When you can make 20 in a row look easy you have made it to the top of the double under mountain.

Troubleshooting: 4 common problems addressed

1. I have trouble controlling the rope.

Try using more wrist and less arms. Try adjusting your grip on the handles (i.e. move hands closer to the rope). Try extending your arms out further from your body. Try a rope made out of a different material. Experiment with different rope lengths.

2. The rope keeps hitting the front of my toes when I try to jump.

Try raising your knees higher when you jump until you get better control of the rope speed. If the cord doesn’t touch the floor, the rope is too short and if it hits the ground in front of ones feet, the rope is too long.

From heart patients to kids, a jump rope is bound to bring fun, excitement and exercise to all its users.

Jump rope or skipping is most commonly remembered as a childhood playground game. It is also associated with wrestling and boxing training.

Jumping rope is an effective and challenging cardiovascular activity.

Benefits of jumping rope include:

-Raises the heart rate (HR) very quickly. Skipping makes a great warm up.

-Jumping rope burns 800+ calories an hour and is considered vigorous cardio activity.

-Ten minutes of continuous jumping is equal to running an 8 minute mile. This is quite good as is 7.5 MPH.

-Strengthens the upper body, particularly arms and shoulders.

-Improves co-ordination

-Jumping two feet at a time puts less stress on the knees than running.

Disadvantages to Jumping Rope

-It’s hard! You will need to take breaks every few minutes. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing that skipping is a challenge but it’s best to be prepared to feel winded and tired. Everybody gets that way, it’s not just you!

-Jumping rope is best outside in a park or at the beach. If you live in an apartment or other shared space, then jumping over your neighbours might not be appreciated. Also, many people feel uncomfortable jumping in their gym on the aerobic floor.

-Individuals with bad knee joints and hips may want to avoid too much jump rope. The impact is quite hard. If you have knee problems always jump with two feet together.

Getting Started

Ideally it’s best to purchase a thick rope with a bit of weight to it, intended for exercise. The colourful ones you can buy at the dollar store are too light and it’s really hard to gain speed and momentum.

To use a jump rope, make sure the rope is the right size. If you step on the rope in its centre, you should be able to bring the handles up, under your armpits. If it’s too long, just shorten the rope by wrapping it evenly around your wrists.

The proper technique for jumping is having your arms fixed (not making giant circles in the air)while your wrists make tiny circles. All of the power and movement comes from the wrists. Your upper body should be upright and your core tight.

Start a skipping workout by warming up for 2-5 minutes jumping with both feet together.

From there use any of these techniques:

-Jump forward

-Jump backward

crossfit jump ropes

double under jump rope

Like many classics, jumping rope for fitness is often dismissed or forgotten. However, it remains a fantastic way to lose fat, increase cardiovascular conditioning, and improve athletic foot speed and reaction time.

Jump ropes are cheap, portable, and take up almost no room to store or use. I’ve had a lot of success with jump ropes as training tools for both my clients and myself. Here are a few workouts I’ve put together for you to try.

Workout Number One: “Mixed Steps”

You’re going to use four different steps here. The first is just the classic two-footed jump. This is what most people think of when they imagine jumping rope. Jump with both feet together over the rope as it passes.

Step number two is a “double under”. The Double Under just like a normal jump except you pass the rope under your feet twice with every jump. It’ll require a little more jump and faster hands.

Step three is the jogging jump rope. This requires a little bit of space, like a long hallway or an open room. You’re going to jog forward while jumping rope. I know, that sounds like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time, but it’s not as hard as it sounds once you get the rhythm. I actually have some clients that find it easier than the normal jump.

Step four is the one-legged hop. It’s just like a normal jump but hold one leg up in the air so it never comes in contact with the ground.

Ok, here’s your workout:

10 Normal Jumps

10 Double Unders

20 Jogging Jump Steps

10 One-legged Hops on Each side.

That workout is scalable to your ability, too. If you’re a beginner than drop it down to 5 steps each, and if you’re advanced then the sky is the limit!

Workout Number Two: “Fight Round”

Ok, this is a timed workout based on a boxing or mixed martial art fight. You’re combining jumping rope with three fight-simulating movements. Repeat this sequence as many times as possible in three minutes, rest one minute, and repeat until you’ve done 3-5 rounds.

15 Normal Jumps

10 Punches from the Guard Position for each arm*

15 Normal Jumps

10 Hindu Push-ups

15 Normal Jumps

10 Thai Knees with each leg**

*Punches from the Guard Position: You’re simulating punching from the jiu-jitsu guard position. Lie on your back and elevate your knees. Cross your feet and hold them up at about 45 degrees. Imagine that you’re holding an opponent between your thighs. The more wild your movements the more inefficient your technique. For example, an airplane propeller does not move from one fixed point to another in a circular motion to achieve maximum rotational velocity. The propeller is rotating from a fixed point on the wing or nose of the plane. Much like the plane your wrist becomes that relatively fixed point which will produce the rotational speeds you are looking for to execute the double-under or single-under properly.

Your jump has to be coordinated with, at a minimum, two factors - rope length and rope speed.