Most people have never tried a jump rope workout.
When was the last time you jumped rope? For most people, the answer would be to go back to elementary school or possibly high school. It’s actually a shame, because it’s a very efficient form of exercise. Most people could easily walk for 15 minutes, but less than 1 percent of adults could jump rope for 15 minutes at a time. Very few people other than boxers have seriously used jump rope to achieve top physical condition.
What muscle groups are worked?
Jumping rope will seriously work all the muscles in the body. I am convinced that it will expose its weak links. Honestly, I think my whole body ached. My calf muscles and abdominals were especially sore. As a side note, I will say that jumping rope will help you in your quest to get super ripped abs. Your core is really working hard as you have to use your abs to stabilize your entire body to help propel your body through the air.
How jumping rope helps your body release hormones that burn fat.
HGH is a natural hormone that your body releases to burn body fat. You have probably seen many advertisements for pills that will help you increase your natural HGH levels. This was very popular about 5 years ago, but you don’t hear much about HGH anymore. A high level of HGH in your body is the fastest route to burning body fat! Unfortunately, low-intensity cardio will not help your body release HGH. The best way to increase HGH is to do high-intensity cardio for about 30 to 60 seconds, followed by a minute or two of walking or low-intensity cardio. This is called high intensity interval training.
What kind to buy?
I recommend getting a “speed rope”…these are about $15 at most sporting goods stores. They are plastic strings without beads. You also don’t want to buy the weighted strings. Get a jump rope that is adjustable. You’re going to want to set the rope to an optimal level to jump quickly without hitting your head. If it’s too long, you won’t be able to jump at a fast pace.
How to adjust to the correct height:
- Put your rope on the ground
- Stand at the midpoint of the rope (equal distance between the handles)
- Grab the handles and pull them toward your chest while standing on the rope.
- If the tops of the handles reach above your collarbone, the rope is too long.
- If the tops of the handles reach your upper or lower abs, the rope is too short.
- I like to adjust the string so the handles hit about 6 inches below the collarbone.
- When in doubt, go a little too long and shorten the rope a bit as you get more experienced.
Your first two weeks of the program, take the time to learn the skill
Most beginners “double bounce” between rotations. This actually allows them to rest their core as well as their calf muscles a bit between rotations and means they have a low core fitness level. You want to jump cleanly between each rotation and keep your abs and core engaged.
Your arms should barely move when you jump rope. The rotation of the string must come from the movement of the wrist. If you want to increase the speed of the rotations, simply increase the tension of the circles your wrist makes (this will make more sense when you start jumping rope). The goal for your first two weeks of jumping rope is to get to a point where you can jump rope for 5 minutes straight without having to stop and start over. This means that if you have to stop because the rope hits your feet, you have to start over from scratch. You’ll also want to be able to jump rope by alternating feet, so it looks like you’re running.
A great 15-minute workout that you can customize to your liking
- Stand in front of a clock or timer of some kind
- Jump rope for 3 minutes to warm up
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Jump rope as fast as possible for 60 seconds
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Jump rope as fast as possible for 60 seconds
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Repeat this alternating pattern for 15-20 minutes.
Note: For the 60-second sprint, you can do it by running, you can learn to twist the rope twice for each jump, etc. As you progress, you’ll be able to make the 60-second sprint extremely intense. Also, if you want to take advantage of the fast heart rate and burn even more body fat, use a treadmill or stationary bike for 20 to 30 minutes after your jump rope workout. Oh yeah…you may need a towel…you should be sweating like crazy!
Do this routine hard and you’ll start to see definition all over your body!