5 Reasons Why You Should Add Skipping Rope to Your Weekly Routine
Newsflash: skipping is now cool
When I think of skipping rope, or jump rope, two images come to mind…
- Rocky Balboa — skipping rope in hand, sweating it out in his tracksuit prior to another life changing boxing match against Apollo Reid
- Grainy photos of children skipping on a New York pavement in the 80s
Newsflash — skipping is now cool.
Just ask @lauren.jumps on Instagram…
Ask her 413k followers…
And the over 3.4 million views one of her skipping videos has amassed.
To be honest, I have always thought it was pretty cool.
And since COVID lockdown, so have a lot of other people.
Apart from the fact that it is cool…
Why should we add skipping to our weekly routine?
Here are the 5 reasons that science recommends the skipping rope.
1. Fitness and Training
Anyone who has picked up a skipping rope for the first time will realise that it doesn’t take long to ‘feel the burn’ — in the calves, shoulders, and lungs.
For years skipping rope has been championed by sports people, such as Muhammed Ali, for its superior cardiovascular training.
Why is this?
MET — Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks — is a ratio used to grade the energy expenditure of certain activities.
Skipping rope has a high MET — higher than cycling and higher than a moderate paced run.
Skipping has a MET of 12.3
10 minutes of skipping = 40 minutes brisk walking
Skipping rope is favoured by many athletes for its thermogenic — heat producing — properties. Muscles produce heat as a by product of activity. Skipping rope uses multiple large muscle groups in the legs, core, and arms.
More muscles used = more heat production = more energy requirement = more cardiovascular training.
2. Cardiovascular — Heart Health
Not only does skipping rope make you feel the burn in your training regime, it also has health benefits.
A study out of China randomised young adults to either a ‘DIET’ or a ‘DIET + SKIPPING ROPE’. The skipping rope group had better improvements in markers of health — such as blood pressure, glucose control, insulin resistance. Differences were seen in both the normal weight, and overweight participants. But the biggest differences were seen in the overweight group.
Similarly a randomised study of overweight females with borderline high blood pressure, showed that a 12 week program of skipping rope can improve obesity and blood pressure measurements.
Skipping = appears good for blood pressure and heart health.
3. Balance and coordination
Skipping rope training requires an element of balance and coordination. This is learnt with practice.
The process of learning this coordination can help develop general balance and coordination.
A study on young soccer players radomised participants into skipping rope training before soccer training, versus non skipping rope. The skipping rope group had better scores in soccer specific balance and coordination drills.
A similar study was carried out in female volleyball players. With the skipping rope group having better coordination and joint proprioception (muscle-joint stability).
In children with ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — there can be abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters. This can cause deficits in balance, muscle control, and muscle strength. A 12-week program of skipping rope and ball exercises, impoved balance, coordination and endurance compared to a control group. Even coinciding with an improvements in neurotransmitter levels.
Skipping rope = helps develop balance and coordination
4. Bone health
Bone health is an important reason for participating in exercise, with different exercises having different effects on bone health, in particular bone density.
Bone density levels are set down early in life — in particular in females. Levels are maximised in adolescence and early adulthood when hormonal levels are at their highest.
Exercise helps stimulate high levels of bone density in early adulthood, and then helps slow decline in later adulthood. Higher bone density decreases risk of osteoporosis and fractures later in life.
Jumping activities appears to have excellent effects on bones health.
A study in Hong Kong, has shown that adolescence who participate in weekly skipping rope have superior bone density in their lower limbs than those who did not jump rope. In China, a similar study shows that this is most marked in those who do freestyle (ie. single person) skipping rope).
In Korea, a public health guideline now recommends people jump rope for 10 minutes a day to improve bone strength.
Skipping rope = higher bone density.
5. Simplicity
Lets call this “social science”.
The best attribute of skipping is simplicity.
As we have mentioned above skipping rope is very time efficient — with 10–20 minutes of skipping equivalent to a long walk or gentle run.
Skipping rope has only limited requirements
- A skipping rope
- A small space
- And, maybe the odd You Tube video to teach you some moves
Personally, skipping rope has been a life saver for the 4 weeks of quarantine I have done over the past 12 months. I just throw the rope and shoes in the suitcase, rearrange the hotel room and we are ready to go.
Add a few push ups, burpees, etc and you have a quick, but efficient work out.
Not only is skipping rope cool…
But it is cheap and simple…
It is great for fitness, for your heart, for your bones, for your coordination.
Get skipping today!!!
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I am just starting out on my writing voyage. My goal is to bridge the gap between science and the public. Using my experience as a practising orthopaedic surgeon, a dad, a nutritionist, and a fitness enthusiast.
