Jumping the rope - The Best Exercise to lose weight?

Remember those old days where you used to jump the rope for fun? Good times right. Jumping rope is not only a simple game, it is an extraordinary workout. So extraordinary that by the time you finish reading this you will be amazed. I can tell you from my own experience that jumping the rope is a very effective workout, so effective that you will not believe how fast you can lose weight, and at the same time you will get stronger and healthier. Jumping rope is one of the best exercises out there that will workout your whole body.

Is Jumping rope, the ultimate weight loss exercise?

You probably have heard of exercises like swimming and running. You probably thing that they are among the best exercises to lose weight. But there is one particular exercise that stands out from the rest, and that is jumping rope. Running can cause knee problems, especially if you are overweight, but that is not the case if you jump the rope. In contrast to running, jumping rope is unlikely to lead to knee damage since the impact of each jump or step is absorbed by both legs. Jumping rope also helps strengthen the arms and shoulders because of the motion used when you are jumping. Jumping rope is the cheapest fat burning exericse. It makes your legs stronger, your heart stronger and It tones your whole body! The fact is that boxers have been jumping the rope for a long time. No wonder why the are among the fittest people on earth. Boxing requieres the body to be in top shape

Aside from being one of the most amazing exercises ever. Jumping the rope not only helps you lose weight quickly, it also helps you in a variety of ways and it can be done just about everywhere. Jumping rope optimizes cardiovascular conditioning thus making you have a lower resting rate, which means that you have a big, strong, healthy heart. Some studies suggest that jumping rope can burn up to 1000 calories per hour! that's huge amount of calories.It also makes your larger upper and lower body muscles look nice and lean and is not hard to learn. With the economic recession now, people are not willing to spend a lot of money in fitness products. The good thing is that jump ropes are very inexpensive. A decent jump rope can cost anywhere between $5 - $10 dollars and you can take it anywhere you go. Other great benefits include the improvisation of your agility, posture, balance, reflexes and coordination.

So you might be thinking that this sounds too good to be true, after all jumping rope tones your whole body, burns tons of calories, is inexpensive, can be done alone or in groups, greatly improves cardiovascular condition and more. All of that can be achieved with one single exercise. Well, if you think it is "too good". Let me bring you to the back from your dream. It is not. You are wrong if you think that jumping rope is an easy and effective exercise. It is effective, but is not easy. To get all the benefits from this great cardiovascular exercise it is necessary that you actually do it. The reason why I said this is because once you try it, you will probably want to quit doing. Jumping rope can be pretty intense. You could get tire in just minutes if you are trying it for the first time. It can also make you feel frustrated if you continuously keep missing. I challenge everyone here who is a first time jumper, to jump for at least 30 seconds without stopping.

How is it done?

There are very different ways to jump the rope. From the basic two foot jump to a more complicated one like Criss-cross. I think it's pretty easy self explanatory how to jump the rope. But there are mistakes that you should avoid at all cost. People make the mistake of bending their knees because it is easier for them, but it is less beneficial, incorrect, and wil mess up your timing.

Some of the styles include (acording to wkipedia ) the following:

"Basic jump

This is where both feet are slightly apart and jump at the same time over the rope. Beginners should master this technique first before moving onto more advanced techniques.

Alternate foot jump (speed step)

This style consists of using alternate feet to jump off the ground. This technique can be used to effectively double the number of skips per minute as compared to the above technique.

Criss-cross

This method is similar to the basic jump with the only difference being that while jumping, the left hand goes to the right part of the body and vice versa for the right hand.

Double under

To perform a double under, the participant needs to jump up a bit higher than usual while swinging the rope twice under his feet. It is possible to have the rope swing three times under the feet (triple under). In fact, in competitive jump rope, triples, quadruples ("quads"), and quintuples ("quins") are not uncommon.

Combination jumps

There are many more difficult jump roping tricks that combine two or more of these techniques to make a single trick. These combinations can also be used in Chinese Wheel, Double Dutch, and Long Rope.

Toad

The toad is a complicated trick where the jumper performs the "Cross" manoeuvre with their leg intersecting the arms.

Other

Many other variations are possible, including: "skier", a side-to-side jump keeping the feet together; "bell", a front-and-back jump keeping the feet together; "scissors", a jump putting one foot forward and the other back, then switching back-and-forth; "jumping jack", a jump putting the feet apart and then together; and "can-can" a jump with one leg up and bent, followed by a jump with both feet on ground, followed by a jump kicking the foot out."

There's no best jump rope. Start out with any rope. Have your rope light-weight and/or adjustable. Once you get better, try some of the other types of ropes such as speed jump ropes. They weight more and can go faster than a normal ropes but be careful if you do something wrong it will hurt you. A speed rope swung very fast can sting. Start slowly and built your speed up.

Tips and recommendations

• Choose an open area to jump rope and be aware of who is around you to avoid whipping someone.
• Practice a lot
• Start out slow and built your speed up
  
• Try to do some tricks to keep you from getting bored
• Jump the rope using different styles and techniques
  

As you can see jumping rope is a really good exercise. In my experience, It takes time and effort to master some of the techniques above. When I first started jumping, I just did it for like thirty minutes the first day. It felt awkward because I could only jump for like twelve seconds straight. It was frustrating. The next day I felt so sore, as if the day before I had done a lot of strength training, specially in my arms, shoulders and calves but I continued to do it and now I can jump a solid two minutes. I was also able to lose sixteen pounds in one month by jumping the rope along with a healthy diet. My heart got stronger, my resting heart rate now is lower than before. Sometimes I find jumping rope more enjoyable than running, although running is also pretty adictive.

In conclusion, I highly recommend you to include jumping rope as part of your fitness program.

Check the video below!

The video below contains some of the different techniques. It can give you a pretty good idea on how many types of styles are out there.