Have you thought about starting to exercise to get healthier?
We have often seen that beginners find it challenging to choose a particular exercise path. Most end up making their bodies go through various fitness regimes, and disappointment follows when it gets too tiring soon.
However, if one form of workout provides excellent cardiovascular fitness, it has to be skipping. With only a skipping rope and a few useful tips, you can start on the journey of having better health and a fit body. But, the initial step can be confusing as there is so much information available on the internet.
So, we thought of coming up with this comprehensive guide for those who want to get into skipping. It will also guide anyone who wants to use skipping as their primary cardio regime.
Therefore, let’s jump into it!
Skipping Rope Exercises For Beginners
Is Skipping Beneficial?
A common question that we often hear is whether skipping is really that beneficial? You may have heard from several sources that skipping might not be as effective as running or other cardio-based exercises, but that’s a myth.
According to us, skipping rope can be an integral part of the fitness journey, especially when a beginner. So, let’s start by looking at some advantages of skipping.
1. Maintains Cardiovascular Health
When it comes to a wholesome jumping rope workout routine, it should have a good mix of weighted and cardiovascular exercises. Skipping takes care of the cardio, as once you start getting into it, you will feel your heart pacing up.
And this helps you get out of a state of rest and improves blood flow throughout your body. Following a regular skip rope regime can cut down on the risk of getting heart ailments or stroke.
2. Gets Rid Of Fatigue
Currently, lethargy and fatigue are common reasons to abandon taking care of our health. Because of our predominantly sedentary lifestyle, we feel physically and mentally tired to get up and exercise.
However, skipping can get you out of the rut by supplying your body with the needed stamina. When you include skipping in your daily life, it helps the body be prepared to take the pressure of the exercise. This will translate to your everyday life as it becomes a constant source of energy and puts an end to fatigue.
3. Makes The Body Flexible
We think that skipping is one of the best stepping stones to improve your health. As a total body exercise, it helps to flex out the muscles of your entire body, and this is key to getting adjusted to an exercise routine.
Hence, your body will be prepared to handle other forms of exercise like weight training. Apart from your body’s flexibility, skipping can also boost confidence and reduce anxiety, so you will be able to continue on a fitness regime without falling out.
Skipping Workouts For Beginners
Before we go forward with the regimes, we would like to focus on the two basic jumps used in skipping. In the basic jump, both your feet rise from the ground simultaneously.
In the alternate foot jump, you alternate the feet with every pass of the skipping rope. While reading, it may sound a little confusing, so we recommend you check out some video tutorials on the basic steps to get a head start.
Now, let’s get started with the routines.
Routine 1
This is one of the simplest skipping routines to follow, as it lets you take the journey on a day-to-day basis. Make sure to rest between skipping as it eases out your muscles.
So, the daily plan would look like this:
First Day
Skip as long as possible, rest 60 seconds, continue for five minutes.
Second Day
Skip as long as possible, rest 45 seconds, continue for seven minutes.
Third Day
Skip 20 seconds, rest 30 seconds, continue for five minutes.
Fourth Day
Rest, or you can alternate it with light freehand exercises.
Fifth Day
Skip 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, continue for five minutes.
Sixth Day
Skip 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, continue for seven to ten minutes.
Seventh Day
Complete rest.
Eighth day onwards, try to maintain a skip-and-rest balance of 30 seconds and gradually increase the rope workout duration. After a month, you should be able to handle 25-30 minutes of skipping daily. To increase the difficulty level, use a weighted jumping rope to break into intense sweat.
Routine 2
There are two blocks to this routine that will get your heart racing. It’s best if you can use a weighted skipping rope to do this routine, but a basic jumping rope will also work fine.
Block 1
(If possible, use a 200-gram weight.)
Basic jump 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, alternate foot jump 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, continue for 5 minutes.
Rest 60 seconds.
Block 2
(If possible, use a 100-gram weight.)
Basic jump 40 seconds, rest 20 seconds, alternate foot jump 40 seconds, rest 20 seconds, continue for 5 minutes.
It takes around 11 minutes to complete both blocks. Also, when this feels easy, you can repeat the blocks multiple times to build up the difficulty for better training.
Routine 3
If you are ready to take it to the next level, we suggest you try this routine. This is also an excellent routine for those who have mastered the basic and alternate foot jumps.
This routine requires you to do the single-leg jump, so you will need to skip on one leg. We suggest you skip on the right leg for 60 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, and then skip on the left leg for another 60 seconds and rest for 20 seconds. Continue the set for five to ten minutes to have complete jump rope workouts.
While doing the single-leg jump, you should ensure that you don’t land with too much force. Bend your knee slightly before touching the ground to ease the pressure.
You can also check out our 3 favourite jump rope workouts at home for a different skipping rope routine!
Things To Remember About Skipping
- Always do a 10-minute warm-up before you start to skip.
- Use a suitable skipping rope based on your height.
- Drink adequate water during the workout.
- Women should wear sports bras to avoid discomfort.
- Make sure to wear good workout shoes with heel and ball support.
- Only your wrists should rotate the rope and not your elbows or shoulders.
- Keep your back straight and look forward.
Let’s Get Skipping!
With that, we have come to the end of this comprehensive guide for skipping that’s meant for beginners. However, before we go, there are some things we want to discuss. The first one is that everyone has their endurance level.
So, if you can’t keep up with the particular duration of a routine, you don’t need to worry. We have tried to keep the routines easy for beginners by breaking them up into parts or blocks.
You can customise it according to your strength; remember to enjoy the journey of getting healthy. Also, take sufficient rest and drink plenty of water between skipping sessions.
And do let us know if there are any further queries about skipping. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible. You can contact us anytime.
Till then, take care, and keep exercising!
