The British Rope Skipping Association site says that MMA fighters, bodybuilders, and ballerinas all skip rope. Express.co.uk talks you through the benefits of skipping rope.
Why should I skip?
Cardio
Skipping is a form of cardio, which is great news for people who hate going for runs or cycles.
According to the British Rope Skipping Association, skipping helps the circulatory system to improve the delivery of blood to all parts of the body, carrying more oxygen and nutrients.
Cardiovascular exercise is also called aerobic exercise, and it includes anything where you repeatedly move large muscles in your arm, legs and hips.
During cardio, your heart rate increases and you breathe faster, increasing the amount of oxygen in your blood.
Skipping can help you to use oxygen more efficiently, and so can walking, cycling, swimming, and dancing.
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Joints and bone density
Skipping is much easier on your joints than some other forms of cardio.
This lowers the risk of injuring your knees or ankles, which you can easily do from running.
Additionally, low bone density and weak bones can be improved by skipping rope.
There isn’t enough research to show how long you’d have to skip for, the frequency or intensity, but it will help.
Jumping rope is safe for people with osteopenia too, and it may help increase hip bone mineral density.
Weight loss
Skipping burns a lot of calories, so adding a skipping session into your day will push you further towards a calorie deficit.
One hour of skipping with a rope will burn up to 1,600 calories, and this applies to anyone.
However, the daily recommended intake of calories for women is 2,000 and for men it is 2,500.
You will only lose weight if you balance skipping with a healthy diet and create a calorie deficit.
The average adult consumes about 200 to 300 more calories than they need every day, so cut back on the snacks if you are aiming to lose weight.
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Strength
Skipping isn’t all about weight loss, the activity makes you a lot stronger.
If you do 30 minutes of skipping a day, you will build strength and increase muscle tone.
Skipping is a great workout for your arms and legs – your quads, deltoids, and hamstring will start to look very toned.
Bodybuilders who wish to train their calf muscles often turn to skipping rope because it exercises this muscle group well and improves all the tendons and ligaments located there.
Mental workout
Skipping is a workout for your brain, as well as your muscles.
You need to concentrate to repeatedly jump to a rhythm and think about your position and balance.
The activity will improve your spatial awareness, reflexes and agility.
It’s great for your mental health because focusing on a pattern and rhythm is calming.
If you are a skipping newbie, try doing five to 10 rounds with 30 seconds on and three seconds on.
Stick to single under, which is the basic move you will naturally do – one rope rotation per jump.
If you consider yourself fairly fit, you will do fine in the intermediate category.
Do five to 10 rounds of one minute on and 30 seconds off. Stick to single unders.
If you are a fitness addict or an athlete, you should try something more advanced.
Do five to 10 rounds of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, but try doing double unders.
This is where you rotate the rope twice per jump, so it’s quite a tricky to get the hang of.
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