Hello all,

here's a short portion of my jump rope routine I do as part of my cardio training. I jump rope for about 1 hr (two 30-min sets) about 5-6 days a week. It is the most efficient, effective, and fun exercise I've tried. I hope you all enjoy it...thanks!

YouTube - Jump Rope

Very nice. Reminds me of the days i used to skip rope in the garage.

Never was able to master the double skip though...

Great rope!

Any advice you can give me?

Type of rope?
Lenght?, I'm six feet tall.
Instruction videos?
Books?
Drills?

I'd really appriciate it.
Thanks in advance.

PG

For a more intense workout I'd recommend a speed rope with pvc cord (and slim handles for comfort) in order to maximize spins. The one I use is a cheap speed rope ( Amazon.com: Valeo Neon Jump Rope: Sports & Outdoors ) I found at a sporting goods store for a couple of bucks. In my opinion cheaper ropes are as good if not better than the fancy ones with ball bearings and whatnot.

Rope length is crucial for a good workout because a proper length will allow for faster speeds and prevent the rope from dragging on the ground and catching your feet. A good way to determine length is to step on the middle of the rope with one foot then adjust the lenth of the rope such that the end of each handle touches your armpit.

Tips:
- Keep your elbows tucked in so that your wrists and not your arms are doing the work.
- Incorporate various footwork and tricks (sideswing, crossovers, double-unders, double-under crossovers, etc) not only to intensify the workout and improve hands-feet coordination, but to also lessen the monotony of the workout and make it fun.
- Jump on balls of your feet to lessen impact on knee joints so that your calves absorb the impact (great for toning calves)
- Use good cross-trainer shoes
- Don't jump on hard surfaces (I'm a bad example of this)

Buddy Lee has a great selection of training books and videos
Jump Ropes, Buddy Lee's Jump Rope Training.

Hope this helps!

I may have to try some jump roping myself!

Thanx for this gr8 post

I agree that this sort of satuff does seem to work... about 10 years I was in a boxing class, and he owner said "follow me.." so we went into the next room where there were a load of women doing aerobics - we joined in, and have never worked so hard in all our lives... so this sort of cardio looks excellent... I dont have a garage - shame!
shaun