There’s something that martial artists, boxers, basketball players, and football players have in common… it’s that they all use a jump rope workout to train their bodies. Jump ropes aren’t just for kids; they’re also for people who want to train their body to get a major advantage over the competition and for those who are just looking for a great cardio workout.
You can add some jump rope exercises to your routine too. The only requirement is that you find a jump rope that suits your size. Jump ropes aren’t that expensive; good ones easily cost about $7 and high quality ones will cost you $10-$15! If you compare this price to workout machines such as treadmills, it’s considerably cheaper than $1000 or more!!
Not only is a jump rope inexpensive, but it’s amazing at the benefits your body will gain. There’s a reason why athletes prefer to use a jump rope workout to heighten their endurance. If you’ve ever jump roped before, then you’ll notice that you’re using your arms much more extensively than when you’re running or biking. By making you use your arms, it causes your whole body to work together, which results in a full body workout. Not only is this total body workout great, but jump roping is significantly less stressful on your legs compared to running. Therefore, you’ll rake in the health benefits without suffering from negatives such as bad ankles & knees.
Some other great health benefits from a jump rope workout include:
1. Improving your hand, eye, and foot coordination.
2. You’ll find that you can burn more calories than an 8-minute mile run.
3. Strengthens your muscles in your lower body and it can make your posture better by improving the core muscles in your back and spine areas.
4. Tones your arms, butt, thighs, chest, and abs – which is pretty much your entire body!
Other than trying to run all the way to the top of a steep hill, nothing else is better than working out your body effectively.
Before you begin, make sure you have the following things:
1. Comfortable shoes: You need something with a soft cushion to absorb the impact of your feet hitting the ground. Some good cross trainers are preferable. (I use a pair of ASICS shoes for my cardio workouts. If you go to any athletic shoe store, you’ll usually be recommended ASICS shoes because they’re one of the best cross-trainers. Click here to look at one of the most popular pairs of ASICS shoes for men and click here to look at a pair of women’s ASICS shoes.)
2. Comfortable clothes: Any sweatpants or shorts and a light t-shirt should do the job.
3. Space: If you’re doing this outside, then this won’t be a problem. But if you’re indoors, then make sure there’s enough room so that you won’t hit the wall or ceiling.
4. Try to avoid doing this jump rope workout on carpets, concrete, and grass/dirt. Avoid concrete because it won’t be good for your knees, and avoid carpets and grass/dirt because you need a surface that will give against your body. If possible, try to find wood or linoleum surfaces.
What kind of jump rope should you purchase?
There are many types of jump ropes out there, and each of them has slightly different attributes. For our purposes, speed ropes would be the best for a cardio workout. Compared to other ropes, a speed rope is the fastest rope out there. They’re also inexpensive and are very durable. These are the types of ropes that are used by athletes.
If you’re looking for a jump rope to purchase, click here to look at a Valeo Speed Jump Rope on Amazon. It’s a high quality rope that you can get for a measly $10 (it was on sale for $6.73 at the time of this writing!).
How long should your jump rope workout session be?
For every 30 minutes of jogging, you can achieve the same results with 10-15 minutes of using a jump rope. Depending on your fitness level, you should be doing just as much jump roping as you do jogging. So if you normally do 1 hour of jogging, you should instead do about 20-30 minutes of jump rope. (Huge time saver, right?)
One last thing… did I remember to say that it’s FUN to jump rope? Rather than mindlessly jogging or biking on a machine, you’ll have to constantly use your mind so that you don’t mess up your rhythm. You won’t get distracted from your environment with this and you won’t get bored!
Go get yourself a jump rope and start working out! Watch your fat melt away and feel the new and energized strength that your body will obtain!
i’ve been doing Cardio workouts for about 3 years and it really helps in making me fit and healthy.~’`