There’s one thing that boxers, basketball players, football players, and martial artists do commonly: they all jump rope to effectively workout their body. Obviously it’s not just a children’s toy – but it’s for people who want to gain a powerful advantage over their competition, or for those who just want a good cardiovascular workout.
You too can use a jump rope for your workout. All you have to do is get a jump rope that fits your size. It’s only going to cost you about $10-$15 for even the best jump ropes. You also only need a place to jump rope that will allow you to jump without touching the ceiling or the wall. When you compare this to an exercise machine, such as a treadmill or a stair-stepper, you’re going to be spending much less money compared to those $1000+ machines.
Not only is a jump rope cheap to buy, but it’s extremely effective. That is exactly why it’s used by many athletes to boost their cardiovascular endurance. Short of running up a steep hill, there isn’t anything else that’s better at working out your body faster and better.
When you bike, walk, or jog, you’re not using your arms as much as when you jump rope. When you jump rope, it makes your whole body work together, which strengthens and tones your whole body. Not only that, but the skipping movement when you jump rope is a lot less stressful on your legs than running is, which allows you to gain the health benefits you want without the bad effects such as bad knees and ankles.
Other positive health benefits from jumping rope:
1. Jump ropes can improve your hand, eye, and foot coordination
2. It’s low impact, but can burn more calories than an 8-minute mile run.
3. Improves your posture by strengthening your core muscles around your back and spine.
4. Strengthens your bones and muscles in the lower body.
5. Tones your thighs, abs, butt, arms, and chest – basically, it’s toning your whole body!
What you need to begin:
1. The right shoes: preferably cross trainers, or something with a great cushion to absorb the shock of your feet constantly hitting the floor.
2. Comfortable clothes: sweatpants or shorts and a t-shirt should be fine
3. Space: You don’t want your rope to hit the ceiling or the wall, so find an adequate room or go outdoors to do your workout.
4. You may want to avoid carpets, grass/dirt, and concrete. Try to jump on top of something that will give against your body. Wood or linoleum can be good locations.
How long should you be jumping rope?
For every half-hour of jogging you would normally do, you would want to do the equivalent in jump roping, which is 10-15 minutes of jump rope. So that means if you would do 1 hour of jogging, you will get the same workout if you jump rope for 20-30 minutes. You’ll be saving yourself a lot of time due to the effectiveness of jump ropes!
Since jump ropes can burn mega calories, you’ll begin to see some signs of losing weight in just a couple weeks – if not, several days. Best of all, jumping rope will help with a healthy heart and cuts down the chances of heart attacks, strokes, and heart disease.
Also… did I ever mention that jump ropes can be FUN? Walking, jogging, or doing anything on a stationary machine can be boring, but jump ropes actively involve your mind so that you don’t mess up – this will distract you from all of your surroundings and prevent you from becoming bored with the workout.
So go grab a jump rope and jump! Watch your fat loss speed up, your body improve, and feel great about your body’s new health and energy.
Forever Fitness 