Moderate intensity rope jumping about 100 to 120 skips per minute burns about 13 calories a minute, according to the “Compendium of Physical Activities”. And if you increase intensity you can burn up to 25 calories per minute. You can see the potential here. One could burn as many as 750 calories in less than 30 minutes. Therefore, it will be easier to lose 2 or 3 pounds per week if your diet is on point. This mode of exercise uses more muscle groups than jogging and challenges your balance, and coordination especially if you practice drills that require extra hand and foot skills. Strong legs and buttocks not only make you look proportionate but also improve your posture, make everyday tasks easier, and are a sign of good health.

Skipping is an invaluable whole body workout, which tightens those loose, wiggly bits particularly around your tummy, thighs and upper arms and will have those extra, unnecessary pounds and sweat, falling off you in no time. It’s a cheap piece of equipment and you can get a good workout in just about anywhere. Skipping is exercises that can help you prevent injury and increase your power, coordination, balance, agility, speed, quickness, explosiveness and burns more calories in comparison to running.

Humans burn about five calories to consume 1 liter of oxygen. This means that exercises that involve more muscles can increase the demand for oxygen, allowing you to expend more energy, burn more calories. Anyone who has swung a rope for more than 20 seconds knows that it’s a great way to elevate your heart rate and burn calories. Your muscles demand a constant flow of oxygen to enable consistent, purposeful movement as you jump. To keep up with this oxygen demand, you will feel your heart start to pound in your chest, whilst experiencing difficulty catching your breath, even after just 20 seconds of jumping rope! Skipping is truly invaluable for improving our cardiovascular health.

Jumping rope forces your brain to make new motor patterns and memories, improving the communication between the left and right parts of the brain. This enhances spatial awareness, improves reading skills, increases memory and makes you more mentally alert. Jumping rope is used for endurance training and conditioning, not just burning calories. So, practice progressive skipping to build your endurance level and condition your body slowly over the time. So, start small and then gradually increase your speed or the length of time.

Jump ropes are extremely portable, which makes them an excellent option when traveling. Don’t let an bad equipped workout room keep you from sticking with your workouts when you travel. If you bring a jump rope with you, even the most outfitted hotel fitness facility can provide you with the space for a good jump rope session.

If you have never jumped rope before these are some tips and advice.

• Don’t expect burn 500 calories in your first rope routine. Start slow.
• Don’t jump too high. Instead focus on rhythm and coordination. As you get better you will automatically be making small jumps.
• Studies show that skipping exercises put lesser pressure and are less shocking for the joints than running. It is a low-impact exercise when compared to running and therefore a better option. Heels shouldn’t touch the floor when jumping, step on the toes and the ball of the feet. This helps absorb shock and it’s easier to jump that way.

Ladies, prevent unnecessary tearing and sagging of your breast tissue by investing in a high-quality sports bra. I alternate between these two when planning to jump rope and highly recommend them because there is minimal bonce and are surprisingly comfortable.

Risk of jump rope injuries is low compared to other exercises. Constant jumping puts stress on the hip and knee joints. But it’s nothing to worry about. After all, exercises like jogging and sprinting put more stress on the knees than proper jump rope. In case you start feeling pain at any point you should immediately stop jumping. If the pain doesn’t go away see a doctor.