Jump rope for cardio

[Mex]

I went and picked up a jump rope tonight which I plan to use in mornings for cardio. I was doing a brisk walk/light jog, but now the weather is just too bad that it is more of a pain than anything. At least I can jump rope in my house and not have to worry about that crap.

Does anybody else do this? If so, how do you bring the intensity down to equal that of say a light jog. Just take breaks every minute or so? Thanks.

 

[GoodButNotGreat]

different types of jumping..you can do the regular jump rope jump, or jump side to side, try jumping with just your left foot..then just your right foot, then when you get advanced you can do two full loops per jump etc

 

[AAAgent]

You can try the weighted jump ropes with weights in the handles. Increasing wrist and shoulder strength/endurance. Try to get good enough that you can finish multiple songs without breaking motion. Also be able to switch jumping styles instantly during jumping.

double foot jump
single foot alternating jumps
single foot alternating skipping jumps
single foot (right)
single foot (left)

It took me about 2 weeks of constant repetitions to be able to get the hang of it. now i can go past 200 consecutive jumps easily without tripping.

 

[Mex]

Thanks GBNG and AAAgent. I have to get a new jump rope. I picked up one at Wal Mart and the thing is a huge PoS. Too short, since they only had kids ropes, and the handles fall off after about 50 revolutions. So I guess I will spend a few more $$ and get something quality.

What kind is best kind...rubber speed rope? leather boxer's rope? beaded? olympic style? Thanks!

 

[AAAgent]

I'm not too up to date. When i used to have a boxing trainer he got me a weight leather jump rope.

He made me soak the entire rope in oil then let it sit and dry to make the rope heavier. I used to train with that, it was a b1tch and then i screwed it up when i accidentally soaked the whole thing in oil.

I would go with leather jump ropes or the wire(not sure of the name) ropes. They move the fastest and make the swoosh noises. The whole point is to get in repetitions and get a good rhythm going and the faster and easier the rope is to maneuver the better. my 2cents.

 

[Pimp-sicle]

What's your desired goal with the cardio? Is it just to increase stamina? Or is it weight/fat loss?

If your goal is weight loss, a "light jog" won't do jack. Your better off doing HIIT, high intensity interval training, which will elevate you to max heart rate in short bursts to get the fat burning process going. I see so many people in the gym, around town, walking for their exercise and assuming the majority of them are looking to lose weight, they're just wasting their time.

Jumping rope is a great way to do cardio and as another poster mentioned, weighted jump rope is excellent. Make sure to keep the pace up.



PIMP

 

[Mex]

My goal is certainly not weight loss, although I could definitely bear to shed some body fat. My main focus is strength training, and cardio on off days for heart health and stamina. Intense cardio is a problem for me anyway since I have asthma. However, I can somewhat control it by doing intervals, but prolonged periods of short breath are not good news for me so it is really hard to increase my stamina.

I like the idea of jump rope for a few reasons, First it looks more fun than just plain jogging since you can mix up the moves and throw in some tricks. Second, I can do it in my home so no need to worry about crappy weather and the like. Plus, controlled temperature is better for my breathing, dry cold air triggers my asthma quite fast.

 

[powpow]

jump rope for cardio is the ****. we do this every training session at my mma gym.

its been found that the best thing to do is to vary the speed at which you jump. like normal for 30 seconds and then full blast for 15, then revert to normal. do it til you cant stand to do it anymore and youll be ripped stat.

 

[Mex]

I went to the sports store and grabbed an adjustable speed rope last night for $13. I used it this morning and it is pretty sweet. It can get going pretty fast, and the ball bearings in the handles make the revolutions very smooth. It does not take much to get the heart rate going with one of these. I am not very good at it yet, but I am looking forward to getting better and doing some tricks with it.

 

[stevedav]

well you are doing such a nice work to maintain your body fit and healthy , by reducing your weight...

 

[Mex]

I've been jumping rope 2x a week consistently over the past month or so, and it's taken me that long to jump 200 times without tripping up...I don't focus on the tricks...doing tricks won't help me burn fat any quicker...I just focus on doing 200 reps, even if I trip up...200 reps, rest for 2 minutes or so, then 200 reps again...I do 200 reps 5 times, with 2 minutes or so rest in between sets.

Yeah, you really need to have good coordination and be able to find a rhythm. My best is about 50 reps before a trip, and average of about 20-30 I would say before a trip. I imagine this will go up pretty fast as I get used to it though.

Right now I do 5 sets of 50 reps with 30-60 second break between (longer breaks in the later sets). Each week I plan to increase reps by 10 for each set. I might increase the rest time between sets as needed as well. 5 sets of 200 must really get the heart rate going.

 

[Mex]

Just wanted to update here. The jump rope sessions are working great for me. The intensity has improved my breathing, eh==which is great since I have athsma. In fact, I am having athsma issues less after I started doing jump rope.

On a related note, I also started playing some pick up basket ball last week after work outs. I play for about 30 minutes and my stamina is much better than it used to be the last time I played.

I still kind of suck at jump rope, I usually do 30-40 reps consecutively before tripping up, but I am improving very slowly.