Yenny Polanco

Bring out your inner child in 2010 with the jump rope! Yippee! How about that for starting the new year?! Let’s skip rope like kids. Do you know that saying, “Dance like no one is watching”? Well grab a jump rope, turn on your ipod, and start skipping rope to the beat!
 
Jump roping does a body good. Not only is it fun (once you learn the basics), but it burns a ton of calories, and is one of the most efficient and affordable ways to get a full body workout.

Depending on your intensity level, jumping rope burns 10-15 calories per minute! That means nearly 1,000 calories per hour. Remember… a pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Although computing actual fat loss is more complicated than just accumulating a bunch of minutes of exercise, you get the idea. Rope jumping can be a major player in your overall fitness routine.
 
It helps develop muscular coordination and improves heart and lung health, (cardio-respiratory function). It’s a fantastic aerobic conditioning exercise!
 
Rope jumping is low impact. The shock is absorbed by both feet, allowing the calf muscles to control and absorb the impact of each skip. It is less stressful on the muscles and bones than jogging (with all the basic routines, your feet will never be more than several inches off the ground at any time – so there’s far less shock to absorb!). It is versatile, portable, and efficient; can be used anywhere, and is great for travel. You almost literally need never be without it.
 

Jump roping is a true head-to-toe workout. You’ll feel it in your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. It also works your shoulders, biceps and triceps. As your skill improves, and you gradually add more-advanced moves, you’ll be using an increasing amount of upper body muscles as well as the lower.
 
As you all know, there’s just nothing like working up a great sweat for helping the body rid itself of toxins – and jumping (or skipping, if you prefer) rope is THE way to do that! I’m convinced that there’s no better cardiovascular exercise which does not require a machine. Whether at home or at the gym, it is the optimal fat-blasting, heart-pumping, calorie-burning, sweat-inducing exercise!
 
Jump roping is for everyone! You don’t have to be a boxer to learn the tricks of the rope. Both kids and adults can enjoy the benefits. It does take a degree of coordination, but like anything worth doing, you will be richly rewarded by consistent practice.
 
 If you are a novice, be forewarned!! You WILL suffer some initial frustrations as you work through the awkwardness of the rhythms of the skips and turns of the rope under foot! You may only be able to skip for 10 seconds without stopping (or TWO seconds for that matter). That if OK! Just get right back into it and try to jump over the rope as many times as you can without interruption. In short order, you’ll be skipping smoothly and happily.
 

**Rule of thumb on correct rope length: Holding both handles together in one hand, and with the bottom of the rope under one foot – the handles should reach to your arm pit.

I suggest you learn the BOXER’S SHUFFLE. It will allow you to jump longer. Jumping on both feet is more for speed.
 
Perform the BOXER’S SHUFFLE by alternating from one foot to the other; doing a double jump on one foot, then one single jump on the next, followed by a double jump on opposite foot and so on.
 
I suggest you count “1-2, double jump” to yourself as you begin to develop a rhythm for this exercise.
 
I’ll be demonstrating the basics and some advanced techniques on my web site. You might also check out www.duvide.com for jump roping instructions.

First make sure to warm up by doing 50-100 jumping jacks, and then mimic the jump roping moves.
 
Grab your jump rope and start skipping away.
Once you are able to skip for 3 minutes without stopping, try to do 4 sets of 3 minutes each, totaling 12 minutes. Rest 1 minute between sets. The more jumps you get in those 3 minutes, the more calories you’ll burn.
 

You’ll want to train at an intensity that produces maximum caloric expenditure from fat, and which is also heart healthy. This requires that you maintain your heart rate within a certain range – your “Target Aerobic Range”.
 
To roughly estimate your optimum target heart range …
Subtract your age from 220. Multiply that number by .9 to get the upper end of the range. Multiply by .6 to get the lower end of the range.
 
Using this formula, a person of my age (32) should strive keep her pulse between 113 and 170 for maximum aerobic benefit.

There are many different types available. In my opinion, for maximum caloric burn, the beaded jump rope from Lifefitness is the best. The beads add weight and resistance, therefore working your arms even more. Leather or rubber ropes are more useful for pure speed work. They tend to tangle easily and are not efficient for building strength, inducing fatigue or working up a good sweat.
 

The single jump, the double jump, a skip, a knee up, cross and a boxer‘s shuffle…. You must first master the basic jump roping moves before moving on.

Now, are you ready to jump your weight off?!

1. Hold one rope handle in each hand.2. Stand with feet together in front of the rope, knees slightly bent, elbows bent, and arms close by your sides at about waist level.3. Spin the rope over your head, and jump over it as it reaches the floor.
  You can jump with feet together.4. Continue the pass of the rope behind and back overhead and jump again as it reaches the floor. And so forth…

My motto: "To be my best and try my hardest!"

http://www.yenny-polanco.com