Five Key Benefits of Skipping

Skipping or - for American readers - jumping rope, is a staple exercise in three places – a Crossfit gym (AKA box), a boxing gym, and a primary school playground. My brother often teases me about skipping – “it’s for little girls” he says. But he’s missing out on some fantastic benefits:

SKIPPING WILL IMPROVE:

Coordination,
Cardio-vascular conditioning,
Speed,
Agility,
Endurance.

These benefits transfer to all sports. What sportsperson doesn’t want to be more agile, faster, better conditioned? I don’t think anyone would call Floyd Mayweather a little girl to his face….oh no wait Ricky Hatton already did that, and it didn't turn out well for him.

Still, jumping rope is worth it – it ticks all the boxes, you can do it virtually anywhere, and a great jump rope (hint –the Beast Rope or the Beast Rope Pro) represents great value as a conditioning tool.

Sadly, many coaches outside of boxing, MMA and Crossfit simply don't skip. It’s perceived as “not cool”. Instead, they teach complicated and unnecessary exercises and drills to build agility and coordination. Well, I happen to think this looks pretty cool:

Using a speed rope is a sure fire way to improve both coordination and conditioning – two key components for any sport. For beginners, expect a challenge. Regardless of how fit you are, it can be frustrating to start and it takes time to become skilled at skipping. Do not allow this frustration to stop you. Skipping is too good a tool for that. Skipping will help you develop as an athlete.

SKIPPING BENEFITS

1 - SKIPPING IS AN IDEAL WARM-UP

There is no better warm-up prior to training than some simple skipping. Skipping increases core/muscular temperature, primes the tissues of the legs for work and gets you into the coordination and athleticism sweet spot before you start working hard.

2 - SKIPPING POSES MINIMAL INJURY RISK

It’s really difficult to injure yourself while skipping. If you mess up, you might stub your toe or whip your calf. You stop, dust off and start again. It’s pretty much impossible to get injured beyond that!

Compared to something like sprinting, which is a technical and learned movement. Sprinting requires tight coordination under excess fatigue and therefore the potential for injury is higher – twinged back, snapped achilles, pulled hamstring…

3 - SKIPPING LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR SPORTS

Whether you are a boxer, rugby player or powerlifter – skipping is an ideal option for developing the speed, agility, and coordination for your sport.

You wouldn’t jump directly into the maximal effort, would you? No; it would be irresponsible to go straight into sparring, sprint drill, or heavy lifting without first practicing and conditioning your body tissues for impact and work.

Skipping is exceptionally effective for patterning and movement prep. Don’t snap your Achilles in sparring or twang your hamstring at rugby training - use the jump rope as a warm-up and conditioning tool to prepare yourself for movement

4 - SKIPPING BUILDS ATHLETICISM

Being strong and fast is awesome, but it means nothing if you don’t have coordination. Skipping builds coordination which you need to express your strength and speed effectively.

5 - SKIPPING BURNS LOADS OF CALORIES

Skipping is one of the most efficient types of exercise for burning calories. Of course, it depends on your body weight, and how hard you work out – but skipping at a moderate to high pace will burn between 600 and over 1,000 calories per hour depending on if you are smaller or larger (American College of Sports Medicine).

Skipping involves the whole body, and more muscles, so burns more calories. Not only that, it can add definition to the calves and shoulders, which work hard.