How many of us remember our childhood, when we used to skip and even had challenges among ourselves to find out who could skip the fastest. Those memories of my childhood bring back a smile on my face. I used to enjoy those skipping moments. There were several games we could play with the skipping rope and it was one of the cheapest games that one could purchase. The best part of a skipping rope was that people of all ages could use it.

I did not realize the benefits of a skipping rope until I joined the fitness industry. It is not just used for playing as we did in childhood. It’s a fantastic workout tool.

You do not have the time to go to the gym and workout due to lack of time. You could try skipping. 15 minutes of intense skipping is good to burn calories. Skipping improves your footwork, speed, coordination, stamina, agility, and it strengthens the muscles in your legs as well as your abdominal, back, chest, arms and shoulder muscles.

Skipping is good for building your cardio workout same as a jog or a bicycle ride would do. It has relatively low impact on the joints but, yet its intensity is high that gives a fabulous cardio workout that’s less dangerous and surely less strenuous than running. Twelve minutes of jumping rope is roughly equivalent to running 6 minute per KM (kilo meter).

The best skipping routine that will knockout your belly fat

1. Warm up for 5 minutes by skipping at slow to medium speed
2. Take rest for one minute
3. Skip for 1 minute as fast as you can
4. Take rest for 20 seconds
5. Again skip for one minute as fast as you can
6. Then again take a rest for 20 seconds, and repeat again for 10 minutes.

Reason behind of this type of skipping is that it enables you to improve your cardiovascular as well as muscular endurance and it will help you to burn more calories.

How to Jump Rope?

• Beginners should jump twice between each rotation of the rope. The basic aim here is to get your abdominal and calf muscles into shape. While skipping, you have to be careful that your arms do not move. You should rotate the rope with the circular movements of your wrists.
• You should not jump very high. Jump 1 to 2 inches off the floor, giving rope just enough space to slip under your feet — only the balls of feet should touch the floor.
• Keep your elbows close to your sides as you rotate the rope. The movement comes from the wrists and forearms and not the shoulders.
• If you tire out before you finish the workout, drop the rope, but keep arms and legs going.
• To find a rope that fits place one foot in the center of the rope and lift the handles — they shouldn’t go past your armpits.

Selection of Rope?

Popular ropes include the speed rope, the digital rope and weighted rope. (Whatever you get, make sure the length is correct. The way to measure it is to stand in the middle of the rope, & the handles should come up to your waist, lower ribs – if it reaches your shoulders it’s too long.)

Speed Rope: It is lightweight and great for speed. Mostly used by elite athletes to develop footwork, coordination and conditioning. For example, boxers use a speed rope during their general strength and conditioning workouts.

The digital rope: A digital jump rope will count the number of jumps you have made. It will also keep track of the number of calories you burn during each jump rope training session. Some will also keep track of the length of the workout.

Weighted jump rope: It has weighted handles. The idea behind this rope is that the extra weight on the handles provides an extra workout for the upper body like wrist, forearm and triceps strength.

Leather Jump Rope: A good-quality leather jump rope is a great choice for serious workouts. These ropes either have plastic or wooden handles, and a strip of leather for the rope. Compared to the cloth jump rope, a leather jump rope turns much faster, providing a serious cardio workout. Professional boxers have used leather jump ropes for years when training.

Beaded Jump Rope: It consists of plastic beads strung on a thin piece of nylon cord. Like cloth ropes, beaded jump ropes are very economical. These ropes are fun for a while, but are not recommended for intense jump rope exercising.

To know the appropriate rope length as per your height, please check the following chart:

Your Height	Jump Rope Length
Up to 4’6″	6 foot
4’7″ to 5’6″	7 foot
5’6″ to 6’	8 foot
Over 6’	10 foot

Kids Jump Rope: The jump ropes for children need to be shorter than adult ropes. It is the best to start with a beaded rope, because they don’t tangle as easily. Make sure that the rope is not too short, or it will lead to too many errors and the child may get discouraged.

So what are you waiting for? Get up and start Skipping.