One of My Favorite Fitness Accessories - A Jump Rope.

Today I enjoyed a lovely conversation with my sweet friend Maria. She happened to see a video of me training with my jump rope, and as it turns out she’s really interesting using one the way I do. Maria was kind enough to ask me for a few tips to help her get started, and this post is my enthusiastic reply.

There’s so much to say about jumping rope, but here are some things that I think are important:

6 Jump Roping Tips

1. http://www.q-tipp.org/cash-advance-for-small-business

   It's a fast and mobile workout that can be done (almost) anywhere. I pack mine when I vacation or visit my family. It's so nice to fit in a little cardio on the go...fast!

2. When at the gym, I often jump for 30-60 seconds in between sets to keep my metabolic rate really high.
3. It takes practice, and it's important to be patient with yourself! When I picked it back up a few years ago it felt so awkward! I was tripping over the rope left and right, but with practice, these days I'm like a little female Rocky.
4. The rope you use makes a huge difference. If the length is off, or there isn’t enough weight to keep it singing, you’re making it much more difficult on yourself than it needs to be.
5. Before starting, to a body weight squat and see how tight your calves are. If they’re super tight, you might want to consider stretching them (not statically) before, and loosening them up afterwards as well.
6. Try not to count hops or anything, just go with it. Once you get it down, switch up your stances from one-foot hops to two, to alternating, and make it fun.

For fitness sake I hope you have a great time with jumping rope too. I take mine out by the water when it's nice, or blast the music in the boxing room at the gym when it's cold. Once you get the hang of it, it's such a fabulous way to stay in shape. Give yourself some time to learn and I bet before you know it you’ll be making your own vids!

Believe in a better you!

Megan