Skip Calories Away
Most people when they think of skipping automatically think of their childhood; they either have thoughts of fun times in the playground with their friends or thoughts of sheer fear, as they never quite mastered the art of skipping.
The truth is anyone, unless they have an injury, can skip, it may just take some people a bit longer than others.
There’s a reason boxers of all levels use skipping as tool for training. It’s excellent for coordination, cardiovascular fitness and toning. The best part of skipping from a conditioning point of view is that you can’t do it slowly; if you’re too slow it simply doesn’t work.
In terms of fat loss, skipping rope burns more calories quicker than going out jogging. It’s hard to say how many calories you will burn as this is dependent on you weight, metabolic rate and the intensity that you work at; however, on average skipping burns about 2-300 calories in 15 minutes
Other than an amazing way to burn calories jumping rope is low impact, inexpensive and takes up very little space, the best part is you can take it with you anywhere.
Getting started. The first step is getting the length of the rope right. One simple test is to stand in the middle of the rope; the ends should come up to your armpits. Here is a chart that is a good indicator of the correct length:
Your Height - Rope Length
Up to 4’5’’ 6 foot
4’5’’ to 4’10’’ 7 foot
4’10’’ to 5’5’’ 8 foot
5’5’’ to 6’ 9 foot
Over 6’ 10 foot
What if you don’t know how to skip?
Like anything practice, practice, practice. There are many excellent youtube videos giving you pointers as well as showing you progressions of more complex movements as you develop.
Here’s an example of a good instructional video. Click HERE
For a quick fat burning workout try this:
Warm up
Skip 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 10 times. If you’re not quite there then start with fewer repetitions and/or increase your rest time. Each time you train try adding a repetition, once you’re at 10 then decrease your rest time.
If this is too simple then increase your skip time to 1 minute and keep you rest time to 30 seconds.
The goal is to sweat and feel like you’ve had a hard workout in a short amount of time.
Stay healthy & happy!
Personal Trainer
Islington, North London
