It may seem like child's play but skipping is actually a terrific calorie burner. Use your skipping rope to blast fat effectively, quickly, cheaply and conveniently…
I last had a skipping rope when I was four years old; I would take it to and from school religiously to while away my lunch break in the playground with my friends. And now skipping is enjoying a revival, not only as an informal playground game, but as an organised activity to improve concentration and behaviour.
What’s more skipping is good for you, having numerous health benefits. It's convenient, great value for money (all you need is a rope!), requires very little room and even less storage space.
You can carry your rope with you for a workout anytime, anywhere. Skip at home (if you have high ceilings), in the park, in your garden, in the office (if you have a lenient boss)…
Very good, you may say, but what about the boredom factor? Well, skipping to music, combining different style combinations and also adding circuit exercises will prevent you from becoming bored.
Getting started
The length of the rope should be right for your height; stand on the centre of the rope, and lift the handles upward. The point where the handles meet the rope should be level with your armpits.
If you haven't skipped for a long time, start by practising your timing – hold both handles of the rope in one hand and rotate it in a circular movement to your side. When the rope hits the floor, jump. Keep your jumps small to reduce impact on your knees and ankles, once you’re confident and your timing is correct progress to jumping over the rope.
Start slowly; try skipping for 30 seconds, then marching on the spot for 30 seconds, repeat. As your fitness improves you can increase the time you skip for.
When skipping, aim to keep your elbows tucked into your sides, with the rope turning around smoothly in your wrists. A common mistake is to lean forward, or skip too slowly. Both of these result in the rope being caught by your feet.
Keep your back straight, and for beginners, jump with both feet simultaneously, only lifting yourself a few inches from the floor.
Alternating your feet when jumping is easy to learn: aim to jump a few times on one foot, then try the other foot. Soon you will be able to go from one to the other without catching the rope.
What will it do for me?
Skipping is an excellent way to lose weight, giving you a fantastic cardiovascular workout, according to recent research, 10 minutes of jumping rope is equal to 30 minutes of running at a nine kilometres an hour pace.
Skipping is also a brilliant calorie burner. A 150lb person who jumps 120 times a minute burns around 12 calories each minute. Skipping tones the calves, thighs, bottom, and shoulders, it’s also a lower impact activity than running and so is kinder to the joints.
It can help with endurance training or to develop your speed in short bursts. It is also an excellent exercise to help you train your coordination and to develop a sense of rhythm.
Skipping will help improve cardio-respiratory (heart and lungs) fitness, flexibility and co-ordination and can help reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Sixty to seventy turns per minute is a good starting pace (roughly 1 turn per second).
And as you progress, there are more than one hundred skipping tricks you can learn. A full list is available on the International Rope Skipping Federation website which also lists a ‘skill of the month’.
Here are a few basic moves to get you started:
The Cross-Over
Keep the elbows at waist level and bent at roughly 90 degrees. Turn the rope as normal and as soon as it passes over your head, cross your arms as far across the front of the body as possible, jumping through the gap and over the rope.
Double Unders
In this trick, the rope passes under the feet twice with every jump. You can try just one or do few in a row if you want to look really flash! Jump a little higher and use your wrists to whip the rope around as fast as you can.
Good luck and enjoy!
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