Why Skipping should be an essential part of your workout
Skipping has a wide range of physical benefits, one is that it improves your cardio fitness. Plus, it improves your co-ordination because you have to time your jump with the rope, it also helps with your balance and rhythm.
Furthermore, skipping can be a high intensity work out which in turn helps strengthen bones and is good for toning the lower body. Jumping rope also allows the body to increase the levels of calcium in your body. Skipping is a great full body workout as you have to use your lower body to jump up and down but you also have to use your upper body to move the skipping rope.
Mental Benefits of Skipping
Although skipping is a physical activity it does have mental benefits as you have to have a high level of concentration while skipping which keeps the brain thinking. Also, it’s working both sides of the brain while doing so.
The Benefits over Jogging/Running
Skipping is a more effective way of physical activity compared to running or jogging because you are firstly using all of your body roughly about 40% is your upper body and 60% is your lower body because when you’re running you don’t have to grip handles and constantly use your arms unlike when your skipping you are engaging your biceps, triceps, deltoids and chest. Furthermore, you do less damage to your body as there’s lower impact on your knees, hips and your ankles but it does have a positive impact on your lungs, heart and muscles.
Skipping and Burning Calories
Skipping develops you a more efficient energy system which helps you burn more calories as calories are what gives you energy as you can see from our ‘What is calorie’ post HERE. Also, skipping allows your body to burn fat.
Statistics
Calories burnt during skipping
Doing a slow workout where the rope rotates between 60 – 80 times a minute for ten minutes you will burn between 70-100 calories
Doing a fast workout where you do between 80 – 120 turns per minute for ten minutes you will burn between 110 and 150 calories
Overall if you skip for about an hour at speed it will result in 600-900 calories burnt.
Skipping in Sport
Boxing – It is commonly know that boxers do a lot of skipping and they do this for many reasons one of the main reasons is to improve on their footwork so that they’re faster and more agile in the ring. Plus, it allows them to move in a proper manner allowing them to throw good clean punches.