And now, the most underrated form of cardio is… drumroll please... JUMPING ROPE! We’ve listed the top 7 reasons why such a fantastic form of exercise deserves this award.
1. Burn Calories Fast
(A) Did you know? When you jump rope for 10 minutes, it is equivalent to a 30 minute jog on the treadmill at 6.5 miles per hour? While you’ll gain the most benefit from jumping continuously, it’s not necessary. Breaking the 10 minute workout into chunks is a great way to get started with this exercise, or to incorporate other exercises into your routine.
(B) To make a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout, jump rope for two minutes, stop to do 10 push-ups, and then get back to jumping. If you’d rather do squats instead of push-ups, do squats! Or, do lunges, jumping jacks, sit-ups, etc. The choice is yours. A little creativity goes a long way toward making your workout effective.
2. Upper & Lower Body Workout
○ Jumping vertically and swinging a rope 360 degrees around your body over and over requires the use of many different muscles. Imagine exercising your shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, wrists, core, glutes, thighs, hamstrings, calves, ankles, and feet, - all at once! Imagining is one thing, but try it for yourself, and you’ll see just how powerful the movement is.
3. Jumping Incorporates the 8 Principles of Physical Fitness
○ Cardio
○ Stamina
○ Strength
○ Flexibility
○ Speed
○ Agility
○ Balance
○ Accuracy
4. You Can Jump Rope Anywhere, Anytime
○ Whether you want to exercise early in the morning, on your lunch break, after work, on a business trip, at the beach, in the park, or in the middle of Times Square, you can! Jumping rope is one of the most portable exercises on the planet.
5. Exercise Your Mind
○ Jumping rope requires focus and determination. It takes mental effort to swing the rope properly, jump to the perfect height, and land carefully without losing your balance. At first glance, it may seem like solely a physical workout, but after your first jump rope workout, you’ll feel tired both physically and mentally - which is a good thing.
6. Your Body is the Machine
○ Unlike with machines, YOU have to do all the work when you’re jumping rope. On a machine like the Elliptical, the energy you exert upfront continues to power the machine for a little while after, like a swing. If you push a swing at a playground once, it will continue swinging, but will eventually come to a stop. A jump rope, on the other hand, will stop swinging almost immediately.
○ Jumping rope requires constant energy input from the jumper. Constant energy input = constant calorie burning, constant strength training, constant agility training, and constant cardiovascular improvement. It’s you against the rope, and the rope against you, making this workout one of the most effective workouts out there.
7. Much Needed Stress Relief
○ Once you get the swing of things (pun intended), jump roping is really fun! You can do single, double dutch, burpees, on the steps, flashy moves to impress your friends, etc.
○ As with all forms of exercise, your brain releases dopamine during a jump rope workout. Dopamine is a brain chemical that makes you feel happy and quite literally, high on life! Not only will you shed pounds, you will shake off the day’s work as you jump your way to a better you.
So there you have it! Hopefully, these reasons have inspired you to give jumping rope a shot. We have jump ropes available here on our Website, as well as mats, starter sets, and tutorials. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for news, events, exclusive workouts, and contests.
Need a workout to get started? Try out our
