Jump Rope Exercise Routines
Provide Cardiovascular & Endurance Conditioning of All Muscle Groups
Jun 29, 2009
Boxers use jump roping as a staple in their conditioning program. And for good reason: it works all major muscle groups. Besides burning up to 1000 calories per hour, it provides cardiovascular and endurance benefits. Jumping rope improves coordination, agility, quickness and footwork. It is one of the least expensive pieces of workout equipment available and is portable. The jump rope workout can be done inside or outside and is fun.
Getting Started in Jumping Rope
Mastering the skill of jumping rope is necessary before thinking of it as a conditioning tool. A beginner can start with short jump rope sessions several times each week. These can either be done alternating one foot at a time, like running in place, or using the two-footed jump. Someone who is not physically fit or used to jumping rope should walk briskly to warm up and jump rope for 20-30 second intervals. The jump rope workout would look like this:
- Walk briskly for 2 minutes
- Jump rope 20-30 seconds
- Rest 60 seconds
- Repeat 5 times
This brief workout should be done 3 times each week, adding 10-15 seconds of jumping each week, with the goal of building up to jumping rope for 3 minutes. The workout would then look like this:
- Jump rope for 3 minutes
- Rest 60 seconds
- Repeat 5 times
Basic Interval Jump Rope Workout
After mastering the skill of jumping rope and building up to continuous jumping for 3 minutes, a basic interval workout would alternate between fast jumping and slow jumping:
- Jump rope fast for one minute
- Jump rope slowly for 20-60 seconds
- Repeat 6 times
Circuit Training with Jump Rope
Using a jump rope as part of a circuit is another option. Combining jump roping with body weight exercises provides a short, intense workout:
- Jump rope 100 turns of rope
- 10 squat thrusts
- 10 push ups
- 10 squats
- complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes
Similar circuit workouts can be performed by designating a number of rounds of the circuit to perform:
- Jump rope 100 turns of rope
- 20 Squat Jumps
- 30 Dips
- Complete 4 rounds as quickly as possible
Advanced Jump Rope Workout
Advanced rope jumpers can work to skip for 15-20 minutes. Add more time as the hopping and skipping become effortless. A fat melting workout would look like this:
- Jump rope for 5 minutes
- 25 push ups
- 25 squats
- 25 crunches
- Repeat 10 times
Improve Footwork
Once the hop, or running in place movement, is mastered, there are variations to improve footwork. These exercises break the muscles out of their habit by confusing them, thereby increasing the fat-burning effect of jumping rope.
- Line hop: Draw a line on the ground with chalk. During the hopping motion, allow the feet to jump over the line. This can be done facing forward or side to side.
- Side to side movement: Once the side to side line hop is learned, progress to move forwards and backwards while hopping diagonally over the line.
- Diamond: Allow the feet to follow a diamond pattern when jumping rope. This should be done both clockwise and counterclockwise.
The Rocky Criss-Cross
Vince Palko, creator of Linebacker Fitness, suggests the Rocky Criss-Cross. This exercise is a great way to incorporate more arm movements into the jump rope routine. It will work the shoulders and chest in addition to the arms and back.
- Get into a comfortable rhythm jumping rope.
- As the feet leave the ground, and as the rope passes under the feet, bring both wrists across the chest forming an "X" (right thumb pointing left and left thumb pointing right).
- As the rope comes down it will form a small loop. Jump through the loop.
Jumping rope for exercise is a great addition to any training program. It is quick, easy and fun. It is also a great abdominal exercise, since the abs have to work hard to stabilize the body during jump roping. So grab that rope that's been hanging around collecting dust and get started!
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