Jumping rope for fat loss

Posted onAuthorDavid Bradley

Jumping rope for fat loss

Jumping rope for fat loss

At Rich Man’s Gym, there’s a lot of rope jumping.  Whether you want to be jumping rope for fat loss or general conditioning, there’s no better drill to tighten up and develop coordination.  Jumping rope for me in the beginning, was not easy.  I literally tripped almost every ten to fifteen jumps.  It’s a skill that needs to be developed and will require some practice to get it down.

As you head off on your journey of dialing in the jump rope, a couple things are important especially if you’re not accustomed to doing it.

First, as they say in the old Pace Picante commercials, “get a rope!”  But not just any rope.  It needs to have some weight to it.  Not some wimpy light as a feather rope that won’t carry any momentum.  You need either leather or plastic.  Here’s two:

Short Handle:  http://amzn.to/21id1Sh

Jumping rope for fat loss

 

 

 

 

 

Everlast:  http://amzn.to/1RPrqmw

Jumping rope for fat loss

 

 

 

 

I’ve used both, they’re great and less than a 20 spot on Amazon.

When I took a boxing class a couple years back, the ritual when you got there was 3 rounds of jump rope to warm up then 3 rounds of stretching.  That meant 9 minutes of jumping rope right out of the chute (work) and 1:30 of rest.  3 minutes jumping rope and then :30 seconds rest.  When I started the class, I was in more danger trying to jump rope than sparring in the ring.  I wasn’t pretty.  Not a bit.  Just funny.  But with the same logic you apply to get to Carnegie Hall, practice makes proficient.

So let’s get you there too.  I will set targets and benchmarks for you to work up to until you’re at the 3 rounds of 3 minutes of work and 30 seconds of rest.

The 2 Things You Need To Succeed In Jumping Rope

The first is skill, the second is endurance.  Jumping rope is a skill.  To develop that skill you’ll need to practice, which means you’ll need to fail.  You’ll fail several times over before you get it.  Remember, Rich Man’s Gym is about home-based strength and conditioning for body, mind and spirit.  Being able to stay positive and keep going even when you’re failing and frustrated is a mindset and skill in and of itself that you can take with you into your everyday life.  This is your opportunity to practice failing and learn how to use failure as fuel.  The second thing you need is endurance.  You’ll need muscular endurance and cardio endurance to go 3 rounds or more.  How do you get that?  Practice. Getting as much work in over a consistent time period.  In this case, we’re talking 10-12 minutes.

  • BENCHMARK ONE:  Jumping Jacks first.  10 rounds of 40:20 (40:20 = 40 seconds work/20 seconds rest)
  • BENCHMARK TWO:  Can you jump rope 100 times without tripping or faceplanting.  Practice jumping rope for 12 minutes a day until you can get 100 cycles with ease and more than once.
  • BENCHMARK THREE:  Jump Rope 30:30 x 12
  • BENCHMARK FOUR:  Jump Rope 40:20 x 10
  • BENCHMARK FIVE:  Jump Rope 50:15 x 9
  • BENCHMARK SIX:  Jump Rope 60:20 x 8
  • BENCHMARK SEVEN:  Jump Rope 75:20 x 7
  • BENCHMARK EIGHT:  Jump Rope 80:15 x 7
  • BENCHMARK NINE:  Jump Rope 90:15 x 7
  • BENCHMARK TEN:  Jump Rope 100:15 x 5

At this point, you’re jumping rope for just over a minute and a half with 15 seconds rest over 5 rounds.  Time to test yourself.  Can you go 3 minutes without stopping?

If so, keep at this pace until you reach your final destination.  Add seconds in multiples of 10-1 and keep working up.

Tips:  Keep the knees bent, not straight.  Have a surface with some give, like wood or gym mat.  Practice breathing through fatigue.  Stretch after.  Calves, Hams, Quads.

Jumping Rope For Fat Loss:  Advanced Tactics

At the goal of 180:30, and you want to take your jumping rope beyond the warm up, look at doing some long haul stuff.  If you’re looking to drop fat and increase your endurance, imagine doing 40 rounds of 40:20 or 30 rounds of 60:20.  10 rounds of 180:30 is just over a half hour of jumping rope.  How killer would that be?  This is where you start dripping sweat and dropping fat.  If you got skinny calves, follow this up with toe raises and thank me later.  Also a jump rope fits in any suitcase.  Rich Man’s Gym is that portable.  No gym on the road?  Jump Rope for 10 minutes and then do 12 minutes of burpees and you’re toast.   Trust me.

No gym around?  You’re on the road?  Try this one and you’ll love to hate me:  Jump Rope for 10 minutes and then do 12 minutes of burpees in a descending set 20/18/16/14/12 and you’re toast.  Trust me…  You can also do this.  Set the timer for 20 rounds of 40:20.  Alternate between burpees and jumping rope.  That’s a 20 minutes workout, total body annihilation and no gym necessary.  Hotel room’s roof too low?  Sub in jumping jacks.

Bottom line here is that the possibilities are limited only to your level of creativity.  Drop me a message on Twitter @DavidRBradley with your results if you try it.