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Jumping Rope: Jump To Burn A Lot Of Calories Fast, Lose Fat Weight Quickly

Updated on March 1, 2013
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Jump Rope

Jump ropes are one of the cheaper pieces of exercise equipment you can get. I got one for $15. They take very little space and they are portable. You can use them inside or outside and they can be used by kids and adults. Jumping rope is one of the most effective exercises for improving your cardiovascular endurance and reducing fat. It is mainly done by women but is can also provide a great workout for men. Boxers and other athletes jump rope.

To jump rope you need an area with enough room and a good surface. For space you should be able to stretch out. The area I was using was close to 6 feet and it was just big enough. It is better to have a little extra room so you can move if you want to. Flat carpets, exercise mats and wooden floors work well. Some people jump rope on a trampoline. Since you are going to be landing on it over and over again you should avoid extremely hard surfaces.

Jumping

When jumping rope stay on your toes and try not to jump higher than you need to. You do not want to land on your heels and when jump you should just clear the rope. If done correctly the impact is less than running. So it is easier on your knees and ankles. Your calf muscles take most of the impact but they can become stronger if you give them time to recover. Pay attention and only jump rope if your calves are not sore from the last time. If you feel muscle pain stop to avoid injury. Once conditioned you can jump rope more often.

It is easy to learn different jump rope techniques but they take time to master. You need to work at maintaining a good rhythm. Having to stop because the rope hit your toes or head is a common problem for a beginner. It can be frustrating and makes it hard to get a good workout. You could jump without the rope first. Practice going through the motions and improve your endurance. The rope should be long enough that it can just reach your arm pits while you are standing on the rope with your feet together. You can adjust the length of the rope by tying knots in it near the handle. Use knots that are easy to untie in case you want to make it longer again.

To help you with your form and get ideas for different methods of jumping you can watch people that are experienced at jumping rope. There are lots of jump rope videos on sites like YouTube or you can watch someone in person. If you have a video camera or a digital camera that takes videos you may want to video tape yourself jumping rope. That way you can check your form. You can see the mistakes you made and try to avoid them. A lot of people jump higher than they need to.

Calories

Jumping rope is a simple but effective way to burn a lot of calories. I could burn around 350 calories in half an hour by jumping rope. That is close to the number of calories I burn while running at a fast pace on my elliptical trainer for half an hour. Running is slightly better for burning calories if you run fast enough. Biking really fast for half an hour would burn a similar amount of calories to jumping rope for half an hour.

I recommend jumping rope for 20 to 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. It is not something most people can do for long periods of time. If you can last longer than 40 minutes you may want to increase the intensity. For a better workout try to keep moving. When you stop jumping rope keep moving you feet until you start jumping again.

Muscles

Jumping rope is a great cardio exercise. It can improve your cardiovascular endurance and give you a full body workout. It uses most of your muscles so it can strengthen the upper and lower body as well as your core. Your legs do most of the work because they hold up your body weight but the exercise is enough to tone your upper body.

The muscles that you will notice most are your calves. If you exercise too much they will be sore the next day. You arms and shoulders will also get a good workout. Running, biking and jumping rope all work your abs. That is why I have good ab muscles without doing exercises that focus on my abs. However you probably will not notice that you are working your ab muscles.

Besides being good for improving your cardiovascular endurance and strengthening your muscles it can improve your coordination, agility and focus. You will get better results if you include other exercises like boxing or lifting weights.

My Experience

I wanted to see how effective jumping rope was for losing weight. So I started jumping rope on a regular basis and kept track of my progress.

The first day I experimented to see what method was the easiest for me. I did better when I jumped using both feet at the same time. There was a lot of starting and stopping because I was not very good at it. The rope kept hitting my feet or my head but it got a little easier near the end of the workout. The workout lasted close to 30 minutes. I was breathing hard and even though the house was cold I sweated a lot. It felt like I got a good full body workout. My arms and legs were a little sore. I noticed it most in my calves. The next day my calves were sore so I took a day off.

The second day I jumped rope I was a little better at it. So I was able to get more exercise. I was drenched in sweat by the time I was done. The next day my calves were sore so I took another day off. I continued to jump rope every other day for 30 minutes and each time I was a little better at it. My skill and endurance were improving and it felt like I was burning a lot of calories. The rope was moving fast enough that I could barely see it and it was almost like it was not there.

After the fourth day of jumping rope I was able to start doing it almost every day. Since my skill and endurance had significantly improved I spent more time jumping rope and the workout was more intense. I just exercised until my calf muscles started to hurt. The duration of the exercise decreased to under 20 minutes because the jump rope workouts became more intense.

Most of my progress happened in the last week when I was able to jump more frequently and burn more calories per workout session. Since it was holiday time I was not always able to exercise when I wanted to so I missed a few days.

Results

The circumference of my stomach was reduced by 1 3/8 inches in 15 days. My weight was reduced by nearly 3 pounds. I was going to do it for 14 days but it was holiday time. I consumed more calories than normal an I was not able to exercise as often as I wanted to. The results would have been better otherwise.

Man doing a jumping rope workout

Kim Strother Jumping Rope

Recommendations

Jumping rope is a good way to improve your endurance or get rid of fat. It is good for a short intense workout and is easier on your body than running. However it is not that good by itself. I recommend you mix it with other exercises that do not put a lot of stress on your calf muscles. While I was able to get good results with it I could have been exercising a lot more. You probably are not going to want to jump rope for more than 30 minutes 4 days a week. That leaves lots of time to do other exercises like lifting weights or doing boxing punches.

It is also a good way to break up the monotony. If you do a lot of running or other cardio workouts that can get boring you can mix it up by jumping rope instead. On days when you do do not want to go outside or you do not have time for a long workout you can do a quick jump rope workout for 20 minutes.

Jumping rope is not for everyone. It is not a low impact exercise. You may want to start with walking, biking, swimming or boxing punches first.

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