While you may think the jump rope as nothing more than an awesome toy you used to enjoy in the playground, they actually make a fantastic form of exercise, and you can burn lots of calories uses these quick exercises that can be finished in ten minutes when combined together.
Look to perform each type of jump for a minute each time, taking a short break in between each set. Total 10 minutes of jump roping using the various moves to burn of plenty of calories.
Jump Rope Basics
As it’s a while since most people have tried their hand at using a jump rope, here’s a quick refresher on the basics!
• Keep your jumps short, only a few inches from the ground, and only let the balls of your feet land on the ground.
• Avoid massive motions from your arms to turn the rope, instead keep your arms tucked in and your elbows close your sides – it’s all in the motion of the wrists and forearms!
• Find the right length of jump rope by standing on the rope in the middle and pulling it upwards by the hand grips – if they are higher than your armpits, then reduce in length!
Figure Eight
Hold both handles together in one hand and stand with your legs shoulder-width apart.
Place the rope in front of the body and make a figure of eight whilst swinging the rope to either side of the body. Move the rope from your right shoulder down to the left hip and then perform the same movement from the left shoulder to the right hip.
Whilst moving your arms to either side to perform the movement with the ropes, transfer the weight from right foot to the left.
Single Jump
The standard single jump is easy enough to perform. Pull the rope over your body and jump over it as it passes underneath, keeping both feet together and landing on the balls of your feet. One complete turn of the rope should only require one jump.
Front Back
Similar to the single jump, this is performed by turning the rope over the body; instead, you will jump in directions rather than just straight into the air.
After one turn of the rope, jump with the feet together, but move forward six inches as you do so. Perform another turn, this time jumping six inches backwards.
Repeat this process, alternating between forward and backwards jumps between each turn of the rope.
Salmon
For this jump, instead of landing central, forwards or backwards, jump 6 inches to the right. On the next turn of the rope, jump six inches to the left, and alternate for each turn.
Double Jump
Increase the height in which you jump for each turn of the rope, with the target of making two rotations of the rope before you land. It can take some getting used to, so if you struggle, practice more single jumps to get your technique more polished.
