Can I Jump Rope Every Day?
Are you wondering if you can jump rope every day, the answer is yes. As long as you aren’t experiencing pain, it’s a great exercise to do every day.
Skipping rope is a VERY efficient way to get a great cardio workout in a very short amount of time. Depending on where you look some experts say it’s twice as effective as running (and some say three times). One study compared jumping rope 10 minutes per day to running 30 minutes per day and found they had the same impact on improving cardiovascular fitness.
The real question I would ask, is do you enjoy jumping rope enough to make it a daily habit? If not, try these three tips for making your jump rope workout more fun.
Tip 1: Find Music That Makes You Feel Like Moving
This has been my favorite part of jumping rope. I created a playlist and added songs to it that made me feel like dancing. Listening to music gets me moving and it’s not just me. The fact that music drives exercise intensity is backed by science. Figure out what kind of music gets you excited. Maybe it’s more than one kind, but create a playlist or two.
I like to jump with headphones so I can get the music loud enough and not wake up my house. I jump inside first thing in the morning when my son is still asleep.
Don’t judge, these are some of my current favorites (excluding those that are “e”):
- Shining Star – Earth Wind and Fire
- No Plans For Love – D-Nice
- Lose Yourself to Dance – Daft Punk
- The Choice Is Yours – Black Sheep
- So Good – Mauve
- I Wish – Skee-Lo
- Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
- Iko Iko (My Bestie) Justi Wellington
I could go on, but my taste in music is probably not the same as yours. If you want more, just email of DM me.
Tip 2: Mix Up Your Workout Types
Intervals – I love to do intervals using my heart rate monitor with the IntervalTimer app. On the interval days I will do a set number of intervals, 10-2 minute intervals with 30 second rest periods in between. When I do this I alternate through all of my different ropes. I do some intervals with a PVC rope, some with a beaded rope and some with weighted ropes. I recently added a rope that counts my skips to try and hit new goals.
Free Style – To mix things up I have some days where I do a “free jump”. For these types of workouts I put my heart rate monitor on and do whatever I want as long as my heart rate stays in the zone I’m aiming for. I use the Polar app and aim to stay in the “yellow” zone, which is fat burning.
Drills – If you are trying to master a specific skill, focus on drilling that one thing over and over. For example, I’ll jump with the goal of getting to 60 crossovers or 10 consecutive double unders. When you do drills there a lot of stops and starts, but it is the best way to master a new skill.
Tip 3: If You’re Not In the Mood Jump For 5 Minutes
There are days I wake up and I think, I don’t really feel like exercise today. When you wake up and feel like this, tell yourself that you only need to get up and jump rope for 5 minutes. I’ve told myself this MANY days and once I get started I always feel like more than 5 minutes.
It’s inertia. A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion stays in motion. If you can just get through those first few minutes, that’s often the hardest part. If you still don’t feel like it after 5 minutes, then stop. It’s still as good as running for 15 minutes.
I hope these tips will help you stick to a habit of skipping rope every day, even if it’s just for 5 minutes.
