The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults do 30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise to elevate the heart rate, attain cardiovascular health, build endurance and burn calories. Jumping rope qualifies as vigorous aerobic exercise, but you may need to increase your workout time to lose weight. It takes practice to build the strength, fitness and coordination for sustained rope jumping. In addition, take precautions to keep your joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons safe during this prolonged high-impact workout. With proper form and speed, you will lose weight quickly and tone your leg and arm muscles.
Step 1
Wear shoes that absorb shock. Gel inserts, padding and good ankle support protect you from sustaining injuries during a jump rope workout.
Step 2
Warm up for 10 minutes or longer before jumping rope. March or jog in place, do knee lifts or step side to side. Pump and rotate your arms to warm up your upper body. Do ankle, knee and pelvic rotations to lubricate your joints.
Step 3
Practice basic jumps. Beginners often do two-foot landings and progress to more complicated moves such as skipping, hopping, turning and doing jumping jacks while turning the rope.
Step 4
Sustain your jumping time. Jump up to 10 minutes at a stretch and work your way up to sustaining the workout for 30 to 60 minutes. A challenging jump rope workout burns between 730 and 1,090 calories per hour, depending upon your weight. Do this workout five days per week and you'll lose about 1 pound every week.
Step 5
Maintain a challenging pace. According to the Jump Rope Institute, adults should aim to jump two rotations per second, or 120 per minute. This level of exercise spikes your heart rate so you burn calories quickly.
Step 6
Move between jumping sessions. Recovering for up to one minute between 10-minute jumping sessions does not mean you stop moving. Instead, march in place, jog, do a set of squats or do pushups.
Step 7
Cool down for a few minutes by stepping side to side. Do joint rotations and light stretches as you regulate your breathing.
Tips and Warnings
- Diversify your jump rope workout by making it part of a circuit training regimen. Intersperse it with other high-intensity activities such as calisthenics, weight-lifting and running.
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