Most People Have Never Attempted a Jump Rope Workout.

When was the last time you jumped rope? For most people the answer would be back in Elementary School or possibly Junior High. It’s actually too bad, because it is a very efficient form of exercise. Most people could easily walk for 15 minutes, but I would bet less than 1 percent of adults could jump rope for 15 minutes straight. Very few people, besides boxers, have ever seriously used the jump rope to achieve top condition.

What Muscle Groups are Worked?

Jumping rope will seriously work every muscle in the body. I’m convinced that it will expose your weak links. Honestly, I think my entire body was sore. I was especially sore in my calf muscles as well as my abs. As a side note I will say that jumping rope will help you in your quest to get super-ripped abs. Your core really gets worked hard since you have to use your abs to stabilize your entire body to help you propel your body through the air.

How Jumping Rope Helps Your Body Release Fat Burning Hormones.

HGH is a natural hormone that your body releases to burn body fat. You have probably seen many ads for pills that will help increase your natural levels of HGH. This was really popular about 5 years ago, but you don’t hear too much about HGH anymore. A high level of HGH in your body is the quickest route to burning body fat! Unfortunately, low intensity cardio won’t help your body release HGH. The best way to increase HGH is performing high intensity cardio for 30-60 seconds or so, followed by a minute or two of walking or low intensity cardio. This is called High Intensity Interval Training.

What Type To Purchase?

I recommend getting a “speed rope”… these run around $15 at most sporting good stores. They are plastic ropes without the beads. You also don’t want to buy the weighted ropes. Get a jump rope that is adjustable. You are going to want to adjust the rope to an optimum level to jump quickly without hitting your head. If it is too long, you won’t be able to jump at a fast rate.

How To Adjust to the Correct Height:

• Set your rope on the ground
• Stand on the midpoint of the rope (an equal distance between the handles)
• Grab the handles and pull them up to your chest while standing on the rope
• If the top of the handles reach above your collar bone the rope is too long
• If the top of the handles reach your upper abs or lower, the rope is too short
• I like to adjust the rope so the handles hit about 6 inches below my collar bone
• If in doubt, go a bit too long and shorten the rope a bit as you get more experienced

Your First Two Weeks of the Program, Take Time to Learn the Skill

Most beginners “double bounce” in between rotations. This actually allows them to rest their core a bit as well as their calf muscles in between rotations and means that they have a low level of core fitness. You will want to jump cleanly in between each rotation and keep the abs and core tight.

Your arms should barely move when you jump rope. The rotation of the rope should come from wrist movement. If you want to increase the speed of the rotations, simply increase the tightness of the circles that your wrist is making (this will make more sense when you start jumping rope). The goal of your first two weeks of jumping rope is to eventually work up to a point where you can jump rope for 5 minutes solid without having to stop and start again. This means that if you have to stop because the rope hits your feet, you have to start again from zero. You also want to be able to jump rope alternating feet, so it looks like you are running.

A Great 15 Minute Workout that You Can Customize to Your Liking

• Stand in front of a clock or timer of some sort
• Jump Rope for 3 minutes to warm up
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Jump rope as quickly as possible for 60 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Jump Rope as quickly as possible for 60 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Repeat this alternating pattern for 15-20 minutes

Note: For the 60 second sprint, you can do it in running fashion, you can learn how to rotate the rope twice for every one jump, etc. As you get more advanced, you will be able to make the 60 second sprint extremely intense. Also, if you want to take advantage of the fast heart rate and burn even more body fat, hit a treadmill or exercise bike for 20-30 minutes after your jump rope workout. Oh yeah… you might need a towel… you should be sweating like crazy!

Hit this routine hard and you will begin to see definition over your entire body!