A Jump Rope Workout Routine That Melts Fat – No, There’s Nothing Girlie About Jumping Rope!
I can remember back in elementary school scouring the neighborhoods in an effort to find generous ones to pledge donations based off of how long I could jump rope during our school’s Jump Rope For Heart event. I honestly forget just how long we jumped, but it seems to me it was for about an hour. Can you imagine jumping rope for an hour – wow. The best part about that is that we didn’t even consider this a jump rope workout routine – no, we were just having fun.
Have you ever considered a rope with a handle on each end to be an incredible tool for a workout? Usually what comes to mind is a group of girls outside during recess singing & rhyming. In reality though, you can use this “girlie” toy to create an amazingly effective workout. Next time you plan on doing some HIIT or cardio, be a real man (or woman), pick up a jump rope and try this routine.
How To Jump Rope
I think it’s safe to say that most know how to jump rope, but here is a quick overview. If you are still unclear, watch the video below.
- Choose the right rope. Make sure the rope is not too light and measure it folded in half – it should reach from the ground almost to your arm pits.
- Hold the jump rope by each end but do not grip too tightly.
- With arms down, place the rope behind you at your heels.
- Using your wrist, propel the rope over your head and in front of you – when it’s getting close to your toes – jump 😉 Some will try to simply pick up their feet or bend their knees – this is not as effective as actually jumping.
The Calorie Killing Jump Rope Workout Routine
So you’re ready to step-up and try a real workout? Grab your jump rope and follow me. If you don’t have one of these in your arsenal, don’t worry, you can pick one up from almost any athletic store for a few dollars.
- Warmup – 3 minutes (easy pace) tired yet?
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Jump rope – 30 seconds (fast pace)
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Jump rope – 45 seconds (fast pace)
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Jump rope – 1 minute (fast pace)
- Repeat intervals – rest for 30 seconds / jump at a fast pace for 1 minute
- Repeat – 15-20 minutes
As you may know, I am a big fan of HIIT workouts followed by steady state cardio – that is why this is my favorite style of jump rope training. To get the maximum benefits of this workout, try hopping on a treadmill, elliptical or bike and cool down for 10-20 minutes at a light to medium pace to really burn off some fat.
If you are really wanting to get in shape and achieve a nice looking physique, incorporating this style of HIIT combined with steady state cardio along with a solid workout routine like Visual Impact Muscle Building or Visual Impact For Women is definitely the way to go.
Jump Rope Exercises & Tricks
There are many different exercises and “tricks” that can be done using a jump rope. Take for example the following jump rope exercises:
- Double jump – great for beginners
- Single jump – what I recommend for the above routine
- One legged jump
- Figure eights
- Slow jump
- Skip
I think that by just sticking to the basics (single jump & double if your a beginner) you can focus your energy on getting in a good workout and not impressing your friends. 😉
Jump Rope Calories – Total Killed?
According to the National Institutes of Health, jumping rope burns approximately 750 calories per hour. The faster you jump, the more calories you burn. So on average, jumping rope burns about 12.5 calories per minute. If your jump rope workout routine has a high intensity as the one mentioned above does, you can expect to burn approximately 20 calories per minute. That means that our total amount of calories burned for this routine ends up at about 1,000 calories – I’m subtracting 200 due to the 30 second rests periods and 3 minutes of warming up, just to be safe.
Benefits To Jumping Rope
In addition to the obvious cardiovascular benefits, jump rope workouts are good for your muscles too. The entire time your are jumping your core muscles are tight, keeping you straight and stable. No doubt, after your first few bouts with this routine your calves are going to be on fire and even your chest and shoulders will most-likely be sore. Really, this not so girlie workout (don’t call a boxer girlie) targets your whole body and the the jump rope benefits to your entire body are surprising.
Concluding The Jump Rope Cardio Workout
You can do almost any jump rope workout routine to see benefits. It doesn’t have to be this exact workout to burn calories and get the cardio benefits. The big takeaway from this should be that the jump rope, although maybe not considered as the most “manly” style of working out will really separate the kids from the adults. Unfortunately I think kids would usually out jump adults.
Another manly and womanly workout is one done on the treadmill. I’ve got an interval training workout for the treadmill outlined that will also burn some serious calories quick.
Jessie
June 12, 2014 @ 12:39 pm
Greetings. =)
I am currently overweight and want to lose at least 15 kilos. I’m 19, weighing 70kilograms and 5feet 5inches tall. Due to genetics have my daddy’s calves and thighs.
I have heard a lot of ‘rope jumpers’ talking about how great jump rope workouts are, and they NOW HAVE HAVE CALVES OF STEEL but it’s not that fun cause there’s TOO MUCH OF STEEL NOW. (These are all girls too by the way idk how it works for men)
I want to know if the workout prescribed above will further worsen the situation for me or does the added strength training bit it make it work differently?
If you think it is bad for someone like me, what other *HOME BASED* workout would you assign to a me.
(If possible PLEASE try recommending something that, along with NOT building leg muscles, will also actually shrink them.
NOTE: I don’t mean I want to look malnutritioned it’s just these bloody legs of mine, they’re too big for the rest of me and make me look fatter and shorter than I am. =(
Jessie
June 12, 2014 @ 12:45 pm
By the way I said added strength training in my previous comment cause I was thinking of trying your HIIT+strength training method, except substituting the HIIT with Jump Rope.
Do you think this is a good idea?