Why you should start the 2- week jump rope challenge today!
Okay, so we all know the drill. New Year’s Eve comes around, so of course you make the yearly pledge to lose weight even detailing a plan on how to achieve your goal.
I understand. This happens to me too. I make a promise to myself to lose a certain amount of weight, I get all excited, follow the plan for about a week and then quit as usual.
After gaining some weight during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, I vowed that this year 2021 would finally be the year to be serious about my weight.
HOW I STARTED MY WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY
So, before I did anything physical, I sat down and wrote out why I wanted to lose weight and the benefits I would gain in my life. Once I was satisfied and motivated, I then started my journey by doing extensive research about everything I needed to know about from healthy snacks, pre and post workout meals, ideal amount of daily exercise, etc. I consumed countless articles and watched multiple videos until I stumbled upon a jump rope challenge, thanks to the wonderful YouTube algorithm.
SO, WHAT IS A JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE?
A jump rope challenge is essentially using a jump rope to do as many skips as you can within a certain time. There are different combinations of these challenges with some focusing on the number of skips while others emphasize the minutes of skips. A jump rope challenge can range from a few days to months.
BENEFITS OF JUMP ROPE
There are many benefits of jump rope such as:
· Burns lots of calories
· Reduces belly fat
· Improves your coordination
· Increases your bone density
· Improves your mental health
· Increases your stamina
Even just 10 minutes of jump rope is equal to running for an 8-minute mile. All these benefits were surprising to me and encouraged me to start the challenge.
MY JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE JOURNEY
After looking through many jump rope challenges posted online, I decided to go with the Mommi Nation “Fit Mommi Challenge” which started off with 100 jumps for Day 1 and ended with 1,500 jumps on Day 14.
Thus, I began my jump rope challenge with much enthusiasm and energy. I had planned to do it during the last two weeks in April. The first two days were tough, but decent enough for me to get through. I had now completed a total of 300 jumps. By day 5, the real challenge had begun. I now had to complete a total of 500 jumps for the day. I initially looked at that large number with a heavy sigh. I thought to myself, how on earth could I possibly do this.
However, I didn’t give up, instead I came up with a strategy of doing half (250 jumps), resting for 5 minutes then finishing the remaining 250 jumps. It was difficult, but I managed to pull through, not without immediately resting afterwards of course. Thus, this was the strategy I used throughout the remainder of the challenge. It was helpful, because instead of fearing the big numbers, I would simply break it down into doing smaller sets of the jumps while taking breaks in between. I also timed myself while jumping so I could calculate how much time it took for me to complete a certain number of jumps.
As I reached day 14, I was not only proud of myself but also even more excited for the final results. I knew there had been changes to my body. They may not be that visible, but I could definitely feel them.
SOME DIFFICULTIES I FACED WITH JUMP ROPE
While I was jumping away, I started to notice a few things that will happen when you first begin. Regardless of the difficulty level of the jump rope challenge you choose, the first few days will be hard, especially if you haven’t used a jump rope in years. As I reached day 5 of the challenge, I noticed that the front of my calves felt injured or painful. I was immediately worried, thinking I had injured myself. I discovered that it was most likely a shin splint, which happens often when there is overuse of muscles. If this happens, it is crucial that you stop and rest your body, so it can heal.
So, keep that in mind when you first start and try to minimize it by having proper form while jumping. Finding the right time to jump rope is also very important. I realized I was more productive with jumping in the morning versus the afternoon.
MY JUMP ROPE CHALLENGE RESULTS!
So, finally the day had come for me to take my measurements and see the results of all my hard work. Although I wasn’t too focused on weight loss, especially within such a short time frame, I was still curious to see how effective the challenge really was. Now keep in mind that my diet did not really change much during this time. I simply reduced my portions a bit and did not eat past 8:00 pm every night.
My starting weight was 200 pounds and after two weeks of jumping rope, I weighed in at 195 so I lost a total of 5 pounds. (Not bad at all, especially for a beginner like myself). I plan on continuing with other more rigorous jump rope challenges to push myself even further.
Although two weeks is not really enough time to see significant weight loss results, it still has many benefits. Doing a challenge like this will stimulate you and also encourage you to push yourself harder towards a healthy lifestyle.
The focus should not mainly be on your weight loss but also on the many other benefits of jump rope. Starting with something as simple as jump rope you will see fast and significant changes due to this workout routine.
So now that you’ve read about my experience doing the 2-week jump rope challenge, why not try it, and see if it is the right fit for you on your fitness journey. Good luck!
