but myself to blame for that because I grabbed a hold of the 2 pound infinity rope right out of the gate even though I absolutely knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I should have just stuck to the program as outlined by the folks at Crossrope.

I got maybe 45 seconds into the beginner program with this monster of a rope and I was absolutely toast!

To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be the understatement of the century. I flipped down to the quarter pound infinity rope almost immediately and got into a tight groove, following along with the easy instructions and video training provided in the mobile application this company includes free of charge with every purchase.

I got into a nice little routine slick little groove, and for the next three weeks I continued to push through the beginner program while mixing in a couple of interesting “extras” I was able to dig up online and on YouTube.

Shortly after that three week stretch of time I actually had to do a little bit of traveling and was even more pumped up about the fact that my cardio system was going to fit effortlessly into my checked bag.

I kept grinding through the different weight levels, shaking things up and trying out different components of the routine, and every single step of the way I have been nothing but impressed with the caliber and quality of this cardio tool.

Should You Buy the Crossrope?

At the end of the day, those seriously looking to spice up their cardio training are going to want to make sure that they get a much closer look at everything that the Crossrope systems bring to the table.

These are high quality and well-made jump ropes that have been completely protected by a proprietary almost rubberized kind of coding for longevity, and I can’t imagine that these jump ropes are going to fail me anytime soon.

The fast clip connection system is easy to navigate when you want to flip between different ropes, the ergonomically designed handles are a pleasure to hold and to use, and the high-speed bearings sound like little more than “marketing mumbo-jumbo” but definitely resulted in a much smoother jump roping action than anything I remember from traditional jump ropes.

On the flip side of things, any of the ropes from Crossrope are definitely on the more expensive side of things – particularly when compared to traditional jump ropes that you can pick up for about 10 bucks (or less) at pretty much any department or sporting goods store.

I love the fact that these ropes feel like they were made for me thanks to the ability to purchase a size perfectly in line with my height. On top of that, they just have that premium kind of feel that gives you a lot of confidence in your equipment – and gets you excited about training when you might not have been before.