Skipping: The easiest workout which you can do at home

Worried sitting at home and not able to hit the gym or go for a jog? If yes, you need not worry now. All you can start doing is one of the most efficient ways to be fit that is “Skipping”. Skipping is done with the help of jumping rope. This rope is generally made up of cotton or nylon and available in different varieties. Skipping is the best workout for all fitness levels. You can start doing it at your own pace and practice to get more advanced. So, in this pandemic, if you are thinking of you being lazy or going on a wild goose chase, adopt this exercise and feel its benefits!

How to start skipping properly?

If you are a beginner, purchase a beaded or licorice jump rope as it is durable and relatively moves slowly. Once you get used to it in a month, try to opt for a speed rope. Also, the rope’s length for the beginners should be longer as it allows them to catch the perfect time to jump back again. To check the length of the rope, put your foot in the middle of the rope, and check if both handles come till the armpits. If it’s too long, adjust it from both ends. The place for skipping can be chosen depending upon your comfort zones like terrace, verandah, balconies, or your house garden. You can jump on a mat if you want to skip outdoors and indoors too to have a good grip. Hardwood floor is the best thing to jump on as it gives you an extra bounce effect.

There are two more important things to keep in mind while skipping. Firstly, your hand position, make sure your hands are positioned at the same distance away from the centerline of the body. In this, the movement of elbows and shoulders should be minimal, as the rotation should be generated through wrists. Secondly, maintenance of consistent bounding, your knees can be bend slightly so that your landing will be smooth and toes should be pointed down on every jump you take. Also, try to keep minimum space between yourself and the ground.

Lately, people have found many unique and different styles of skipping. But to start with, do learn basic jump and this you can practice without using rope as well.  You can start continuous jumps for 1 minute that too at a slow pace. You can do 5 to 10 rounds a day. Increase it gradually when you get comfortable. Once you are used to it in a week or so, try to do skipping at least for 20 minutes. Also, when you are confident enough, you can go to advance skipping jumps like an alternate footstep, cross-over, double under, side swing, and boxer steps.

Jumping rope is a mindful game. Coordination between your arms and legs is the most important task in this.

What are the precautions you must take while skipping?

1. Try to wear shock-absorbing shoes or if doing barefoot, choose the floor space accordingly.
2. Warm-up by doing light exercise and stretching for at least 10 minutes before starting the skipping sessions.
3. It is very essential to take breaks in between for 30 sec to 1 minute and again start skipping.
4. You must avoid doing skipping if you have high blood pressure,  recovering from serious accidents, heart problems, muscle bridges, back pain, and knee/bone injuries

Some of the most interesting facts about skipping!

1. If you do skipping just for 1 minute, it will burn your 15 to 20 calories. This ultimately means that 15 minutes of skipping, you can burn 200-300 calories. So, it means in 1 hour you can almost burn more than 1000 calories per day.
2. Are you bored with brisk walking? No worries! When you compare brisk walking, it burns 5 calories per minute, on the other hand skipping exercise helps you burn 3 to 4 times more calories than this.
3. Interestingly, 10 minutes of skipping is equivalent to 30 minutes of jogging, 15 minutes of running and swimming for 12 minutes.

What are main advantages of skipping?

1. An incredible way of doing weight loss. You might be feeling nostalgic about how it was a fun time to play with jumping rope in your childhood. But as you grow older, you realize the magical effects of it. Skipping is the most efficient way that can burn a lot of calories and shed excess fat if done regularly and help you stay fit just by exercising it at your home.
2. It will boost your mental health by releasing endorphin hormone. This will absolutely show a positive effect on your mind by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It drastically improves blood circulation in the brain. You will feel relaxed, build more stamina, and able to focus more by lifting your mood.
3. Your heart rate and blood pressure rate will improve with this easy exercise. It has the power to make you healthy in a short period by increasing the metabolism rate as well. Especially for children, it has been proved to reduce the risk of heart disease and gaining height.
4. Skipping also reduces the risk of severe health conditions like cancer, type-2 diabetes, and obesity.
5. The overall blood circulation, breathing, and lung capacity will be sought better by skipping. Your body will develop a habit to take maximum oxygen input and pump it in blood wisely.
6. It is a full packed workout when done in advanced mode. As it plays a major role in toning up your lower and upper body. It will surely help you to build a lean muscular body.
7. Also, it gives less pressure on your joints than running. If you are an athlete, you must adopt skipping as it will considerably improve your shoulder movements.
8. Your bone density will get better but good care must be taken for the patients of weak bones and osteoporosis.

It might have crossed your mind by now that skipping is the prime alternative to traditional cardio. It neither requires any special equipment nor it has any rocket science, anyone out there can learn skipping and see it’s beautiful after effects. Staying healthy will make your life more cheerful.

Happy Skipping!