Jumping Rope as an Exercise – Jumping your Way to Better Health

Exercise is the best way to staying fit and if you’re looking for a simple exercise that could make you fit and have that ideal body weight and shape, then why not take out a jumping rope and jump the rope your way to achieving such goal.

Why jumping rope?

Jumping rope is the simplest way to burn 135 calories in just ten minutes.  Marty Winler, the creator of Ropesport workout DVD tells everyone that a jump rope workout is best in sculpturing shoulders, arms, legs, and chest. Jump rope workout is being offered in health and fitness camps and gyms as high-impact activity and bone builder. Jump rope workout includes jumping, running and swinging the hands. It helps in strengthening the calves, thighs, back and abs.

Clear benefits of jumping rope workout

1. As calorie burner

A moderate round of jumping rope burns 10 to 16 calories, which only a few exercises can do. A ten-minute jumping rope rounds and it will help you burn 480 calories in half an hour. A daily 10 minutes is equivalent to running an 8-minute -mile. Since, it is a real calorie burner activity; it is recommended by the American heart Association and even tagged as a recommended workout for heart patients as jump rope for the heart.

2. Builds agility and quickness

Wonder why boxers do jumping rope on their workouts? It’s for agility and quickness. Skipping rope every day “lightens the feet and keeps balance. The exercise trainers explain that the body connects with the mind and neural muscular adjustments happen when the mind is focused on your feet for a sustained period. This is why boxers do jumping rope for quick foot works.

3. Good for the brain

Exercises that involve coordination, rhythm, and strategy is said to be good for the brain, and jumping rope is one that has physical and mental challenge, making it as a good exercise that benefits the body as well as the brain.

4. Increase bone density

Unlike running that is hard on joints because the impact is absorbed by both legs, jumping rope has medium impact and therefore helps increase bone density. A recent study showed that elderly doing medium impact jumping rope had showed improvements in bone density and therefore it is recommended as elderly daily medium impact exercise.

5. Very affordable

You don’t need fancy fitness machines and gadgets as a simple jumping rope is what you need to achieve your fitness goal. You don’t even have to buy expensive fitness shoes as jumping rope with bare feet works best, too. You can do it at home or where there is enough space for jumping rope.

6.  Very simple instructions

Anyone can do it and jumping rope workout involves simple instructions like jumping with two feet, jumping forward and back and the running jumping rope. Some workouts include hand swinging with 8-figure hand and arm swinging. You can do it alone or share the fun with other jumping rope enthusiasts. It is also easy to create your own style or adopt a style such as Speed jumping, Double Dutch, Chinese wheel jumping and free style jumping rope. Besides being with simple instructions, it is portable and you can bring your “rope” anywhere and do your routine even when on-the-go.

Exercise is very important in keeping the body fit and at ideal weight. It helps lower risks of some diseases.  However, some forms of exercise demand time, effort and space in order to do them. If you’re looking for an exercise that doesn’t demand much of your time, effort, and space, jumping rope is what you’re looking for.