So if I can't jump rope... can I just jump?

mfanyafujo
mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
edited December 17 in Fitness and Exercise
Is it about the same in terms of cardio? I know my arms won't get a workout. I don't have a jump rope, and even if I did, I tend to get hopelessly tangled, but it is a good exercise to do at home. I imagine it would look a little silly, but whatever.

Replies

  • KitKB
    KitKB Posts: 45 Member
    If you don't have a jump rope (or can't get the rythm down) you can still hold your hands out as if holding an invisible one and "jump rope" that way. It's actually a really good alternative to small spaces! And your arms get the workout as well.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Sure, just "air jump" - I do that on several of my workout DVDs. You can move your arms like you're actually holding & turning the rope, and even hold some light dumbbells for more of a workout.
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    Thanks, all. Good, sensical advice. Hmmm... maybe sensical is not a word. Nonsensical is though... Thanks, anyways.
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
    I had to relearn rope jumping, I hadn't done it in years. My instructor had me hold both handles in one hand and swing the rope one handed to the side as I jumped. The rope becomes a metronome, you jump when you hear the rope hit the floor. Eventually you learn to jump in cadence with the rope and then you can eventually transition to properly jumping with the rope. This saved me a lot of frustration and my poor toes from getting hit by the rope (I jump barefoot). And you still get an aerobic workout from the jumping while you are learning the coordination.
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    I had to relearn rope jumping, I hadn't done it in years. My instructor had me hold both handles in one hand and swing the rope one handed to the side as I jumped. The rope becomes a metronome, you jump when you hear the rope hit the floor. Eventually you learn to jump in cadence with the rope and then you can eventually transition to properly jumping with the rope. This saved me a lot of frustration and my poor toes from getting hit by the rope (I jump barefoot). And you still get an aerobic workout from the jumping while you are learning the coordination.

    Yeah, I do pretty much all of my exercise barefoot. I will probably eventually get a jump rope and try to learn to do it without whacking myself.
  • jella74
    jella74 Posts: 106 Member
    I just do jumping jacks when I can't jump rope
  • Jessie__86
    Jessie__86 Posts: 71
    I always use an imaginary jump rope in kickboxing class. Im short and most of the ropes are too long and even if they had ones that were short enough I would probably spend most of the time tripping over it anyways. Im hopelessly clumbsy! I figure I get more of a workout jumping without a rope then stopping to untangle myself every five seconds!
  • SnowWhite824
    SnowWhite824 Posts: 210
    If you want to spend some money.... I saw this jump rope on the news where its just the weighted handles, and a small rope on each end, but thats it - Nothing to actually jump. So its all the jump roping without the tripping!
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    If you want to spend some money.... I saw this jump rope on the news where its just the weighted handles, and a small rope on each end, but thats it - Nothing to actually jump. So its all the jump roping without the tripping!

    I'm getting an amazingly hilarious mental picture from this. Thank you. This sort of thing may be necessary, given my sense of rhythm.
  • poledancing_ninja
    poledancing_ninja Posts: 271
    Everyone at my kickboxing club does jump rope whilst warming up for their fights. I can't jump rope more than 3 rotations so I just pretend with the arm motions and all!
  • Hailei
    Hailei Posts: 86 Member
    I wanna do the rope jump to, but I've read in more than one articles that it's not recommended for people that have many kilos above their "normal" weight, because it puts too much pressure on the ankles and doing that regularly might lead to injuries or "weakening" the ankle bones... What do you guys think, has any of you dealt with this?
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    If you don't have a jump rope (or can't get the rythm down) you can still hold your hands out as if holding an invisible one and "jump rope" that way. It's actually a really good alternative to small spaces! And your arms get the workout as well.

    We do that in our cardio kickboxing class between combinations instead of staying still. Works just fine! I can't jump rope to save my life, the hand-eye coordination...just not my thing!
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    I wanna do the rope jump to, but I've read in more than one articles that it's not recommended for people that have many kilos above their "normal" weight, because it puts too much pressure on the ankles and doing that regularly might lead to injuries or "weakening" the ankle bones... What do you guys think, has any of you dealt with this?

    I think low intensity jump roping has about the same impact as jogging, or even less, since you land on both feet at the same time. I think if you can jog, you should be okay to jump rope. Give it a try, and if you get sore ankles, take a break.
  • Sister_Someone
    Sister_Someone Posts: 567 Member
    Of course! Just swing your arms as if you were jumping an invisible rope. :) I always do that 'cause I'm so clumsy, I'd fear for my life if I tried to balance with an actual rope.
  • princessruthiebelle
    princessruthiebelle Posts: 165 Member
    you could star jump?
  • Hailei
    Hailei Posts: 86 Member
    I think low intensity jump roping has about the same impact as jogging, or even less, since you land on both feet at the same time. I think if you can jog, you should be okay to jump rope. Give it a try, and if you get sore ankles, take a break.

    I haven't started jogging either, cause the weather has been still really chilly, but hopefully soon I will. Yeah, it does sound the same, I don't know why it would be different with rope jumping.. :happy:

    Thanks!
  • rjo921
    rjo921 Posts: 130
    If you don't have a jump rope (or can't get the rythm down) you can still hold your hands out as if holding an invisible one and "jump rope" that way. It's actually a really good alternative to small spaces! And your arms get the workout as well.

    I can't jump rope either....but the invisible jump rope routine is something that I have also seen in my workouts and it really does get your heartrate up....so yes...jump! :smile:
  • shellsrenee01
    shellsrenee01 Posts: 357 Member
    I just bought my first jump rope and it is not nearly as easy as it was when I was 8! I sure didn't have boobs back then :laugh: But I am looking forward to learning this skill all over again and my goal is to build up enough endurance to jump for 15 minutes straight :wink:
  • sbocha01
    sbocha01 Posts: 9 Member
    I highly recommend actually trying to jump rope for real.

    I started jumping rope about two months ago (when I started boxing)...I was absolutely terrible at it. Could barely jump the rope once. But you really just have to keep at it and you'll steadily get better at it. After a week, I could actually kind of do it.

    As you get better at it, you'll start to challenge yourself more to keep things interesting, like stepping one foot at a time or crossing your arms or changing how high you jump.

    And on top of all of that, seeing your progress will give you confidence and motivation to be able to try other things that you've never done before and not get so easily discouraged.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Is it about the same in terms of cardio? I know my arms won't get a workout. I don't have a jump rope, and even if I did, I tend to get hopelessly tangled, but it is a good exercise to do at home. I imagine it would look a little silly, but whatever.

    I had an electronic jump rope. It had handles and swinging weights, but no rope. It worked all right, except for being dull. But so is jumping rope, imo.
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
    So glad I read this post--I'm having a really hard time relearning how to jump rope, but will give this a try again!
  • angieoquinn92
    angieoquinn92 Posts: 1 Member
    ...or put two tennis balls in a sock (this works best with long men's socks) and tie the top in a knot. Make two of these (one for each hand). Now go through the motions of jumping rope,but swing the socks around like you would a jump rope. It adds a little more of a challenge to "pretend jump rope" and, in my opinion, looks a little less silly (if you're concerned about that) and there's no danger of tripping. :)
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