Jump Rope - An Excellent Exercise
Despite many infomercial claims to the contrary, there is no such thing as the perfect exercise. The perfect exercise would cost very little, take a few minutes to complete, be enjoyable indefinitely for everyone, develop every area of fitness, and never cause injury.
Rope jumping (a.k.a. rope skipping, skip roping, jump rope) is, however, an excellent form of exercise that you should consider if you are looking for a way to keep fit, train for another sport, or just to have fun. Unfortunately, three common myths regarding rope jumping prevent many people from even considering it. Before looking at why jump rope is an excellent exercise, let's address those myths:
The Major Myths of Jump Rope
Myth 1: You have to be coordinated to learn to jump rope. I and
other jump rope instructors have proven time and time again that
anyone can learn to jump rope with a little consistent practice and
instruction. I think that most people come to the conclusion that
they are a klutz after trying to jump rope because it looks so easy
in the hands of an experienced jumper. However, rope jumping is
a skilled activity that takes a little time to master like swimming does.
With swimming though, people generally understand that they can't just
jump into the deep end of the pool and cruise like an Olympic
swimmer. They understand that it requires a little practice and it
helps to have some coaching - so does rope jumping.
Myth 2: It's hard on the knees. Actually, if done properly, rope
jumping is relatively easy on the knees. For example, I've known many
people that can't run due to knee injuries, but can jump rope without any
problems. The reason is because proper rope jumping technique requires you to
land on the balls of the feet, not the heels as in running. Therefore, the
feet and calves slow and absorb the forces of impact. Research by the
Nike company also showed that the impact to the body from running was
more than twice the amount of the force experienced in "high" impact
aerobics - an activity very similar to rope jumping in regards to lower extremity
biomechanics.
"Myth" 3: It's too exhausting. I've put quotation marks around the
word "myth" here because there is technically some validity to this
statement. Rope jumping can be too strenuous for those who are
unaccustomed to exercise. However, rope jumping is also easily
modified so that nearly anyone can enjoy it. I'll explain more on this in
the pros versus cons section below:
Rope Jumping - The Pros
- It's inexpensive. All you really need is a decent jump rope ($10-30) and exercise wear including a good pair of cross-training shoes.
- You don't need a fancy or special facility. Any area with a 9 foot or higher ceiling, some free space around you and a smooth floor surface with just a little give to it - like a wood or synthetic gym floor will work just fine.
- It can develop nearly every area of fitness including: aerobic conditioning, muscular endurance, agility, quickness, timing, and rhythm to name a few.
- There's tremendous variety in jump rope, especially in regards to the number of skills. You only need to witness a jump rope competition to realize that there are literally thousands of jump rope skills. I even made my living in part by demonstrating skills and
routines at various shows.- It goes well with music. In fact, for me I almost must have music to jump rope. It's what motivates me to put different skills, together, vary the tempo of jump rope, and simply make it more fun. To learn about how to "wear" music for rope jumping, go to the More Jump Rope Gear page.
- If you master a few skills in jump rope, people will think that you are one of the kings of fitness. I know, this is an appeal to vanity - but what the heck.
Rope Jumping - The Cons
- It's a skilled activity. In other words, like swimming, you must learn the particular timing, rhythm, and coordination of rope jumping to become proficient at it. Some people don't learn to jump rope properly due to insufficient practice, poor instruction, or both. They then mistakenly conclude that they are "too uncoordinated" to jump rope.
- There's a certain level of fitness required to do traditional rope jumping (about the same as running 9 minute miles or bicycling 13 miles/hour). Jumping slower doesn't decrease the energy required, because you have to jump higher to keep the jumping rhythm. As an aside, novice jumpers are less efficient at rope jumping and "waste" more energy than experienced jumpers. Hence, they now not only feel that they are uncoordinated, but that rope jumping must be for highly trained athletes (not true).
However, there are easy solutions to each of the disadvantages to rope jumping which the Ropics program addresses.
