Benefits of Jumping Rope - Perfect Portable Cardio Exercise To Burn Fat

Recently, I took up jump roping and I have been impressed with the results. Jumping rope is something anyone can do to improve their cardiovascular health and boost his or her metabolism. Jumping rope can burn nearly 1,000 calories per hour making this a very smart and efficient way of getting the exercise we all need. What is even more important is that children, teens, and even adults can do this exercise and all you need is an affordable, inexpensive jump rope!

Jumping rope allows for your agility to increase as well as coordination, timing and endurance. The longer you jump rope, the higher your endurance will build up. Making those calories burn and boosting your metabolism all the while you are having fun. You do not have to jump rope for an entire hour to see the benefits of jumping rope. You can start out slow and work your way up to a decent workout within a matter of weeks using a jump rope.

Jumping rope is also easy to learn and very inexpensive. You do not need to go to the gym to jump rope and once you learn how to jump rope, you can do it all the time or when you have a couple of minutes in between doing household chores or coming to and from work. I recommend jumping rope in 10 to 15 minute sessions. This breaks up the time and allows for your heart rate to increase while at the same time you are not getting worn out or tired from jumping rope over and over again. A good jump rope can be purchased at any sports equipment store or even your local super store for around eight to ten dollars.

Jumping rope is also something that does not limit where you can workout. You can take the jump rope along with you and use it at your own discretion. For example, you can pack your jump rope in your briefcase, your gym bag or even your purse! If you travel a lot, this is definitely one of the things that you must pack with you. There isn't any excuse for not having your jump rope!

As I stated earlier, jumping rope is not just good for adults but jumping rope is also good for children. The benefits for children include lowering body fat, increasing endurance, and boosting their own metabolisms while having fun. Children can usually pick up jumping rope a lot faster than adults can also, so this makes it an easy exercise to teach your children and once they learn, they will enjoy this exercise up into adulthood. Jumping rope can also boost your child's self-esteem levels. Self-esteem levels are always in need of being raised and what better way than to let them have fun jumping rope while at the same time getting that exercise they so desperately need in today's society.

In order to jump rope, you must know the basics and I will list those for you. Once you have the basics down, you can start to learn other ways to jump with the rope such as crisscrossing the rope, and by adding weights to the handles. Make sure before you begin your workout that the jump rope is set to the proper position for yourself or your child. Do this by putting your feet in the center of the jump rope while standing, bring both handles up to your chest and remember that the handles should rest about chest height.

Now to properly jump rope, here are the basics:

• Lightly grip the handles near the end closest to the rope.
  
  
• Keep your shoulders relaxed and your elbows close to your body.
  
  
• Your knees should be bent slightly.
  
  
• Turn the rope from the wrist and aim to keep a smooth arc in the rope as it passes over your head.
  
  
• Never bend or hunch over. Keep your back straight and head up.
  
  
• Jump low to keep the impact on your knees and ankles to a minimum.

Once you have the basics down, you will be on your way to boosting your metabolism and losing some weight! Jumping rope is very beneficial and I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think!

By Christina Carney