I wrote this article as I felt jumping rope is a great way to enjoy cardiovascular exercises, but for some odd reason, hardly anybody uses a jump rope for aerobic exercises. This may come as a surprise to many, but jumping rope is a proven and effective mechanism for aerobic exercises. Jumping rope can not only help with cardiovascular health, but it also can help improve coordination and agility. If this exercise is performed frequently, it can also help with muscular endurance. Besides, how many times have you not gone to the gym and exercised due to bad weather condition that cannot be controlled.
7 Great Reasons to Use a Jump Rope as a Means of Cardiovascular Exercises
1) Jump Ropes are inexpensive. You can purchase a good quality jump rope for about $20.
2) Jump Ropes are great if you travel and do not have access to a gym. You can carry a jump rope with you just about anywhere since they are so small in size.
3) Not only can you use a jump rope in a gym, but you can also jump rope indoors as long as you have enough space to perform a full motion. You can also jump rope outside and at the office on a lunch break.
4) Jumping rope serves as a motivator for those who get burnt out from performing the same cardiovascular exercises day in and day out.
5) Jumping rope is a great way to burn calories. If you were to jump rope for an hour, you could burn up to a 1000 calories.
6) Helps to strengthen your entire body. Yes, that is right, most of the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body will strengthen if performed on a consistent basis.
7) Running and jogging can not only become repetitive, but they can also have a wear and tear effect on your ankles, hips and knees. By jumping rope, the shock from constantly hitting the ground can be absorbed by your feet and have less of a strain on muscles.
How to Choose a Good Jump Rope
Choosing a jump rope is easier said than done. First off, I recommend using a jump rope that is leather as it will not depreciate over time as other ropes would. I would then hold the handles of the rope in each hand and place your feet in the middle of the rope as it is touching the ground. If the handles are just below your armpits, then you have a good jump rope. Also, make sure that the handles of the rope are thick and comfortable.
Some Tips on How to Prevent Injury
1) Always wear comfortable shoes. This way you decrease the chances of an ankle injury occurring. Also, a good pair of shoes prevents your joints and feet from wearing and tearing.
2) A great warm-up that prevents injury is to stretch and perform jumping jacks. Jumping jacks will help your body to get in the motions that you will be performing while jump roping.
Starting Out
Jumping rope is an exercise that is not easy to perform, especially if you are a beginner. It requires a lot of coordination and agility to jump rope for a period of time. Below I have three phases in which you can attempt to jump rope. These phases are the beginning, intermediate and advanced stage.
Beginning Stage
This stage is the most important as you will most likely become discouraged, frustrated and will want to give up. When I first started jump roping, it took a lot of patience to get used to the motions. Jump roping is far more complex then hopping on a bicycle or treadmill. Start out by holding the handles in each hand and have the rope touching the back of your heels on the ground. Then attempt to complete a few full motion revolutions. Try this until you feel comfortable with what you are doing.
Now you can crank it up a notch and perform 5 minutes of jump roping 3 days a week. Do not exceed 5 minutes a day as you may be sore for the first couple of times you perform this exercise.
Intermediate Stage
After you feel comfortable with the beginner’s stage, you should have improved your agility, muscle coordination and endurance. Now you can attempt to jump rope 10 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week. This may seem too easy, but jumping rope can be a rigorous activity which requires a lot of practice.
Advanced Stage
After the intermediate stage has been completed, you can crank things up a bit more and jump rope for 20-30 minutes, 3-5 times a day. If you can make it to this stage, you will be in top notch shape and reap the health benefits that go along with this difficult endeavor.
super! i know this workout. it is a fentastic workout
question: this workout perfom in after weigt trainning workout?
Hello Rakesh,
Yes, this workout is performed after the weights.
Best!
Hugo
Very interesting post thanks for sharing I have added your website to my favorites and will be back.
Hey Hugo how much time shall i warm up with the jump rope before a workout? Is it good 5 minutes? Is it enough? And after the warm up shall i do stretching?