Better Results for Less
One of the best types of workout gear will cost you fewer than ten dollars. School children are onto something that the rest of us aren't. Jumping rope provides you with a great cardio workout that also can train your balance, speed, and agility. To be honest, once you start jumping rope, you'll never want to go back to the treadmill again.
Do You Think Jumping Rope Isn't Challenging?
Check out this video and see for yourself what you can do with a jump rope. You won't be this good at first, but you don't have to be in order to reap the rewards of a jump rope workout.
How To Pick a Rope
You're going to need the right type and size of rope. Of all the types of jump rope you can find, I suggest you get a simple plastic speed rope. They should only set you back about 5 bucks. When you get more proficient you may want to pick up a weighted rope to challenge yourself more.
First thing you want to do is check to see that the rope is the right length. Put your foot in the center of the rope and pull the handles straight up as far as they can go. The top of the handles should be about at the same level as your armpits. If you are just starting, you can go longer. If you are more experienced, you can go shorter.
The pricey ropes can be adjusted, but if you need to make yours shorter you can either snip both sides (if possible) or just tie a knot underneath the handles (easiest option).
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Places to Workout
Next up, you'll need to find a suitable place to jump rope. The biggest factor is simply finding an area with enough room all around you to swing the rope without hitting anything. Obviously, this would be easiest to find outside, but if you have an open area in your house or apartment, this will work as well.
The greatest surfaces for jumping are low-impact ones. So jumping on the sidewalk isn't the greatest idea. Better to go for level dirt, wood, or a mat.
The Jumps to Learn
If you are new to jumping rope, your goal is to get to the place where you can do the basic jump for three minutes straight. Use your abs and back to hold your upper body completely straight when you jump. Use the balls of your feet to jump and land so to avoid high impact on your body. You should be swinging the rope from your wrists, not your arms. They should remain relatively still at your sides.The next move for you to learn is the alternating feet jump. In this one, you essentially jog in place, stepping over the rope as both feet are in the air.
The next skill to learn is the double under. You are going to need to jump higher than with the basic jump and alternating feet jump so that you can bring the rope underneath you twice before you hit the ground again. Tighten up your wrist movements in order to swing the rope faster.
Lastly, you'll want to learn how to criss-cross. This is where you cross your arms in front of you, jump through the rope, and uncross your arms once the rope is over your body.
Once you have all four moves mastered, try combining them together and do criss-cross double unders, etc. If you can do this, you truly are a jump rope superstar!
The Jump Rope Workout
Once you can jump rope for several minutes without getting tripped up, you are ready to add it into your exercise routine. There are a number of ways to do this successfully.
First of all, you can do several minutes of jumping rope before and/or after your current workouts or put them in as a new element in your supersets.
However, jumping rope in and of itself is an amazing exercise. You can do sets of jumping rope starting at 1 minute and working up to 3, all the while doing as many of the variations as you have mastered.
But the most intense jump rope workout is perhaps doing 2:1 intervals. Jump for 60 seconds, rest for 30, and repeat. Work up to doing eight intervals if you can.
Jumping Rope Video
Here's an awesome video to show you how to do these things. Enjoy!
