“Are you going for a run?” my boyfriend asked. “No, I’m going to rump rope,” I replied. “Aww” he said. But there’s nothing “aww” about this workout. Ok so little girls do it and my 6-year-old sister could out-skip Rocky if the situation presented itself but it also packs a serious cardio punch. Having stumbled across the Victoria Secret angels jumping their way to rock hard glutes on an Instagram video, I decided to look into this a bit more. I could do with a workout shake-up and if it’s good enough for Iza and Doutzen, it’s good enough for me! Two weeks in and I’m noticing some serious results already-leaner legs, stronger core and perter posterior are totally worth the burning calfs, aching bum and heavy shoulders. And that’s just doing 20 minutes three times a week! Don’t believe me? Here are some other benefits of jumping rope:
- The effort it takes to jump rope for 10 minutes is the equivalent of running a mile in eight minutes.
- One hour of rope skipping will burn up to 1,300 calories.
- You’re less likely to injure yourself than running.
- Skipping is a full body workout which uses your abdominals to stabilise the body, legs for jumping, shoulders and arms for turning the rope.
- It also aids your coordination and balance
- A regular skipping session improves muscle tone in both the lower and upper body.
- Once you’ve bought your rope it’s a zero cost workout and can be done anywhere.
- Skipping is a weightbearing exercise so can help in improving bone density, thus helping stave off osteoporosis.
Twenty Six Style 