9 Benefits of Skipping Rope

As far as cardio activities go, skipping is a great exercise to elevate your heart rate without taking much time. As compared to running, walking, cycling or swimming, it doesn’t require access to a training facility, the outdoors or even an expensive treadmill or a bicycle. Skipping ropes can be done inside a room, on the spot and produce the same results to get your heart pumping blood faster.

Read more: Best cardio exercises for heart health

Constantly jumping up and down at the same place is bound to consume a lot of energy. As it turns out, skipping can burn more calories than half an hour of jogging! The practice of jumping rope burns calories much faster than some well-known cardiovascular exercises, taking a lot less time to reach your fitness goals in the process.

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The expression “thinking on your feet” may not have come from jumping ropes, but skipping does help improve the body’s coordination by combining the movement of the hands with the feet. The reason boxers and other sportspersons incorporate skipping into their training is to enhance their body’s coordination and make them lighter on their feet, allowing them to move faster and improve their reaction and reflexes.

Another benefit of using skipping ropes as a training method - for other sports as well as a workout in itself - is that it strengthens the bones and joints in the feet.

Those playing sports that require frequent changes in direction can benefit greatly by including skipping in their training routine. Jumping on the balls of your feet helps in feeling light-footed while running, stopping and changing direction quickly in sports like badminton, tennis, basketball or football. It helps strengthen and stabilise joints in the ankle and feet and strengthens the ligaments and tendons holding them in place.

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Skipping is a great activity for improving your performance in endurance sports, as it helps improve your lung capacity. Constantly jumping at one place allows your lungs to adjust your breathing function, allowing you to breathe more efficiently while running long distances, swimming or cycling for a long time.

Skipping rope regularly can also improve your performance in other sports - especially in field sports at higher competitive levels.

Read more: Benefits of warming up before exercise

While the activity isn’t a weight-training exercise to build lean muscle, it helps tone and shape multiple muscles in the body at the same time for a full-body workout. The rotational movement of the arms helps strengthen and tone the biceps, triceps as well as the shoulders, and the continuous jumping on the feet helps the glutes, thighs and the calf muscles to a large extent.

Read more: Intense bodyweight exercises you can do at home

Various studies have indicated that the best exercise to promote bone density in the body is to simply jump up and down for a short duration regularly; skipping ropes is an excellent exercise for this - not to mention, it is a super-fun activity. Those suffering from underlying injuries or illness related to depleting bone health, however, must consult their doctor before pursuing this exercise.

Read more: Exercises for osteoporosis

According to the British Rope Skipping Association, skipping ropes helps with the cardiovascular function of your body which in turn helps improve the functioning of the brain as well. The exercise helps develop the ability to think and react faster, a major reason why boxers, MMA fighters and even ballet dancers regularly perform this exercise. It is believed that skipping ropes or simply jumping helps in the development of the left and right hemispheres of the brain - this helps in improving spatial awareness, memory and makes you more alert.

Granted, nothing can be more accessible than the two natural human movements - walking and running - but skipping ropes essentially involves another natural ability: to jump. This activity is inexpensive as skipping ropes are reasonable to purchase. They are extremely portable, too, which makes it possible to skip anywhere.