Squeeze in some time from your busy routine for jumping rope because it’s packed with endless health benefits you definitely do not want to miss out on!
Fun plus an exciting factor in a full-body workout plan; who doesn’t love jumping rope? Moreover, when added to your usual cardio workout routine, you can see an improvement in your strength, balance and much more!
What is Jumping Rope?
Jumping rope, popularly known as skipping rope, has been a favored activity worldwide. Dating back to the ancient Egyptians, Australian Aborigines and Chinese, the first ropes were made out of bamboo or dried vines. Some paintings from medieval Europe show children jumping those ropes. Hence, it is safe to say jumping rope has been a popular activity for thousands of years.
This excellent tool for cardiovascular training requires you to keep a constant movement, increasing your heart rate. However, its purpose doesn’t solely rely on being used for cardio. For example, some people use it to improve their speed and agility, while others use it to warm up before or cool down after their weight training program. So, choosing to work with this multi-purpose fitness equipment is entirely up to you!
How Many Calories does Jumping Rope Burn?
Jumping rope is the best way to torch maximum calories in less time. In merely 15 minutes, you get to burn approximately 200 to 300 calories because it generates plenty of heat in your body, making your heart race.
What are the Benefits of Jumping Rope?
Incorporating rope jumping in your daily cardio or HIIT workouts can prove to be an immense help in your weight loss journey. Getting your ropes is always beneficial to your body, no matter where you are. Here are six benefits of jumping rope daily.
1. Builds Stronger Bones
When your bones are stressed healthily, they get stronger and denser. The action of jumping can be considered a high-impact activity as your body responds to it by exerting temporary stress on your bones. This stress is a result of the reaction force caused by the ground. When the action of jumping rope is repeated, your bones build back stronger and their density increases.
A study by the NIH on the Olympic artistic swimming team concluded that jumping rope created a whole-body vibration that caused an increase in the bone density of the femoral neck and lumber spine. It also stated that the combination of jump rope and body vibration reduced bone damage risk for them.
2. Allows Total Body Strengthening
Is there any group of muscles the movement of jumping rope cannot target? No! It really does target your full body by engaging every muscle possible. Be it the legs (hamstrings, calves, quads and the muscles in your ankles and feet) or your biceps, core and shoulders. Moreover, what makes this a huge hit among the masses is the fact that you do not have to concentrate more on the mind-muscle connection. Without actively thinking of targeting a muscle, jumping rope provides total body strengthening!
3. Improves Coordination and Balance
Jumping rope is all about the complete coordination of your legs, arms and torso while keeping a constant rhythm to not trip over the rope. Further, you must find a proper balance to maintain gravity against the floor and even push yourself off the ground in a string of repeated actions. This proves to be a great way to improve your body coordination and create a balance between your mind and muscles.
If you are a beginner, make sure you start slowly because forming coordination and maintaining balance requires practice.
4. Gets Your Heart Rate Up
Jumping rope comes under the category of cardio. Cardiovascular exercises are any activities that can get your heart rate up, make you sweat and cause your breath to quicken due to the involvement of multiple muscles at the same time. Such exercises are great for your heart health, and jumping rope is one of them!
It increases your VO2 max, which measures a person’s maximum oxygen amount utilization during a workout. The more VO2 max, the better cardiovascular endurance you have.
5. Reduces Your Risk of Injury
As mentioned above, jumping rope improves your body coordination and maintains a firmer balance. When you improve your body coordination and balance, you are less likely to get hurt during your usual activities and even while working out.
Since both your upper and lower body is involved during jumping rope, it makes your entire body more agile, increases body awareness and makes it less prone to injuries.
6. Diversifies Your Workout Routine
Do you have no motivation to follow an entire warm-up routine? Take that rope and start skipping! Or are you too tired to cool down with a step-by-step plan? No worries, jumping rope is here to your rescue!
There are times when you are left unmotivated and struck with boredom to follow the same old-fashioned workout routine. Don’t worry; it is completely normal. But don’t make your fitness goals suffer due to your lack of motivation. Start diversifying your workout by skipping rope. In fact, diversifying your physical routine benefits your health.
A 2014 study stated individuals who had a diverse workout routine (a mix of sprint intervals, endurance training and resistance training) and ate whey protein lost more fat mass and weight. They gained more lean mass compared to people who only followed resistance strength training.
What’s the Best Form for Jumping Rope?
Begin by selecting the proper size rope. Depending on your height and weight, ensure the rope is not too long or short.
PRO TIP: If your rope is too long, tie knots at the handles to adjust its length!
Once you have selected the right rope, begin skipping! Stand at the center of the rope and keep its ends at the height of your armpit. When jumping, bend your knees slightly and keep your upper arms close to your ribs. Ensure most movements comes from the wrist and restrict your shoulder and elbow movements.
After jumping, land on the back of your feet, keeping your knees bent to absorb the sudden impact.
