I have been touting the benefits of fitness lately because after writing the post entitled, “Is there a best diet?” I have been just watching my calorie intake. Fitness is one way for your body to realize there is life away from the couch!
When I was doing full contact karate training, I used to jump rope at the beginning of every workout after stretching. Now as I recall, jumping rope was easy. All you had to do is get used to the coordination but the actual mechanics were easy. Well fast forward 25 years and I have bought another good rawhide jump rope and have used it a couple of days. Let me tell you about an eye opener! I now have a hard time keeping the rhythm going for over a couple of minutes! Let alone going for 20 minutes. 
In this post I’ll talk about how my boxing workouts contributed to my overall fitness and why one might want to incorporate jumping rope into your workout. I found this video of a gal that makes jumping rope look easy.
Didn’t she make jumping rope look easy? I liked the double jump – I had not tired that in my first couple of times back. The single jumps were hard to keep up. When I was in training for boxing, I had no problem moving forward and back – side to side or whatever. Now the workout is just like sprinting for me.
One reason to look at including a jump rope into your routine is so you can vary your exercises. When one does just one type of cardio, he or she is almost always neglecting some muscle groups… spread the joy! Now I found a boxing trainer with a video that looks more like I used to jump rope for your review.
Did you notice how his feet work moving front and back? Foot work in boxing matches are the key to getting into a good position to throw a punch. Boxers have endurance, in part due to training with the jump rope. I also liked that messing up did not stop they trainer but rather he kept up the rhythm and worked back into the jumping. If you were ever in a prize or street fight, stopping to reset is not an option… you just deal with the mess up and keep going.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the merits of jump rope. I have to end here and go grab my jump rope.
I once tried a boxing workout and loved it. Since I have moved I have not been able to find a boxing gym here in Atlanta. They use to have us jumping rope during the class but I could never do it very long. The funny thing is when I was a kid (even a overweight kid) I was able to jump rope for hours.
Hi John!
Whenever I see someone having trouble jumping rope, I suggest they “jump like a girl,” meaning with a double step between the rope jump, but with this video, and other excellent examples I’ve seen, the ladies don’t take second place to nobody
Hey Fred!
Yep kids have it easier but now as an adult (and still not in great shape) I really have to work at it. It does get my blood pumping – even done poorly.
Hey Dr. J!
Yep the double jump seems to work best for me. And yes… it seems to be in their DNA.