Why you need to jump rope.

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 04:48 am

I really got into jump roping when I was in my sophomore year of college. Anyone who knows me knows that I am somewhat of a cardio buff. I know some people absolutely hate the idea of a constant, repetitive, tiring motion, but I thrive on it.  My undiagnosed type A personality needs an outlet, and cardio is one of the best that I can think of.

See, when you are doing cardio, everything else has to stop.  There comes a point where it’s just you and the pavement. Your brain has to focus on that rhythm, or else you will falter.  It is when you reach that crossover moment that life gets so much simpler.  Because you aren’t thinking about all the other stuff, your brain is free to reset.

For a long time, I ran. 3 miles a day.  I remember running “the loop” at our old house in the little town of Latta, SC. Then, when my family moved, I created a new loop in the new neighborhood.  And I ran it.  Day or night. Rain or shine.  30 degrees or 90 degrees. My uncle bought me some discounted Hoka Rincons for a birthday, and I was hooked. I’d put them on, turn up my music, and drown out everything else.

One evening, I received some disappointing news and I was very angry. I decided to hit the road and get it all out. A few minutes into my run, I landed wrong on a rock. I attempted to run through the pain and, when I finally got back to the house later that night, my knee gave out going up the stairs.  Doctor visits and physical therapy sessions soon followed.  My PT recommended I take part in a low-impact exercise routine until I healed.  Thus, I was introduced to the world of jump rope.

I’d always thought of jump rope as a child’s game.  This was something that little kids did on a playground at recess while they sang nursery rhymes right?  Wrong. I did some googling and found The Jump Rope Dudes. I then went on Amazon and bought this jump rope, and I soon became addicted.  I’d come home after school in the afternoons, drop my backpack, roll out a mat on the driveway, and get to it. I skipped until I dripped.  I got into speed rope.  I started learning the little tricks, like High Knees, Double Unders, The Boxer Skip, and Criss Cross. I even was able to pull off a few Triple Unders 😉.

Then I upped the ante.  I began to jump roping in just shorts, regardless of the weather.  This isn’t a big deal until you’re doing 2000 skips a session. 4 sets of 500.  You have to go fast.  If you miss a beat, you get whipped. Literally.  It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but it really helped train mental discipline. Then, I began experimenting with weighted jump ropes in hopes of improving arm strength. It worked, and as I went through my college career I was able to maintain a healthy weight and build muscle.

What’s the point Sam?  What’s the superpower behind jump rope?  I’m getting to that. Here are three things that I learned from jump roping.  These are three things any man can gain by picking up the rope. Read that last sentence again in Grand Master Oogway’s voice please.

Train on a Budget

One of the secret powers of jump rope is how cheap to get into. We have this preconception that something may be wrong when something is cheap.  When it comes to jumping rope, this is definitely not the case. When I started, I spent $18 on a rope with ball bearings. I already had shoes. I already had pavement. I repurposed a shop mat and I was good to go. Too many guys get caught up in the perceived price of health.  They want to buy 15 different vitamin supplements,  purchase massage guns, and Lululemon fitness gear. Then they throw away money every month in high-dollar gyms. When they get done with their workout, they drain an $8 protein shake and call it good to go.  All of that is so unnecessary.

If you’ve never worked out, jump rope is hands-down the way to go.  It’s the ultimate full-body workout on a budget. Every revolution of that rope around your body activates your thighs, hips, glutes, abdominals, arms, shoulders, wrists, and hands.  It really is nothing more than total-body movement.  As you get more comfortable with basic jump rope, you can take time and learn variations, which can accentuate the workout on various muscle groups even further. 

There are few other activities, besides running, that offer this much athletic benefit at this low of a price. I had a long-running argument with a weightlifter friend of mine (no pun intended) about who was the most athletic.  He paid for a gym membership, drank protein shakes, and was very fit.  We’re talking tree-trunk thighs here fellas.  The man was not a joke.  He also wasn’t very fast.  He could bench press twice what I could, but if you put us in a race, I’d leave him in the dust.  The argument almost always ended with him saying “I could crush you”, to which I’d inevitably reply “but you’d have to catch me first!”. 

So I submit to all of you?  Who was better off?  The guy spending nothing who was lean, fit, and aerobic, or the guy who paid for the supplements and memberships who was bulky, ripped, and strong?  If it sways your opinion any, it’s worth noting he eventually dropped the membership.  Commuting back and forth from a gym after a long day isn’t that fun.

Train anywhere

This brings me to my second point regarding the secret power of jump rope.  You can train ANYWHERE. Are you a high school boy who doesn’t have a car to drive to the gym with?  Get a jump rope and train at home. Are you a college man who doesn’t have enough money after school expenses to pay for a membership? Get a jump rope and train at the dorm. Are you a young professional who has to travel often for business, living out of suitcases?  Get a jump rope and take it with you on the go.

Nothing is wrong with big gyms, but they are usually landlocked.  You have to go to them.  Nothing wrong with home gyms with dumbbell racks and barbell stands, they’re just REALLY pricey and heavy. Having a jump rope avoids all of these problems.  You can take it with you anywhere, which removes one of the most common excuses regarding exercise, “I just don’t want to go”.  The good news is that you don’t have to.  It’s right there within arm’s reach.

Jump rope is one of the most adaptable forms of exercise.  Whether you’ve never broken a sweat in your life, or you’re well on your way to being the next Mr. Olympia, you can experience the fun of getting into a rhythm and flow and burning calories while building muscle.

Train both your mental and physical health.

Remember earlier when I talked about how I jumped rope in just shorts?  This worked wonders on my mental discipline. Adding some nondangerous negative stimulation really helped develop my ability to focus and hone in on things. 

Think about the brutal training regimen that Marines undergo in boot camp.  I had a buddy who went through this process. The pinnacle event was the Crucible. As he was going through this event, he recalled how he spent a day hiking through the mud in full combat gear, only to sleep on a concrete pad in the rain that night.  Was it fun? No. Did it hurt? Yes.  Did it build discipline? Absolutely. 

We can simulate a lighter version of this same process with a jump rope.  It isn’t as easy to implement with biking, running, or lifting weights, but it is very easy to implement negative stimulation into a jump rope routine.  The sting that comes from losing focus serves as a reminder to recenter the mind on the task at hand. 

You can then take this practiced mental discipline and apply it in all other areas of life, whether it be school, relationships, business, etc.  When you pair it with the physical benefits, you truly have an exercise past time that can’t be beaten.

You see, jumping rope is proven to improve bone density (the strength of your bones) and the strength of your heart and lungs. The compound action that occurs when so many different areas of your body are exercised at once forces your heart and lungs to compensate quicker.  This leads to better cardiorespiratory fitness, which is just the fancy science way of saying you can exercise for longer periods of time with less effort.  This means that you too can outrun the hulking tree-trunk-thigh guy who is in your life.

Jump rope also improves balance and coordination. As that rope swings around your body, sometimes multiple times a second, there is serious coordination taking place between your eyes, feet, and hands. You have to establish and maintain rhythm and agility, or you will miss a beat and break the flow.   This repetitive motion also serves to increase lower leg stability, which means fewer knee and ankle injuries and improved motor coordination.

How to jump rope

I would be remiss to write an entire article about how amazing jump rope is without including a brief snippet regarding how to do it.  Proper form is essential if you are to make this a staple exercise in your health journey:

1. Straighten your back, look straight ahead, aligning your shoulders and neck with the soles of your feet
2. With a jump rope handle in each hand, place the rope behind your feet.
3. Take a deep breath and tighten your core to engage your abdominal muscles
4. Using your wrists, swing the rope in a circular motion over your head.
5. Bend your knees slightly, and jump as the rope gets close to your feet.  Don’t exaggerate your jumps. Try to land softly on the balls of your feet.
6. Do it again and catch the flow.

So go ahead and get some good, fast-paced tunes, grab a good rope, and get to jumping! For a long time, my routine was as follows:

I did a minimum of 4 sets per session, and a set was comprised of :

• 500 skips
• 15 pushups
• 15 situps
• 15 squats
• 1 minute rest

I did 5 sessions a week, Monday through Friday. I begin seeing results on my 4th week, both in how I felt and how I looked.  So if you don’t immediately see the difference don’t get discouraged.  The benefits of proper diet and exercise consistency compound daily, so keep at it!