Although you may think of jumping rope as a child's activity, its ability to increase heart rate and breathing rate make it an effective form of cardio exercise for adults. It also incorporates most of the major muscle groups, including legs, arms, glutes, abs and shoulders, increasing whole-body endurance. The advantages of jumping rope as a form of cardio include its high calorie-burning efficiency, portability and its ability to fit into a resistance-training program.
Calories Burned
Jumping rope is an effective calorie burner: 10 minutes of jumping rope at a fast pace burns about 136 calories in a 150-pound individual, which is somewhat equivalent to running at an 8 1/2-minute-per-mile pace for 10 minutes. Even jumping rope at an easy pace will burn nearly 100 calories in 10 minutes. Since easy jumping still can be difficult to maintain for 10 straight minutes, you should start by interspersing 30-second jumping bouts with 15-second recoveries. As you gain fitness, you can increase the duration of jumping bouts and reduce the recovery periods, or increase the intensity of the jumping to add high-intensity intervals to your workout.
Portability
Jumping rope is also a cheap, space-efficient and convenient form of cardio. You can purchase a basic jump rope for about $10, and you only need 5 to 7 feet of space around you. Additionally, you can take your jump rope outdoors in pleasant weather, inside during inclement weather and it easily fits into a suitcase when you travel. Jumping rope appeals to children, so it can be a way to exercise with your kids.
Combined Cardio and Resistance Training
Jumping rope is useful if you want to incorporate cardio into your resistance-training workouts, rather than rushing to a treadmill or other piece of cardio equipment between weightlifting sets. Alternating short, intense bouts of cardio with resistance training will help you burn calories and increase muscular endurance. A sample workout would be to jump for 30 seconds, then immediately perform 10 squats, 10 pushups and 10 abdominal crunches. Repeat this cycle until you have worked for 20 minutes. You can boost the intensity of the workout by increasing jump rope duration and/or the number of repetitions for each resistance exercise.
Considerations
Jumping rope is an effective but intense form of cardio; therefore, you should warm up with about five minutes of walking or marching in place if space is limited. Jumping rope is also a high-impact exercise. You should jump on smooth, moderately firm surfaces such as a rubberized gym mat or track whenever possible and wear athletic shoes with plenty of cushioning and support. If you are new to jumping rope, you should start easy with a few minutes per day and take breaks as needed.
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