Jump Ropes – The Cheapest Equipment Offers the Most Benefits

You might not have guessed it, but besides being a lot of fun you can get a great workout just using your jump rope! You’ll be see that when you look at Jump Ropes – the cheapest equipment offers the most benefits.

Have a look at the benefits you can get from using a Jump Rope and decide for yourself how much value for money you can get out of this humble piece of personal exercise equipment:

• Rope skipping is a very effective component of a (dynamic) warm-up program. Five to 10 minutes of jumping rope will elevate your heart rate and breathing rate and increase your core temperature. Runners and other athletes can use a short jump rope segment prior to a training session or competition
• It will increase your cardiovascular fitness. This has a great general effect. By improving how your heart, arteries and veins work, you will not only have a greater ability to perform your daily tasks, but you will become less breathless during exercise as well.
• Using a Jumping Rope is a great way to improve your muscle tone and definition. And swinging a rope and jumping exercises both the lower and upper body. You can increase the effects of using a jumping rope by choosing between different types of rope (for example, braided, beaded, leather, speed etc.) and also by adding weights to your rope
• Rope skipping can be used is as a means to achieve weight loss. Jumping rope for 30 minutes will produce a caloric burn of approximately 300 calories which is comparable to running on a treadmill.
• You can use it if you want to increase your caloric expenditure while lifting weights. Passive rest breaks in between lifts can be substituted with strategically placed rope-jumping sessions. This can keep your heart rate up and promote more weight loss.
•  You probably know that it is a favoured training method for boxers. Reason behind this is because it allows you to improve your co-ordination, quicken up your feet movements and burn off fat all at the same time.

Other physical skills that can be improved with rope skipping include better balance, coordination, timing and agility.

Jump Ropes also offers great benefits for all kinds of sport specific training:

Since rope skipping puts a heavy emphasis on the calves, this activity can increase your vertical leap. This can be especially beneficial in sports such as basketball, football, baseball and volleyball

Jumping a rope requires contraction of your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are the fibers used to complete explosive, quick movements. According to Mark Roozen of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, this exercise is effective at improving agility, speed and feet quickness. The improved muscle explosiveness and power also can significantly improve running speed. A runner could incorporate bouts of jumping sessions into their weekly training regimen to become more efficient runners

Athletes who must change directions or get off the floor quickly, such as basketball players, can train with a jump rope to improve their athletic performance as it increases the efficiency of your neuromuscular system, allowing the communication between your brain and muscle tissue to improve. It also helps develop quicker contractions.

How To Start Training With A Jump Rope

A lot of adults, even if they are in pretty good shape, can get out of breath after just a few minutes exercising with a jump rope. Because of this it is often wise to start using it as part of an interval training program. For example, you might jump for two or three minutes, then walk for two or three minutes and then jump again, alternating activities in this fashion helps to get you back into the swing.

Be cautious at first and begin any jumping training slowly. Rope skipping will have an impact on the body (especially the hips, knees and ankles) and, although the impact is generally less than that experienced while jogging, it is still something you should be aware of.

As always you should not start an exercise program unless you are happy that you and your body is up to the challenge and, if in doubt, please go and consult your doctor for advice.

So, if you are looking for a simple piece of exercise equipment which is highly portable and can be used both indoors and outdoors, has loads of benefits and is lots of fun – you have found the perfect exercise equipment in the jump rope.