By Amanda Mansoorbakht

 We all want that sexy summer body in the winter time. So what’s the simplest way to get it? Two words: JUMP ROPE!

Did you know that a short jump rope routine for only a few minutes a day can strengthen your core and activate your glute muscles? Not only is it great for achieving that toned body, Jump rope is a multifaceted exercise that can even improve brain function, combat worry, and enhance a positive mood!  Before you add a nifty jump rope to your cart and get started on your wellness journey, let’s discuss 6 common jump rope mistakes and how to avoid them during your workout to reap maximum benefits and efficiency!

Mistake #1: You’re jumping up too high.

Jumping higher doesn’t necessarily mean jumping better. Jumping too high leads to slower jumping speeds which totally defeats the purpose of accelerating your heart rate with a jump rope session. Start by jumping only a few inches upward and by consciously engaging your core. From here, you’ll be able to secure more jumps in per minute to maximize performance.

Mistake #2: You jump rope with your arms too wide out.  

Though skipping rope is a full-body workout, a lot of your jump roping power comes from your core and your lower body including your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. If you rely on moving the rope mostly with your arms, it can slow you down big time. For example, imagine a sprinter gliding through the track on a 100m dash. What does their body look like? Are they running with their arms wide? No, they’re not. They’re sprinting with their arms tucked in to their body in almost a glued like fashion. You must use your arms when jump roping, but instead of keeping them at a wide distance, tuck them in tightly. Like my old track coach used to say “never forget to pump the arms!”

Mistake #3 Your jump rope kinda maims you.

One of the worst things you can do is invest in a jump rope that physically hurts you. Ouch! The first time I started jumping rope I used a rope that would pinch my toes and ankles every time I would miss a skip. Remember, you always want to use a jump rope that’s gentle enough you can do it barefoot without wailing. Anything less than pain-free is a big no-no.

Mistake #4 Your jump rope isn’t properly tailored to your size.

A too long jump rope may make garage workout sessions impossible and a too short jump rope may cause the cable to keep hitting your feet. That’s why finding the right jump rope for your body type should be at the top of your checklist before purchasing a rope. By adding three feet to your height, you can get a rope that is a functional length. Don’t forget that thinner cables are generally better for speed (but not too thin!), while thicker cables are great for durability.

Mistake #5 You forgot to wear a sports bra. 

Though jump roping for exercise is typically associated with heavy-hitting boxers, researchers at Temple University concluded that women who jumped rope for five minutes a day, over a four-week period, had lower pulse rates, increased oxygen uptake and a 25 percent improvement in physical work capacity. In a sense, jump rope is very similar to running and I’m pretty sure you’d never go for a 45 minute jog without a supportive sports bra. Wear a sports bra during your jump rope session to tame the bounce. Your girls will thank you later.

Mistake #6 You are not making jump rope a consistent habit.

We are an accumulation of our habits and daily actions. After jump roping for the first time, it’s easy to give up. “I suck at this,” you might say. “I should just move on and find something that comes naturally to me,” you might think. In reality, this limiting mentality is only holding you back from true greatness! In any physical endeavor, consistency is key; especially at the beginning. Don’t commit to jump roping once or twice a month and expect any results. The moment you open your jump rope, you should have the mentality of a committed athlete. Having a determined mindset will seep into other aspects of your life, too. Watch your relationships and professional career flourish with the right attitude.

Now that you’re more than prepared to tackle jump rope’s obstacles, I want to recommend my personal favorite, the Fresh Fire smart jump rope. Loaded with advanced features like a built-in timer and jump calculator, the Fresh Fire smart jump rope is a perfect tool to enhance every workout you complete. Whether you’re committed to strenuous jump roping or want to use it as a cool-down tool, the Fresh Fire rope is an action-packed gym bag essential. They come in the cutest shades of pink or white! Get yours today. 

Reference

Baker J.A. (1968). Comparison of Rope Skipping and Jogging as Methods of Improving Cardiovascular Efficiency of College Men. Research Quarterly. American Association For Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Vol. 39(2).

By Michael Sapko 

We all know that jumping rope is an excellent aerobic and cardiovascular exercise, but what you may not know is that the movements of jumping rope exert a number of effects on the central nervous system. We will review the neuroscience of jumping rope, and discuss how jumping rope improves proprioception¹, balance and coordination², attention³, cognition⁴, and well-being.⁵

Jumping rope improves proprioception

Proprioception is the medical term for the ability to correctly sense body position. If you have ever witnessed a wide receiver make a seemingly impossible catch in the corner of the endzone, you have seem some highly developed proprioception at work. Most of us develop a reasonable degree of proprioception early in life, but athletes strive to increase this neurological ability to be more competitive.

Jumping rope, it turns out, is a great way to increase proprioception. Researchers conducted a study in which volleyball players, a portion underwent 12 weeks of jump rope exercises and another portion did not. The volleyball players who jumped rope showed significant increases in motor coordination, strength, endurance, and proprioception including joint repositioning and coordination.¹

Jumping rope improves balance and coordination

Since jumping rope improves proprioception, it is not surprising that jump rope exercises also improve balance and coordination. Consider a gymnast who is competing on a balance beam—it is critical for her to know the precise location of her joints, limbs, and body in space. But jump rope exercises also improve balance and coordination directly.

Researchers showed that young soccer players who underwent a short program on jump rope training performed significantly better on the Harre circuit test and Lower Quarter Y balance test after training than young soccer players who simply performed soccer drills.² The Harre circuit test is a specific to measure general coordination⁶, while the Lower Quarter Y balance test assesses balance in each leg individually.⁷ Better balance on this test is associated with a lower risk of injury and greater soccer performance.⁷

Jumping rope improves attention

The typical first-line treatments for kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is a stimulant medication. Stimulants increase the amounts of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin released in the brain. While effective, stimulants are associated with certain adverse events.

Ideally, scientists could identify non-stimulant treatments for people with attentional problems. Recent research suggests that rope jumping enhanced neurotransmitter activity of nerve cells involved in attention, but also allowed study participants to sustain their attention better than study participants who did not undergo the rope-jumping exercises.³ Testing included measures of selective attention and cognitive flexibility (e.g., the Stroop test⁸).

Jumping rope improves cognition

Cognition is a scientific term that essentially describes all forms on conscious thought. Cognition can be thought of as the brain processes that take place to learn, remember, and apply knowledge. Perhaps it is easier to understand cognition by considering diseases in which cognition is impaired, for example, in Alzheimer’s dementia. People with Alzheimer’s dementia have difficulty forming new memories, recalling recent memories, and performing tasks of daily living.

While various forms of exercise can help improve cognition⁹, we now know that jumping rope improves cognition as well. Researchers randomly assigned a group of children to participate in either jump rope exercise or a reading control group. After 12 weeks, the children who jumped rope had better “cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, flexibility, and power.”⁴ However they also performed better on the Tower of London task, indicating that the rope-jumpers had executive function, move planning, and solving abilities. In short, jumping rope improved their cognitive capacity.

Jumping rope improves well-being

Well-being is a state of contentment and happiness that can only really exist in people who have a certain degree of physical, mental, and emotional health. Well-being can be difficult to come by for people with chronic diseases. For example, children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis decreased muscle strength, poorer bone health and lower well-being than healthy kids their own age. While people with chronic illnesses would rather be rid of their disease, in many cases, these diseases have no cure. Thus, improving well-being becomes the primary goal.

It can be difficult to describe well-being, but people can accurately report when they are experiencing high or low levels of well-being. Researchers conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial in which they measured muscle strength, physical fitness, and well-being in a group of children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Half the group was randomly assigned to participate in a 12-week exercise program including jumping rope while the other half did not participate in formal exercise and served as the control group. The researchers found that jumping rope increased strength in the muscles that extend the leg at the hip and knee joints.⁵ Both groups experienced pain, but jumping rope did not increase pain in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. While not statistically significant, jumping rope tended to improve patients’ well-being.

Reaping the benefits of jumping rope

There are four factors in achieving the central nervous system benefits of jumping rope:

1. Start slowly. If you are currently sedentary, jumping rope can be challenging. Start by getting the feel of the rope, the movements, and the tempo. Believe it or not, a great deal of proprioception is being developed in the early days of jumping rope.
2. Know your limits. While pushing yourself is the key to increasing your physical fitness, pushing too hard is not healthy. Always ask your doctor if it is safe for you to start a new exercise routine like jumping rope. It takes time to develop balance and coordination, so stay safe and never risk your own safety.
3. Vary your routine. Proprioception, balance, and coordination develop by putting the body through different positions dynamically. In other words, (when you are safely able) try changing the way you use your jump rope. Switch between legs, vary the speed, or move the rope in a crossing fashion. These are advanced jump rope techniques, to be sure, by pay off when trying to enhance your central nervous system. They can also be a workout for your attention and cognition centers in the brain.
4. Keep track of your results. Nothing helps with motivation and well-being like seeing results. Track your own well-being with a psychometric instrument that scientists use—the WHO-5 Well-Being Index is fast and reliable.¹⁰ It is only 5 questions and can provide a score before you start your jump rope training, after you have mastered the basics, and each time you change up your jump rope routine. You can also keep track of your progress by using a smart jump rope like the FRESH FIRE Smart Jump Rope. This smart jump rope counts your jumps, tracks your time spent jumping rope, gamifies the exercise, and coordinates with a smartphone application that allows you to track your ongoing progress.

Author's Bio

References

1. Ozer D, Duzgun I, Baltaci G, Karacan S, Colakoglu F. The effects of rope or weighted rope jump training on strength, coordination and proprioception in adolescent female volleyball players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2011;51(2):211-219.
2. Trecroci A, Cavaggioni L, Caccia R, Alberti G. Jump Rope Training: Balance and Motor Coordination in Preadolescent Soccer Players. J Sports Sci Med. 2015;14(4):792-798.
3. Yamashita M, Yamamoto T. Impact of Long-Rope Jumping on Monoamine and Attention in Young Adults. Brain Sci. 2021;11(10). 10.3390/brainsci11101347
4. Chen FT, Chen SR, Chu IH, Liu JH, Chang YK. Multicomponent Exercise Intervention and Metacognition in Obese Preadolescents: A Randomized Controlled Study. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2017;39(4):302-312. 10.1123/jsep.2017-0013
5. Sandstedt E, Fasth A, Eek MN, Beckung E. Muscle strength, physical fitness and well-being in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and the effect of an exercise programme: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2013;11(1):7. 10.1186/1546-0096-11-7
6. Harre D. Principles of sports training: Introduction to the theory and methods of training. Imported Publication; 1982.
7. Butler RJ, Southers C, Gorman PP, Kiesel KB, Plisky PJ. Differences in soccer players' dynamic balance across levels of competition. J Athl Train. 2012;47(6):616-620. 10.4085/1062-6050-47.5.14
8. Treisman A, Fearnley S. The Stroop test: selective attention to colours and words. Nature. 1969;222(5192):437-439. 10.1038/222437a0
9. Mandolesi L, Polverino A, Montuori S, et al. Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits. Front Psychol. 2018;9:509. 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509
10. Topp CW, Ostergaard SD, Sondergaard S, Bech P. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review of the literature. Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(3):167-176. 10.1159/000376585

By Amanda Mansoorbakht 

When I was in elementary school, jump rope was my recess time favorite. While other kids ran to get in line for handball or tetherball, my friends and I ran straight for the rope. We were excited to “jump in” and see how long we could go before stepping on the rope. The possibilities for fun were endless; three kids could jump at the same time, we’d try speeded up double dutch style, or we’d hop around the slithering “snake” on the floor. It was so much fun that we played until the bell rang. Little did I know that I would be jumping rope well into adulthood.

These days I jump rope to keep a fit and toned body. Moving my body is a huge part of my life and when I started dating my boyfriend, a retired MMA fighter, he showed me how a little bit of jumprope could go a long way. I was skeptical that something so simple could be an effective challenge but since I am always looking for new ways to spice up my training, I decided to give it a go. (Plus Bruce Lee was a huge jumprope fan and who could argue with him?)

So I started jump roping. And instantly started sweating.  And my heart pounded. And here’s what I learned…

Jump rope is just as intense as running. As a long distance runner who was a track star in college (humble brag ;), I was surprised to see learn that jump rope was just as strenuous as heading out for a run. The work paid off though and after a few weeks of jump roping, I saw a tremendous difference in my speed, endurance, agility, and coordination. (minus the calluses and bruised toe nails from running.) Now that I’ve put my long distance racing flats away, jump rope is my cardio workout of choice because It’s low impact and easy on the joints. My father, who is in his fifties and struggles with herniated disks and sciatic in his lower back also is an avid jumproper. Jump rope gives him a quality cardio workout while also reducing any inflammation in his back.

I love jumprope because it’s great for my heart. A strong beating heart lets you know how effective your workout is. It’s literally a physical reminder that you’re kicking butt! Jumprope is a great form of cardio because it jumpstarts your heart rate which means your body is efficiently circulating oxygen throughout your body. Strengthening your cardiovascular health has many benefits such as improved blood flow, energy, and overall heart health. With all the processed, toxic delights out there, jumping rope is a protective measure against diabetes and high blood pressure. 

You’ve heard of HIIT (high-interval intensity training) workouts, I’m sure you don’t live under a rock (or without Instagram!) Yep, all the hot girls do it. (VS Angel Adriana Lima swears by it!) But rightfully so, as HIIT is known to increase metabolism, build muscles, and strengthen endurance. If you want to try a HIIT workouts routine, incorporating jump rope into your set is a fun way to get a hard core cardio workout. Remember how I said I thought jump rope wouldn’t be challenging? Boy, was I naive. Not only is jump rope challenging, it’s makes me break a sweat every time!

A typically HIIT workout for me looks like

• 1 min jump rope
• 1 min assisted pull ups
• 1 min jump rope
• 1 min box jumps
• 1 min jump rope
• 1 min wall sits
• 1 min jump rope
• 1 min plank
• 1 min jump rope

9 minutes total

I try to do this 3 times a week! Try it out, and make sure to stay on the balls of your feet!

Rule #8202 why I love jump rope is that you can literally jump rope anywhere. Gym memberships are expensive and if you have an irrational fear of being watched while you workout like me, you may find yourself making any excuse to do an at home workout. Jumping rope is an easy workout that can literally be done anywhere. Additionally, Incorporating jump rope is perfect because all you need is your body and the rope. Whether you're grabbing your rope for a quick session in between zoom meetings or packing it for an hotel workout when you're traveling, you’ll always have a kick ass workout on hand. My low maintenance people, rejoice!

Staying motivated to workout is as tough as gets. Luckily, goal-setting and self-improvement  are the driving motivators behind action. The best part of jump roping is that you’’ll always stay challenged. What can I say, seeing results is addictive and my competitive heart inspires me to get better at stuff. With jump rope, the room for improvement is tremendous.

To make a long story short, if you haven’t picked up a jump rope since childhood, you’re missing out on a ton of fitness and health benefits. I totally get why my boyfriend recommended jump rope. I don’t think I will ever stop jump roping.

If you want to check out my favorite cardio tool, my rope of choice is is FRESH FIRE Cordless Jump Rope. Though the old lady in me shies away from techy workout equipment, this one was super user friendly and straight forward to use! It comes with a ton of unique features like a built-in timer. I love this handsfree feature because it saves time setting up an alarm and my anxious brain secretly can’t stand the sound of phone alarms!

Another reason why I adore this jump rope is that it doesn’t hurt me! I tried a few different ones before but struggled with them getting caught on the skin on my things. Ouch! I know, it’s just as painful as it sounds. The Fresh Fire elastic string, however is safe, doesn’t snag, and is more than long enough for my 5’7 build.

So, what do you think, is jump rope just for little girls in pigtails and Bruce Lee? Certainly not.