After quite a while of being in awe of Dina Tokio’s impressive jump rope videos (if you’ve seen them, you know what I mean), I decided to take up jumping rope myself and, being Imaani, I Googled all of its benefits. According to jump rope retailer, Crossrope, “jump rope training is one of the best kept secrets in fitness right now”. Why, you ask? Well, let’s find out.
1. Increased Calorie Burning
Research has found that jumping rope can help you burn over 1000 calories an hour. Therefore, the average person could burn 200 to 300 jump rope calories in a simple 15-minute workout. In fact, jump rope is one of the most effective workouts for calorie burning when compared to other exercises such as running or swimming. This is because it acts as a full body workout which uses your abdominals to stabilise the body, legs for jumping, and shoulders and arms for turning the rope.
So, if you’re looking to lose a little lockdown weight, start skipping!
2. Improved Mental Acuity
Jump rope is not only great for your physical health, but it also helps to sharpen your mind. According to the Jump Rope Institute, jump rope enhances the development of the left and right hemispheres of your brain, which further enhances spatial awareness, improves reading skills, increases memory and makes you more mentally alert.
3. Easy, Portable and Fun
Last but not least, jump rope is a fairly easy workout to learn and you can do it independently and at your own pace. I myself have found that I’m becoming increasingly agile and flexible with each workout and it’s actually fun! Another great factor to consider is that it’s portable; you can take it to work or school or to your front yard if you’re in lockdown. This would therefore allow you to maintain a consistent workout routine.
So, there you go. Now you have an easy full body workout that you can do anywhere and at any time. I’ll end on a phrase I found on WebMD that I absolutely love;
“Skip rope, not your workout!”
Imaani x
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