The jump rope workout

One of the best and most affordable exercise equipments around is the jump rope. Athletes ranging from swimmers, to boxers, to martial artists use it for total conditioning. It is no longer a 6 year old girl’s toy. You can get an amazing heart pumping, fat burning, BMR raising, stamina building, muscle conditioning, strength increasing, co-ordination improving workout in a matter of minutes. You don’t even have to do it every day. Do it 3 – 4 days a week and that is it. The jump rope is an excellent addition to any weight loss/fat loss or muscle building program. You may have seen a number of Muhammad Ali’s workout clips where he is just skipping. Here’s one:



Here’s another video of a boxer skipping away.



Now, I don’t expect you to do what the guy above is doing, but you should be able to do the following.

Stretch your calves and legs, grab a jump rope and start skipping at a normal pace (you define what is normal for you). Skip for about 30 seconds then start walking in one place with knees as high as your waist and arms moving as well. Walk for 1 minute at a reasonably high speed then start skipping. Skip for 30 seconds at a higher speed. If the rope gets stuck in your feet, no worries…just adjust the rope and start jumping again. Repeat the above 6-8 times and you’re done. If this starts to get easy for you, start alternating between fast and slow skips rather than skips and walk. You will surely see benefits in you stamina, body fat percentage, speed and co-ordination.

There are some safety precautions that you should take. Make sure you are wearing proper shoes and are not skipping on a concrete or very hard floor. Don’t hold your breath while skipping and keep your back straight. One tends to start slouching while skipping which can be bad for your back and posture.

If you want to include skipping in your workout, you can replace the cardio with skipping. That should do for now...take care guys...see you soon.