Rapid Fire Reasons To Utilize The Jump Rope
There’s an entirely incorrect misconception about jumping rope these days, so it’s important to not get caught up in the noise. To many, jump roping exists for those that can’t run or lift. However, that’s incredibly unfair to the cardio machine and those who write it off without giving it an honest try are ultimately missing out. On the other hand, if you’re here to accept jump roping into your daily exercise routine, take a look at these rapid fire tips for the jump roping benefits. CoachUp coaches are huge fans of jumping rope because they understand the immense positives that it involves — check out their favorites below!
High Calorie-Burner
Skipping is a high-intensity activity and is at the top of the list for calorie burning. One huge misconception about calorie burning is that you can only do it while on the move, but that’s hardly the case. Jumping rope targets many of those key endurance muscles as getting yourself off the ground over and over immediately starts to take its toll. Research shows that high-intensity activities also have a higher ‘after-burn effect’ compared to jogging or long-slow distance training.
Agility + Balance
Skipping forces you to land on the toes and use untapped power in the calves and the combined power of your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core to consistently explode off the ground. It teaches you to stay on your toes and keep your muscles ready for action at any moment. This increases your chances of pivoting on a good, strong foot with most of your weight on the toes. This, in addition, will also decrease stress on your knees during twisting and agility actions.
Stamina + Endurance
Yep, and you don’t need hours of training to get it! With skipping, a little goes a long way. Just a few minutes of jumping rope done on a consistent basis improves stamina in the forearms, shoulders, and leg muscles. And with the right interval training, it will build stamina at top speeds as well. So the next time you’re burning out late in games, but don’t have time in your busy schedule to go on a ten-mile run, grab a rope and start jumping.
Time-Saving
It takes less training time to jump rope than it does to run, cycle, or do any other cardiovascular activity for the same benefits. Since jump roping requires greater technique and incorporates more muscles than a simple run, it can require a greater expenditure of energy. Only have a 10-minute window? Running or cycling will provide very little, if any, benefits whereas skipping will provide a fantastic workout!
Posture
For swimmers, cyclists, and other athletes who may feel skipping is not sport-specific, it’s still recommended because it’s extremely beneficial for your posture and an excellent way to cross-train. Much of the impact of skipping is taken through the leg muscles. The erect posture and long spine forces the abdominal muscles to hold the midsection tight and work in perfect coordination with the back to form the same type of internal pressure as a weight belt.
Quickness by Being Relaxed
Quickness comes from keeping extremities relaxed while utilizing an erect spine with the abdominals drawn in. Of course, jumping rope reinforces this pattern in your body. The more your trunk is held in an appropriate position with extremities relaxed, the quicker and more powerful the movements will become. So, in a nutshell, skipping teaches you to be fast while being relaxed.
Reinforces Good Form
Have you missed the game-winning goal or shot because you got tried and sloppy? Well, believe it or not, jumping rope will fix that. Skipping is barely possible with poor form or poor technique and the rope will consistently catch on your foot when you make mistakes. Ultimately, the only way you can succeed at jumping rope is by doing it the right way — there are no possible corners to cut! Appropriate skipping drills reinforce three basic movement patterns of the Functional Movement Screen — the squat, hurdle step, and lunge. Reinforcing proper movement patterns leads to greater efficiency and reduced risk of injury.
Asymmetry Corrections
Variations can be performed to work on left-right differences, which can’t be done in running. So, now, you’ve got a simple activities that helps you be efficient and agile with both sides of your body? And it doesn’t involve running? Sign me up!
Foot Speed, Foot Speed, Foot Speed
Athletes in sports such as football, boxing, soccer, rugby, baseball, boxing, martial arts, etc will improve greatly. Pretty much every sport requires an athlete to have quick footwork, so these foot-speed exercises are largely beneficial. Overall Speed is the main emphasis on skipping as it creates less jarring and pounding on the body than sprinting or conventional plyometrics. With rope work, movements are small and crisp while jumps are short and quick. Thanks to the fact that skipping creates less stress on the body and emphasizes speed, it’s one of the best choices for in-season and maintenance training.
Toughens The Body
At the end of the day, jumping rope is not comfortable. It is not natural and, for a while, it will push you to the absolute limit in no time. Jumping rope is wonderful because it challenges both the body and mind. You will get short of breath, your shoulders and arms will fatigue, legs will tire, and you’ll want to quit. But, you’ve got to stick it out! Suffer through and build your muscles to another level!
(Related: Read about how getting well-rested is essential for athletes here.)
Huddle Up
Finally, all this makes you stronger — and isn’t that the end goal at the end of the day? Skipping improves coordination, corrects movement patterns and posture, improves speed, agility, stamina, and quickness, while strengthening ligaments and tendons, making it a jack-of-all-trades exercise. And best of all? It only takes a few minutes every day! So even if you don’t have hours of time to put into your exercise and workout regiment, there’s always time to just a little rope! If you have more questions about jumping rope or need some guidance in creating your own, personal workout plan, consider booking one of CoachUp’s private trainers to help you out! Our team will help you dominate the track, field, court, or ice in no time. What are you waiting for?
