jumping a rope

[Grip172]

you think this is a good alternative to jogging? i want to hit the treadmill but i can't afford a gym membership until school starts so i bought a jumping rope. is this a waste of time or you think it'll burn a few calories/fat?

[rc2002]

Supposed to be really good cardio. When you get better (more efficient) at jumping rope, you have to go for longer periods of time.

[Grip172]

yeaqh i go for like a minute and im' pooped haha..i take like a 30second break and go again, same again, repeat...i guess it'll come with time

[hockeybronx]

Jumping rope is excellent for cardio but also for a number of other things. It will improve your foot, ankle, and knee stability and work your calf muscles. It also helps will balance and coordination as you focus on going longer and faster.

[2002civic]

yea skippings awsome cardio, i die after a cpl mins though so i just need to do it more often

[Carfanman]

Originally posted by Grip172
yeaqh i go for like a minute and im' pooped haha..i take like a 30second break and go again, same again, repeat...i guess it'll come with time

That's fine. If you do it in that fashion for 10 or 15 minutes, a few days a week, then eventually you will be in darn good shape. Assuming of course that you are doing it intensely during each one minute period. It would be HIIT (High intensity interval training) with a jump rope

[Grip172]

i jump it almos tevery day now..but DAMn its hard to jump it alot and i get pissed off when i screw up haha...its very hard to keep it going for along time

[Carfanman]

Including breaks, how long are you jumping for? Obviously if you jump for 5 minutes, watch an hour of TV, and jump for another 5 minutes, that's not 10 minutes, but how long are you going for without taking more than a few moments break, and include those moments in your answer. Also taking a break for a moment is fine, even necessary, but don't wait until your completely recovered, which would be about a minute or two probably. Wait 30 seconds till you've calmed down a bit, and then even if you're still panting a BIT, jump again. You need to keep your heart rate up the entire time for real benefit. I do the same thing with a treadmill, (30 seconds as hard as hell, then thirty seconds at a couple miles per hour). It works. Well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training (however, you don't NEED to do 20 minutes. 10 minutes is fine. Its not like aerobics where you need 20 minutes to have any effect at all.