1. Sports
About.com
Bodybuilding

Discuss in my forum

Cardiovascular Exercise - Jump Your Way To A Great Cardiovascular Workout

Introducing a New Way to Making Cardio Fun - Jumping Rope

By , About.com Guide

See More About:
Some Tips on How to Prevent Injury From Jumping Rope

  1. Always wear comfortable shoes. This way you decrease the chances of an ankle injury occurring. Also, a good pair of shoes prevents your joints and feet from wearing and tearing.

  2. A great warm-up that prevents injury is to perform jumping jacks and stretch. Jumping jacks will help your body to get in the motions that you will be performing while jump roping.

    Starting Out

    Jumping rope is an exercise that is not easy to perform, especially if you are a beginner. It requires a lot of coordination and agility to jump rope for a period of time. Below I have three phases in which you can attempt to jump rope. These phases are the beginning, intermediate and advanced stage.

    Beginning Stage
    This stage is the most important and difficult one to go through but you must persevere. When I first started jump roping, it took a lot of patience to get used to the motions. Jump roping is far more complex then hopping on a bicycle or treadmill. In order to properly jump rope, execute the following steps:

    • Step 1: Start out by holding the handles in each hand and have the rope touching the back of your heels on the ground.

    • Step 2: Attempt to complete a few full motion revolutions. Practice these steps for about 5 minutes as at that time you will start to feel comfortable with what you are doing.

    At this stage I would just perform 5 minutes of jump roping 3 days a week. Do not exceed 5 minutes a day as you may be sore for the first couple of times you perform this exercise.

    Intermediate Stage
    After four weeks or so you should feel comfortable with the beginners stage, have improved your agility, muscle coordination and endurance. Now you can attempt to jump rope 10 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week. This may seem too easy, but jumping rope can be a rigorous activity which requires a lot of practice.

    Advanced Stage
    After the intermediate stage (which should last around 4-6 weeks) has been completed, you can crank things up a bit more and jump rope for 20-30 minutes, 3-5 times a week. If you can make it to this stage, you will be in top notch shape and reap the health benefits that go along with this difficult endeavor.

    About The Author

    Anthony Alayon is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and Teen Bodybuilding Champion with over 6 years of experience. Anthony is currently working towards his Business Administration and Accounting Degree at the University of South Florida and also in publishing fitness e-books targeted to all the teenagers out there who are just starting out their bodybuilding journey.

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.