Exercise is the vital essence of human body. It can be in any form, may be swimming, rowing, aerobics, to give you better and all round body development. When we talk about ‘EXERCISES’, instantly our mind strikes of ‘muscular movement’, which helps in improving blood circulation, and helps to strengthen the heart and skeleton. This movement of heart and circulation system, involving oxygen intake and outdone is known as ‘CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM’. Such kind of cardiovascular (cv) activity is ‘jumping through a skipping rope’.
Jumping rope is an intense and effective aerobic activity. Skipping can actually tone the muscles of the upper body (especially the deltoids and to a lesser degree the chest and upper back) as well as the lower body (especially the calves and hamstrings). Besides it promotes definition of abdominal muscles and reduces cellulite. As recommended by ‘WF health and Fitness Experts’, you can also adapt moves from aerobics classes, such as marching or running in place while turning the rope alongside your body. According to a research 10 minutes of jumping rope is equal to 30 minutes of running at a 5.7 mph pace. Also it is being regarded as an efficient calorie burner about 12 calories per minute for a 150-lb person who jumps 120 times in a minute.
Rope jumping improves your co-ordination, speed and agility – which can vastly improve performance in other sports. Jumping rope is a plyometric style workout. Thus it is excellent for developing, power, speed and endurance in your calves.
If you are looking for fat burning a good idea is to perform your jump-rope workout first thing in the morning before you eat breakfast.
- Always allow enough time to warm up and cool down. Be familiar with the principles of warming the muscles up for a few minutes before performing appropriate stretches with the group. Pay particular attention to arms, shoulders, neck, calves and hamstrings. A list of minimum stretches would be:
| Head swings |
| Shoulder rolls |
| Arm stretches across chest, behind back and up to ceiling |
| and trunk twisters |
| Groin stretch |
| Anterior Tibialis Stretch |
| Calf stretch |
Always use proper form and hold stretches for a minimum of 10 seconds on each side. For detailed instruction and demonstration of Flexibility Exercises click here.
- Keep elbows in. Turn the rope with the wrist, not the whole arm.
- Jump only high enough to clear the rope.
- Land on the balls of the feet and bring the heels down for shock absorption and to rebound for the next jump”.
- Start out by alternating jumping for one minute and resting for one minute. Sixty to seventy turns per minute is a good starting pace.
- Start with 10 minutes and build up to 30 minutes.
- Build up gradually, listen to your body and with persevere you will avoid any pitfalls and reap the plethora of benefits from a good jump-ripe workout.
- Always wear a good quality pair of running shoes to absorb the impact.
Not only is it a good CV workout, but also it improves your agility, fluidity, coordination, lateral movement, explosiveness, speed, and timings.
While you cannot really increase your muscles, size by jumping rope, you can (and will) increase the muscles efficiency, and because of this, many coaches employ it as a means to complement strength or weight training.
Besides skipping helps to improve co-ordination for sports such as tennis or racquetball.
To conclude in all, jumping rope is an effective and intensive CV exercise, which promises a healthy and supple body.
For detailed information on the type and length of the rope, plus instructions for jumping rope, click here.
Note: Always consult your physician before embarking on a new exercise program.