4 Best Jump Rope Workout Routines To Burn Stubborn Fat

Improve your cardiovascular fitness, burn fat, and strengthen your muscles with a jump workout routine. Here is the best jump rope workout for beginners.

RELATED: Rocking The Battle Ropes

When Child’s Play Becomes an Awesome Exercise

Who remembers jumping rope when you were young? I do, I do.

Marzia Prince dips into some old-school nostalgia with this exercise demonstration.

For those of you who don't like spending time on the cardio machines at the gym, the jump rope is a fast and effective exercise to get your heart pumping and your fat burning. If you’re a beginner at this, these are the basic steps to follow:

1. Find a jump rope or skip rope that suits you. You can buy one to make sure you have the right length for your height.
2. When you have your jump rope, find a suitable place to use it. You want enough space to move the rope so it doesn’t hit anything when you rotate it.
3. Begin with frequent yet short, jump rope sessions. You can start with 20-second intervals or 20 jumps.
4. As your fitness level improves, increase your intervals and your jumps.

Tip: It’s best to jump with both feet as opposed to the single-leg skips you used to do when you were young. The double-leg jump gets your heart rate up faster and also helps build those calf muscles.

This is a tremendously effective and highly mobile exercise that can give you a sense of nostalgia while increasing your endurance and overall health.

Rope Cardio Workout and Other Exercises You Can Try

The one above is the classic move, but there are other jump rope exercises you can mix and match into fun workouts, such as:

1. Leg Jump Rope Workout

This jump rope cardio workout is also the best workout jump rope for beginners. It doesn’t stray away from the classic moves.

You just need to combine them to create a simple, fun, but a sweaty workout that boosts cardiovascular fitness.

• Begin with a double-leg jump. Stand straight with your shoulders square and parallel to the floor.
• With the rope handles on your hands and the rope in front, begin jumping with both feet. Make sure only your wrists control the rope’s movements.
• Do this for at least five minutes.
• Then proceed to the single-foot jump. Do the same stance, but this time, extend your left foot forward.
• Begin skipping with your left foot still extended forward.
• After 30 seconds, place your left foot down and then do the same thing with your right foot.

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2. CrossFit Jump Rope Workout

A CrossFit jump rope workout is what you need when you’re ready to upgrade your skipping rope skills. This one combines the principles of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and functional circuit training.

What does this mean? Every day, your workouts vary depending on what the personal trainer wants to test or improve from you.

You, however, need to execute the exercise with proper form and all your effort in the shortest time possible.

CrossFit is a brand, but it promotes not only cardio endurance but also conditioning, strength, speed, and agility. The workouts are designed to fit people regardless of their fitness level, so it suits athletes and workout beginners.

Here’s a sample:

• Start with a boxer jump rope workout. You can use a speed jump rope, which is also popular in boxing, for this one since you need to concentrate on your quickness.
• Relax your shoulders and let the wrists work on your rope handles. Make small but quick jumps by shifting the weight of your feet each time.
• Then shift to double unders. In this skipping rope workout, you need to make one big jump for two successive rope turns.
• Repetitions can be 10 minutes for each move. In between, you can perform lunges and squats, which strengthen the calves and knees.

3. Jump Rope Workout for Abs and Cardio

Is jump rope a good cardio workout? The answer is a massive yes.

It’s effective in raising your heart rate fast and way better than other types of aerobic exercise. In fact, ten minutes of jumping has a calorie burn rate similar to running a mile for eight minutes.

What is a calorie burn rate? It refers to the number of calories the body burns at a
certain period depending on factors such as the person’s metabolism and activity.

You can also burn more calories when you combine the jump rope exercises above with other routines such as:

• Jumping jacks
• Squat jumps
• Mountain climbers
• Burpees

You can treat this as a HIIT jump rope workout as well. Here’s a sample plan:

• Double-leg jumps for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Jumping jacks for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Single-foot jumps for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Mountain climber for 20 seconds
• Double-leg jumps for 20 seconds

Besides strengthening your cardiovascular fitness, you can also use the jump rope workout to help burn belly fat and reveal the abs.

Here’s a sample plan:

• Double-leg jumps for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Planking for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Single-foot jumps for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Push-ups for 20 seconds
• Double-leg jumps for 20 seconds

The jump rope workout benefits are hard to ignore. It can:

• Burn calories
• Engage different muscle groups and joints such as ankles, knees, and hips
• Enhance your hand-eye coordination
• Promote better grip of the hands

Join Marzia Prince as she demonstrates a cardio workout using a jump rope in this video from Sunwarrior:

A fat-burning jump rope workout can even improve your rhythm. You may find yourself a better dancer and jumper after this.

If not, then it can enhance your sense of balance, flexibility, and agility. This way, you can perform other exercises with a better range of motion and fewer risks of injury.

Just make sure you can also take care of your muscles with a plant-based protein powder like Warrior Blend. Take it as a pre-workout drink, and you will find yourself lasting longer in every jump rope workout session.

What makes a good jump rope workout for you? Share your ideas in the comments section below!

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 6, 2014, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.