Jumping rope is one of the best ways to work out: not only does it burn 330 calories in just 30 minutes, but it also helps strengthen your bones and muscles, while you increase your endurance and heart rate.
But there's lots to do with a jump rope besides just jumping up and down. Authors Brett Stewart and Jason Warner — both certified personal trainers, triathletes, and marathoners — created jump-rope workouts for every level for their new book, Ultimate Jump Rope Workouts ($16), to help you combine strength-training and cardio in one.
Ready to save time and burn major fat? Read on to get one of their basic beginner jump-roping workouts and learn how to do some of the key exercise moves!
The Superman is a great exercise for strengthening your back. Here's how to do it:
Source: Ulysses Press
Doing this move helps strengthen your back and core while increasing flexibility.
Source: Ulysses Press
Lateral moves help work muscles you don't normally use. Here's how to do the skier jump:
See the next page for the rest of the exercise.
Here are steps three and four of the Skier Jump.
Source: Ulysses Press
The bell jump develops ankle and hip strength. If you're new to jump roping, make the jumps small; longer jumps will increase the difficulty.
Source Ulysses Press
This workout takes around 15 minutes to complete, so in addition to being able to fit it in anywhere, you can fit it in anytime!