I’ve been exercising with a skipping rope and recently bought a second one. My fitness was improving and I liked the feel of heavier handles. I’ll share the details of how I started plus two resources to help you choose a rope and adopt good technique right from day one.
Why choose a skipping rope?
My goal was to increase endurance and tighten abdominal muscles. During winter, I have not wanted to go jogging because my pace for that is so slow! I frequently need walking phases to recoup my energy, and cool off too much. Skipping rope is also vigorous but it’s very close to my door, so I can go inside to rest and stretch, and maybe run up and down the stairs, then go back outside.
At this point in my fitness journey, skipping just works better.
Benefits of skipping rope for exercise
As I mentioned above, skipping is vigorous. It has several other benefits too:
- You can stop any time you need to
- The whole time, you’re not far from home
- Even if you can only sustain a few minutes, you’ll burn a small amount of calories
- If you last longer, you’ll burn about the same calories as running
- You can keep water and snacks handy
- It’s very cheap, especially if you already have exercise shoes
- It can be done anywhere: home, parks, on the way to anywhere
How to choose a beginner skipping rope
For adults, you’re most likely to find a “speed” rope at a department store like London Drugs or a sporting goods store like SportChek. A speed rope suits fast hopping – you jump once per turn, and it’s turning pretty quickly because it’s stiff and lightweight.
A beginner would likely have an easier time skipping with a non-speed one meant for “fitness” or “conditioning” – it would likely have more comfortable squishy grips and might be heavier and made of a softer cord material like PVC.
If you need a quick look at skipping rope for adults, check out the intro below found on YouTube, which offers great advice for buying your first skipping rope. The presenter talks about 4 types of ropes (pick a PVC type, not a cable type).
I can relate to the advice – I bought a great beginner (PVC) rope earlier in January, but the first one I bought was a cable type. I’ve spent a lot of time exercising with the PVC one already! My go-to beginner rope is now my Elite by PTPfit found at my local SportChek. It didn’t take long to become fit enough to use my cable type of rope better as well.
I hope you find a great beginner skipping rope as well, without much fuss!
Note you’ll need to adjust the size, and instructions for that will likely be in the package or you can find help on YouTube. I set mine so that with one foot on the middle of the rope, the top of the two handles reach just above the top of my shoulder – but that is too long according to just about everyone on YouTube and Reddit, so I will shorten them to reach just to the top of my shoulders.
You’re turn – try skipping rope!
When you’re ready, try out the beginner technique below, also found on YouTube. If you can do it without the rope, as seen in the video, you’ll be able to skip with the rope!
Like most fitness activities, I suggest inviting a friend/relative/classmate/roommate to join you. Have fun!
I’ll continue practicing and improving fitness with my skipping rope and when I’ve got progress to share, you’ll see it in my blog.
Heidi