What if you were told that jumping rope for 10 minutes could improve your cardiovascular system the same if not more than jogging for 30 minutes? This is completely true according to a 2013 study by American Association for Health and Physical Education and Recreation.
It’s no surprise because the benefits that jumping rope has to offer seem incomparable to other forms of exercise. It’s not hard to see why jumping rope is the new running.
Benefits
The list goes on and on. The benefits you get from jump roping include weight loss, muscle toning and strengthening, coordination, endurance and so many more.
Let’s talk about each of them a little more in-depth.
Torches Calories
One of the best results from jumping rope is the calories you will burn while exercising. This exercise gets your heart rate going to help torch calories not only when you are exercising but after you finish as well. It can increase your metabolism resulting in higher calorie burn even hours after finishing.
Tones Muscles
While it definitely lowers body fat you can also count on physically toned muscles. You may think that just your calves are getting a workout (they do bear the brunt) but actually your legs, shoulders, arms, wrists, and even your core, are all functioning together to stay balanced and execute energy with each jump. It’s truly an all-for-one exercise.
Improves Coordination
As we get older we tend to lose balance. Jumping rope keeps us agile and able to recover quickly if we were to trip or misstep. Some of us are born without natural coordination and that’s why jumping rope can intensely improve that. Hand-eye coordination is a great skill to have at any age.
Creates Endurance
As mentioned above, this exercise creates serious endurance. It may feel really hard to catch your breath at first but when you keep going you will improve your cardiovascular system quickly.
You may even find other activities like jogging and other sports come more naturally to you after learning how to jump rope.
How To Jump Rope
Photo Credit: Unsplash
So how do you jump rope?
It’s one of those things you sort of just need to immerse yourself in to get the hang of it. Don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t click at first. It can be an awkward thing to jump into but after a bit, you can get the hang of it.
Regardless, follow these easy instructions and give it a try!
- Grab the ends of the rope where the handles are putting one in each hand.
- Start with your feet in front of the rope so that it is just behind your heels.
- Swing the rope over your head without jumping and let it hit the ground before your feet.
- Now jump over the rope.
- Now try to do one by starting with the rope behind your feet and jumping as it hits the ground in front of you.
- Once you’ve mastered this you can try for two in a row and so many more.
If you get really good there are plenty of tutorials online that show you how to incorporate routines and tricks to spice up your routines.
Skip Right Over Running
Running isn’t for everyone. Some find it boring and a lot of effort for sometimes little results.
While running can be a great way to get exercise jumping rope excels in every area that running does. Your tone and work your arms much more with jumping rope than you do with running.
You also practice explosive dynamic movements that tone your legs and work with coordination at the same time. For max results in less time, jump roping wins the battle.
Who Does It?
Everyone does it from kids to adults!
Even the professional athletes. It can be particularly useful for sports that require great footwork like boxing.
Boxing and jumping rope have seemed to go hand in hand with each other since the beginning of time. This is because even back then boxers realized that they could improve so many things at once.
Endurance, speed, footwork, strengthening, and so much more. If you want to improve your boxing skills, this is a great place to start.
Join The Trend
Don’t wait now!
Whether you have seen other gym-goers tackling the ropes or you have been watching all the Tik Tok videos, you’ve probably noticed that jumping rope is trendy.
And for good reason!
Not only do you get amazing results from practicing it but it can be genuinely a lot of fun. Once you get good at the basics you can master different footwork patterns.
If you are a natural you may even be able to make up certain routines with dance moves and tricks to really get the blood flowing. Jumping rope is the ultimate definition of kill two birds with one stone.
About The Author:
Sean Dudayev is the founder of Brawl Bros. and has over 20 years of experience as a practitioner and student of boxing. His goal is to bring awareness of martial arts training to the average person so that they can reap the benefits of having the strong body and mind that you attain with the practice of martial arts. Let’s make combat sports the new fitness craze!
