How to learn to jump rope?
Many people remember how they enjoyed jumping rope in childhood. However, in fact, such jumps are not just fun or a game, but also a wonderful exercise to maintain physical shape, which is not difficult to do on your own at home. Often, athletes use a rope during their workouts, for example, those involved in various types of martial arts. Regular jumping rope (skipping) allows you to achieve the following results: strengthening the muscles (especially the calf and gluteal muscles) and increasing their tone; development of endurance, as well as improving the functioning of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems; preventing the appearance of varicose veins; getting rid of cellulite and excess weight.
How to learn to jump rope
Thus, this exercise is not only very effective, but also useful for body shaping and improving physical fitness. But if you have serious problems with blood vessels, suffer from heart disease or high blood pressure, then you should consult with your doctor about the advisability of including intense jumps in your regular set of exercises.
How to choose a rope
Before starting skipping, you should choose the right rope, paying particular attention to its thickness and length. To determine the optimal length of a sports equipment, you need to take both ends of the rope in your hand, the arm should be extended in front of you and parallel to the floor, while the end of the rope should touch the floor. As for the thickness, experts recommend purchasing a rope with a diameter of a little more than 1 cm, which will contribute to the ease of its rotation.
Jumping rope technique
You need to learn to jump rope by mastering the technique of jumping and rotating the rope. After that, you can combine all the worked out movements together. Jumping in place is performed according to the following technique: first of all, bend your arms at the elbows, placing them on the sides of the body; secondly, take a step and jump on the left leg, then again step and jump on the right leg. The average pace of such double movements should be increased to 75 times per minute, and the amplitude of jumps to 25 cm. In this case, it is advisable to land not on a full foot, but on the fingertips. To push off the floor, you need to try with your big toes.
As you master the described technique, it is allowed to supplement the jumps with the use of a rope, taking both ends of it in one hand and rotating the hands to the side of you. During the exercise, the elbows should be pressed against the body or kept close to it. The pace of jumping and rotation of the rope must match. When you learn how to easily and freely jump in place, you can go directly to the jumping rope itself. All acquired skills (rotation of the rope only with brushes, landing in one place, absence of sudden movements, etc.) will be useful to you for the correct execution of the exercise. During the jump, the rope should have time to pass under your feet. For beginner athletes, it is allowed to jump in turns on each leg, which is reminiscent of jogging in place.
Some types of jumps
How to choose a ropeCurrently, various types of jumps are used, each of which is designed to use a particular muscle group more strongly.
• To increase the load on the calf muscles, improve coordination of movements, jumps on one leg are used, performed in this order: 2 times on the right, then twice on the left.
• Jumping rope with high knees is very effective for training the abdominal and quadriceps muscles.
• Cross-legged jumping is best for developing coordination of movements.
• To strengthen many muscle groups and increase their tone, such a complex type of jumps as double jumps are used. When performing them, you should push off the floor as high as possible, having time to rotate the rope under your feet 2 times during one jump.
Additional Tips
I would also like to give some additional tips to get a more effective result as a result. First of all, it is better to alternate legs, and not jump on both at once in order to avoid injury to the ankle. Secondly, in order to lose weight and spend more calories, it is recommended to gradually increase the pace and raise the knees high during the jump.
Thirdly, when severe fatigue appears, you can evenly alternate the exercise and rest, for example, jump for 1 minute, then rest for 1 minute, etc. The most productive thing is to jump rope every day, because a 10-minute lesson can be compared in terms of load with running for half an hour at a speed of about 10 km / h. If you can't do the exercise with such a frequency, then it is advisable to do it at least 3 times a week.
Bruce Lee gives similar recommendations, noting the high efficiency of jumping rope to strengthen physical fitness and develop coordination of movements. He especially points out the need for the absence of unnecessary movements, alternate changes of legs, bringing the pace of the jumps to the highest (depending on your capabilities). In addition, Bruce Lee advises jumping rope for 3 minutes (the duration of a round in a boxing match), and then resting for 1 minute. For one workout, 3 such approaches are enough. He considers the highest quality skipping ropes made of genuine leather, the handles of which are equipped with ball bearings, but in their absence, any one can be used.