Rope jumping is second to none when it comes to losing unwanted belly fat, and best of all, it cost almost nothing. The great thing about rope jumping is that you don’t need a lot of special gear or detailed instructions. With a quick lesson, good form, and a few ideas to keep it fresh, you’ll be on your way to toning up and dropping pounds. The following tips will get you started.
Use good form. With good form, jumping is easier and more enjoyable no matter what your fitness level. The components of the jump look like this:
• The Twirl. Keep your elbows close to your body, your shoulders down, and your upper body steady. Holding your hands level with your hips, turn the rope with your forearms and wrists.
• The Jump. Rope jumping is not a super high impact activity. You should jump only as high as is necessary for the rope to clear the space between your feet and the ground–generally not more than an inch. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the exercise.
• Cushion your landing. The sidewalk was fine when you were a kid. But your grown-up hips and knees prefer a more cushioned landing surface. Hardwood floors, low carpeting, a thin exercise mat, and even blacktop are safer surfaces.
• Keep the beat. Jumping rope to up-tempo music helps you find your rhythm and makes the exercise feel more like play.
• Run, skip, jump. The classic jump rope move is a single two-footed hop per twirl. So it’s twirl, hop, twirl, hop. But you’re not locked into this two-step jump. These moves not only add some variety, but also are easier on your body, so you can jump longer without needing a break:
• Single-foot hops. Alternate hopping with just one foot, then the other. Hop right then left for counts of one to three hops on a side.
• Rope jacks. Alternate landing with your feet in a wide or narrow stance, as you would during jumping jacks.
Try these and you can burn almost 200 calories in 15 minutes. Good luck!
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