Skipping Rope for Weight Loss -Skip Away the Pounds!

How skipping rope for weight loss can melt away the pounds in a hop, skip and a jump!

It’s no secret that losing weight isn’t easy. There are weight loss gurus abound telling us how we should be losing weight, and in no simple terms either! But what if we told you that dropping the pounds was as simple as using one of your favorite childhood toys? Skipping rope for weight loss might not seem like anything extraordinary, but when you take a closer look at all the benefits it gives you – including a serious weight loss boost – you and your waistline will thank you for picking up a rope!

So why is skipping rope for weight loss one of the best workouts around for losing weight? Simple. Weight loss, as you probably know, is all about calories in versus calories out. If you use up more calories in your everyday activities than you eat, you’ll drop the extra weight. Your body uses up calories every day just by functioning, and the more you move your body the more it burns. Although most people dread the word ‘calorie’, calories are really just a measurement used to count the amount of energy your body either takes in or burns. For example, eating an apple will give your body 80 calories worth of energy – that’s enough to sit completely still for half an hour or enough to power you through an intense 20-minute walk.

Now, add in a workout like skipping rope for weight loss and you’ll really notice a difference in how quickly the calories get burned! Take a look

• A 140-pounds person burns 9 calories per minute skipping rope at a slow pace (less than 100 jumps per minute). This really adds up quickly and is one of the most effective calorie burners you can do at home. Weigh more than 140 You’ll burn even more calories per minute!
• Jumping rope for weight loss will help you fit into that smaller size quicker! All that jumping builds up major muscle tone in your legs. The more muscle your body has, the more calories it burns during the day.
• As your body gets used to jumping at a certain pace, you can quickly move to jumping at a faster pace, meaning your weight loss won’t plateau or stall.

So how quickly can skipping rope for weight loss help you lose weight, exactly?

Using the calculation above, a 140-pound person who skips rope at a slow clip to begin with for just 20 minutes per day can burn up to 200 calories. That’s enough to drop off half a pounds per week – just by jumping rope! Add in a few quick intervals at a faster pace and your body becomes a calorie-burning machine!

For most of us, however, starting right out jumping for 20 minutes seems pretty unrealistic. Not only will it seem really tough to catch your breath at first after just a few minutes, but you’ll also need to build up the strength in your legs to jump that long. So how do you get a great skipping rope for exercise workout in when you’re first starting out? Here are a few ideas that will make your workout a lot easier – and a little more fun to boot!

• Start with slow intervals. Warm up by walking for 3 minutes, then jump slowly for 30 seconds. Now walk for 2 minutes, then jump for 30 seconds. Every week, add another 30 seconds to your jumping time, and eventually, you’ll cut out the walking intervals completely.
• You can also squeeze skipping rope for weight loss into your other workouts. Add one-minute jump rope intervals to your normal workout routine every few minutes. If you add in just 10 minutes of skipping rope for weight loss to your normal workout time, you’ll have burned over 100 calories extra – enough to lose an extra 8-10 pounds, or a full clothing size, by this time next year!
• Add short bouts of jumping rope to your day. Start out by doing a quick 5 minutes in the morning, followed by 5 minutes in the evening. Add that into your day 6 days per week and you’ll shed an extra 10 pounds this year without dieting!
• Love to watch TV every night? How about not fast-forwarding through the commercials next time you set the DVR, but skipping rope for weight loss during every other commercial? If you can build up to 10 minutes per day, you’ll get the same 10-pound weight loss as above without counting a single calorie, carb or fat gram.

So as you can see, skipping rope for weight loss doesn’t have to be intimidating, in fact, it can be fun! But what happens when you start getting a little bored just skipping rope, or your weight loss starts to slow down? Amp up your workouts by getting creative! There are literally tons of skipping rope for weight loss workout ideas out there. Just do a quick search for jump rope workouts and you’ll get ideas, tips, and videos galore! Take a look below at just a few of the fun ideas you can use to make your workout even more incredible!

• Add in some fancy footwork! Try to turn the rope twice instead of once before your feet hit the ground, try doing a boxer shuffle while jumping, or alternate jumping on one foot at a time. There are so many fun tricks you can try out!
• Cross and uncross your legs every time you jump, almost like doing a jumping jack. You’ll seriously up the calorie burn and also use new muscles, shaping up your legs and hips.
• Add in some strength exercises. Jump rope for 1-3 minutes, then take 1 or 2 minutes to do some strength training exercise. You can use hand weights or just use your body weight doing planks, push-ups, and squats.

Skipping rope for weight loss isn’t just another weight loss fad – it’s something that you can do anytime, anywhere. You don’t need a big amount of space, a lot of money or even a lot of patience. Just a few minutes every day adds up to big weight losses every week – you just need to pick up that rope and jump!