![]() These are essentially just ropes that are heavier than average. When shopping for jump ropes, you may notice some ropes advertised as weighted ropes. ![]() Because jump rope is such a cardio-centric, high-impact activity, chat with your doctor first if you have known heart problems or a history of lower-body injury. ![]() If you can tolerate that, gradually increase the length of the interval. He recommends starting with 30 seconds of jumping interspersed with similar time periods of rest. Otherwise, you could increase your risk of overuse injuries. One note, though: If you’re new to jump rope, be sure to ease into it, Benedict Nwachukwu, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and specialist in hip, knee, and shoulder surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, tells SELF. You can also pick a fast-paced song and try to jump along to it as a way to improve your speed, says Mosbarger. Listening to music and trying to jump in time with the beat can help you establish a good rhythm, he says. “That’s when the magic happens,” explains Ezekh. Once you have the form nailed, focus on jumping to a steady rhythm. From there, you can branch out to straddles (basically, jumping jacks minus the arm movement), and staggers (scissoring your legs forward and back), suggests Mosbarger. You could also do the boxer shuffle, which is essentially a small jog in place where you shift your weight side to side. She recommends the basic bounce (both feet jump once with each rotation of the rope) or double basic bounce (basic bounce, plus a small jump in between each rotation). On the footwork front, start with the basics, says DiPaolo. By keeping your jumps low to the ground, you’ll be able to jump both faster and longer, since you won’t be expending excess energy, explains DiPaolo. Keep a soft bend in your knees, stay on the balls of the feet, and only jump high enough to clear the rope-no more than an inch, says Ezekh. ![]() Then, with a handle in each hand, turn the rope using small circles with your wrists, says Ezekh. Engage your abs, Christa DiPaolo, certified personal trainer in Miami and creator of Boxing and Bubbles at-home workouts, tells SELF. Position your elbows at the midline of your body, about two inches away from your sides, with hands pointing straight out, says Mosbarger. It should start with good posture-think shoulders down and back, chest up, back straight, and eyes looking straight ahead. You can also jump on top of wood or really any type of gym floor, adds Mosbarger.Īs for attire, regular supportive sneakers are totally okay, says Mosbarger, and any clothing you have that’s comfortable and not too baggy (so that it doesn’t get caught on the rope) will work just fine, says Ezekh. Jumping on top of a mat helps soften the impact on your joints, explains Ezekh. You can buy a specialized jump rope mat, or simply use a thin yoga mat. (Plus, your rope would likely get tangled in grass and sand.) Mosbarger recommends jumping on top of a mat, if possible. Supersoft surfaces, like grass and sand, are also not great as they don’t provide enough push back, he adds. If they’re too long, you can adjust the length by either fiddling with the latched device that sits inside the handle (many jump ropes have this, says Mosbarger), or by tying a sturdy knot underneath the handles on each side of the rope.Īvoid jumping rope on superhard surfaces like concrete or asphalt as those can be hard on your joints, says Ezekh. If they’re too short, you need a longer rope. If the tops of the handles reach your armpits, your rope is sized correctly. Here’s how to ensure your rope is the right size: Grab a handle in each hand, step one foot into the middle of the rope, and pull the handles up to your chest so that they’re even with each other, says Mosbarger. All you need is a properly sized rope, an appropriate surface, comfortable clothes, and a little beginner know-how on proper form. You don’t need any baseline skills to jump rope. And while jumping rope can be a great workout on its own, you can also use it as a warm-up or cooldown before weight training, or intersperse it with bodyweight exercises in an interval-style workout, says Mosbarger. How you choose to wield the rope is, of course, totally up to you. Still others use the jump rope as a creative outlet by experimenting with more unique, dancelike movements, Mosbarger explains. Some people, for example, jump rope at a fast pace as a way to train for speed and agility, while others focus on jump rope moves like the double-under (jumping up and swinging the rope under your feet twice before you land again) to develop explosive power.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |