It turns out that one of your
favorite schoolyard games doubles as one of the best cardio workouts.
A jump rope weighs next to
nothing and can fit in your pocket, and when you start using it, you can burn
approximately the same number of calories you would when running an 8-minute
mile. It is considered one of the most effective workouts due to this calorie
burn, as well as its higher intensity, its additional resistance component and
its use of the entire body.
"Jumping rope for just 10
minutes is a huge dose of aerobic exercise," Neil Johannsen, an assistant
professor in the Louisiana State University School of Kinesiology, told The
Huffington Post. "It's a vigorous exercise that works all the muscles in
the body as opposed to something like walking. You can walk up to a vigorous
intensity, but you're only working a few muscle groups. Jumping rope makes you
use your arms, your core stabilizer muscles, all the leg muscles, and it gets
your heart rate up in that vigorous exercise range."
Jumping rope is also considered
by some fitness professionals to be an effective way to reduce cellulite. For
example, Edward Jackowski, the CEO and founder of Exude Fitness who has who has
observed such changes in his clientele over the course of 30 years, calls
jumping rope an "intensive cardiovascular workout" that could reduce
cellulite by burning fat stores.
"Cellulite occurs when fat
cells push against the surrounding subcutaneous connective tissue in your
skin," Jackowski told The Huffington Post. "If your lymph circulation
becomes sluggish, toxins accumulate in these fat cells. Interval training with
the jump rope improves your lymph circulation... Jumping rope can cause
thousands of muscle contractions that pump your lymphatic fluid out of problem
areas, reducing fluid congestion in your tissues."
Johannsen agrees that cellulite
reduction is plausible, but the fact still remains that there are no completed
laboratory tests confirming such an effect. "Scientifically speaking,
cellulite isn't just a matter of fat buildup -- it also includes the connective
tissue in that area to make it dimple, so it's more complex than making the
cell bigger or smaller," he said. "But to reduce the mass of it, you
have to burn fat."
Jumping rope is both aerobic and
includes resistance, making it an exercise that promotes fat loss and minimizes
muscle loss simultaneously (most forms of cardio lead to the loss of both fat
and lean mass). "When you push off the ground to jump into the air, you're
lifting your body weight off the ground," explained Johannsen. "And
when you land, in order to dampen that force of you landing, you're engaging
those muscle groups similar to if you were doing some sort of light resistance
training."
From its cardiovascular benefits
to its fat-burning potential -- not to mention affordability, portability and
ease of use -- jumping rope could be worth a try. Want to check it out? Here
are a few different types of jump ropes that can elevate your experience:
Smart Rope
The jump rope is even joining the
fitness gadget scene. Forget tracker wristbands and heart rate monitors -- this
wearable technology is something you can physically use to improve your
fitness.
Smart Rope might take your jump
rope workout to a whole new level with this LED-embedded prototype that
connects to your smartphone and soon it'll be able to keep you in sync with
your workout routine, no matter where you are.
According to their video
explainer above, 23 LED lights display up to a 4-digit number, keeping track of
your jumps as you work and reminding you of available battery life. Its
Bluetooth capability also syncs with its maker, Tangram's SMART GYM app to
store all of your workout data (jumps, time, calories burned, etc.) from the
jump rope to help you get healthier.
Lightweight Speed Ropes
On the other hand, one of the
main benefits of jumping rope lies in the fact that it can be so simple. We at
HuffPost Lifestyle are fans of minimalistic, lightweight plastic speed ropes
like this one from GoFit. Quality speed ropes can cost less than $5 and
definitely get the job done.
Weighted Jump Ropes
If you're looking for additional
resistance (and fitness challenge), we recommend giving a weighted jump rope a
try. This leather rope from Nike has a smooth rope design and durable grip
handles to help you work even harder.
Crossrope
For those who are interested in
using their jump rope for a variety of workouts, it's worth checking out
Crossrope, a jump rope system with interchangeable ropes and handles to cater
to strength on one day and speed on the next. The original Crossrope Elite
system, for example, comes with nine cable types and easily adjustable weights
ranging from 2 ounces to 3 pounds. The free Crossrope app for iOS devices also
just launched on July 1, which offers jump rope interval workout ideas for
exercisers of all levels.
Beaded Jump Ropes
And even the classic beaded ropes
that mentally take you right back to high school gym class will get the job
done. This beaded rope from Fitness Gear, for example, will run you less than
$10, and many find that the beads not only help with speed, but also with
consistently timing the rope through spin after spin after spin.
At the end of the day, it doesn't
really matter if you opt for the high-tech gadget or the old schoolyard classic
-- the jump rope is essential to your personal fitness arsenal.
Courtesy of: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/13/benefits-of-jumping-rope_n_7689320.html
No comments:
Post a Comment