Jump Rope for Muscle and Cardio
As your probably aware, jumping rope, or skipping for our British readers, is a very effective fitness tool, but what most people don’t realize is that you can jump the rope for muscle and cardio.
When I advise people to take up skipping as part of their fitness and weight loss plan, I am usually met with an initial look of befuddlement. It feels like I have just put them under hypnosis and they have drifted off to when the where young kids at school jumping through a rope being swung either side by singing kids.
I quickly halt their skip down memory lane and remind them that jumping rope has stood the test of time and continues to be a staple in a boxers training camps, who just so happen to be some of the baddest, fittest and leanest people on the planet.
If its such a vital exercise in a boxers training regime, then I think we should sit back and take note because there clearly must be many benefits to this seemingly simple exercise.
What are the Benefits of Jumping Rope?
Whole Body Movement
Jumping rope requires the whole body to work in unison. Your lower body, midsection and upper body combine to be able to perform the movement making it a highly efficient muscle toning and cardio exercise perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to waste hours on a treadmill.
Great Cardio Workout
Skipping is a great way to get the heart pumping in a very short amount of time. You can go from a steady tempo skip to an all out sprint which will push you to the limit every time.
A commonly cited study published in Research Quarterly tested how effective a cardio workout skipping really is.
92 male students were administered the Harvard step test to test their cardiovascular efficiency and then divided into two random groups. Group 1 jumped rope for 10 minutes and group 2 jogged for 30 minutes both daily for 6 weeks.
At the end of the 6 weeks, they were put through the Harvard step test again and found that in both groups cardiovascular efficiency had significantly increased.
What is interesting though is that they concluded that 10 minutes of jumping rope is as efficient as jogging for 30 minutes.
Burns a lot of calories
A steady skip will burn over 10 calories a minute, throw in double unders (performing two rotations per jump) and high knee sprints and you can easily burn a few hundred calories in less than 30 minutes.
Portable
A jump rope is the smallest and lightest piece of exercise equipment and can be taken anywhere. When I go on vacation it’s the first thing I pack.
Improves Agility
The practice of jumping rope improves your body’s outer sense or kinesthetic awareness (The body’s awareness of where it is in space and time).
It also improves your quickness, speed, explosiveness, balance and coordination as demonstrated by this study which showed that over an 8 week period, preadolescent soccer players who performed jump rope at the start of their soccer practice significantly enhanced their general balance and coordination compared to the group who did not jump rope.
The important takeaway here is that you can improve your ability in your specific sport more by incorporating skipping into your training regime rather than just simply keeping your training sport specific.
Improve Posture
Jumping rope is a unique self-correcting exercise. Almost every exercise can be performed with bad form and unless a coach breaks down your technique and points out where you are going wrong, you would never know.
Jumping rope is not possible to do with poor technique so if you continue with the same poor technique you will not be able to perform the exercise. The more you practice, the more micro adjustments you will make, not only in your technique but in your posture also.
learning to jump rope reinforces your ability to maintain a long spine. Your abdominal muscles work in unison with you back muscles, creating internal pressure to maintain the erect posture needed to perform this exercise.
What Muscles Does Skipping Work?
Skipping is generally considered as a cardio exercise, which it is , but is also a fantastic tool if you’re looking to get toned. Look at the physic of a professional boxer and you’ll see the results of what dedicating time and effort into jumping rope can do.
Being a whole body movement, you are hitting multiple muscles at the same time making it a highly effective full body toning exercise.
In your lower body your working all the major muscles such as the soleus, gastrocnemius, hamstrings, quadriceps and gluteus maximus.
In your mid section your working the core muscles like the rectus abdominis and external oblique,
In your upper body you’ll working the serratus anterior, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, deltoid, tricep brachi, biceps, brachoradiallis and wrist extensors.
There is a widely used meme in the fitness world, of gym rats only working their upper body and skipping leg day. As you can see, this type of skipping will actually give you bigger calves while also working your upper body at the same time.
How to Jump Rope
Jumping rope requires learning a new skill and becomes extremely rewarding as you improve. Initially though it can be frustrating as your balance , timing , coordination and overall proprioception is going to be a bit off.
Please stick with it because you will get better.
I have seen it countless of times with people struggling initially but becoming proficient in a short space of time .
Before you start, make sure you rope is the right length. If the jump rope is to long it will be making too much contact with the ground and too short, it will be making contact with your feet, halting your momentum as your forced to reset.
To check that the rope is the right length you need to: 
- Stand on the mid-point of the rope making sure that each side is of equal length.
- Pull the rope up so it is taught.
- The general consensus is that the top of the handles should reach the top of your armpits.
- Adjust accordingly.
Buddy Lee, one of world’s top experts in jump rope condition, in his book (Jump Rope Training) breaks down the mechanics of the skip into three phases.
1 – Load phase
Start on the balls of your feet with your knees slightly bent.
2 – Flight phase
Push of the ground to propel yourself in the air starting from your ankles ,calves, knees and hips.
Feet should rise no more than an inch of the ground.
Upper body is recruited to swing the rope over your body and under your feet.
3 – Landing phase
Land gently on the balls of your feet as your hips, knees and ankles act as shock absorbers.
What you’re aiming for is for these three movements to become one. You want to build those neuropathways where the connection between the brain and the body becomes strong and you get your timing down. At this point it becomes an unconscious movement and you can start experimenting, exploring and playing with many different types of skipping techniques.
Just be aware of a few common mistakes:
- Don’t do a double skip for each rotation – This is happening because you are trying to overcompensate for the rope coming back round too slowly. Increase the speed of the rotation to the point where one skip is enough.
- Don’t jump too high – You should be jumping just high enough for the rope to rotate under your feet.
- Don’t swing your arms around – Your arms should be still and slightly bent. It is actually the turning of the wrist combined with the up and down movement of the body that maintains the momentum.
- Don’t be tense – Relax. The looser you get, the more efficient your technique will be.
What is the best jump rope technique?
The simple answer is there isn’t one, just like there isn’t a best dance move.
Jumping rope is a very personal thing and everyone has their own rhythm and style. Uniquely, it’s the only exercise with so many different variations that it can never get monotonous and it can always be challenging. You will probably gravitate to your favored style but mix it up with a few variations that you prefer.
Check out the video below for an impressive display of 20 different jump rope techniques. Pick a few of the basic ones and work on them until they become second nature and progress from there.
I’ve been jumping rope for many years and I can’t do half of those techniques. I think it’s partly why I enjoy it so much. There is always improvements to be made and new skills to learn and it never becomes monotonous.
It’s a great full body workout that works the majority of your major muscles at once and 10 minutes of skipping is proven to be as effective as a 30 minute jog.
It’s the perfect exercise for anyone who struggles to find time to work out and if you’re looking for that lean, athletic boxers physic, then jumping rope for muscle and cardio is a great place to start.
