Jump Rope Training for Explosive Power

Full Out Jump Rope Training

Ever get bored of the same old workout? Tired of the same old monotonous workout that you do religiously day in and day out, until you get so tired of the boredom you just don’t want to workout anymore, period. Enter jump rope training. If you get bored of training with the magical leather or plastic rope, then you really got no business in the fitness world. Seriously. The jump rope is one of the greatest inventions to ever hit humanity. It is excellent for conditioning the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems, gaining rotator cuff and shoulder strength, conditioning, powerful lower body, and so on and so forth.

There are many ways to train with the rope, but most people I know only know of one way: swirl the rope and jump. Of course most people don’t jump rope because all they do is twirl and jump. Not only is that tiring, it gets boring and then you just don’t want to do it because you feel the boredom is not worth the benefit. BIG MISTAKE!! Get yourself a rope, and read this article and you will be in better shape than anyone not jump roping.

As I said, the jump rope is a remarkable conditioning tool. There are many different ways and angles to skip rope, and I’m going to list them for you guys to have a bangin’ workout. Jump roping can be done for longer minute times, or you can break it up into rounds. When jumping for say like 30 minutes, you pace yourself for the 30 minute workout. When doing rounds of 3 or 4 minutes, you up the intensity so you’re working at max heart rate, or close to it, throughout the round.

The Techniques

Alternate leg jumps:

Jump under the rope with one leg at a time. First you jump with your left foot, then the next revolution you jump with your right foot. Always keep only one foot on the ground.

Double leg jumps:

Same as alternate leg jumps, except you jump with both feet simultaneously. This is good for balance and foot speed.

High Knees:

Jump rope one leg at a time raising your knees as high as possible with each revolution of the rope. Go as fast as you can. If you really want a painful workout add some wrist weights to your jumping session. You’ll find ropes with weighted handles. Don’t buy those because the weight distribution is different and wearing wrist weights will transfer the effects of the jump rope to the right places with minimal strain as opposed to weighted handles.

Double leg high knees:

Same premise as the high knee jumps, except you SHOOT off the ground with both feet leaving the ground at once, bringing your knees to your chest. This is one is a real killer!

Criss Cross:

This is a tricky and advanced movement for the jump rope enthusiast. After the rope passes under your feet and is over your head, cross your elbows over each other at about the middle of your torso and jump through the rope as you would normally. The twist must be done quickly and accurately in order to make the jump. You really need to extend the elbows over each other to make the hole bigger for you to jump through.

Double Unders:

These are my favorite. Any method of jumping you choose, make sure the rope swings under your feet two times before you land on the ground. These are very difficult and requires (and builds) A LOT of explosive power in the calves and quads. When attempting these, do not jump up as high as you can; you should only jump a little bit higher than you would on a normal jump and the swing the rope with your arms as fast as you possibly you can. If you can get 3 swings under, god bless you. I am currently trying for 4 swings, but I still got a long way to go¦

Run skipping:

You gotta get outside for this one. Pretty much you just start running while jumping the rope either with regular jumps, high knees, criss cross, etc. just keep running on a straight path while jumping rope. You can also utilize this method while running backwards, which is far more challenging.

Ali Shuffle:

Jump rope just like Muhammad Ali. Get in a stationary position, and jump rope while moving side-to-side, forward and back, criss cross side to side, any angles you can incorporate which move your upper body around but keep your feet in the same general jumping vicinity. These are awesome for balance and coordination, which of course are both essential in any sport.

Any other ways that you personally know of jumping would be good to use too. Just as long as you have a set time scheme, you’re good to go. I don’t think jumping rope for reps makes much sense. It is a far better exercising tool when used for time.

Here are a few sample jump rope routines I use:

Routine 1
• Jump rope non stop for 30-60 minutes

Routine 2
• High knee jumps for 30 seconds (very high intensity)
• Regular double foot jumping for 30 seconds (moderate intensity)
• Repeat for 4 minutes, rest for 1 minute, and then go again.

Routine 3
• High knee jumps for 30 seconds (very high intensity)
• Criss cross jumps for 30 seconds (focus on speed of movement)
• Repeat for 4 minutes, rest for 1 minute, and then go again.

Routine 4
• Alternate leg jumps for 30 seconds (very high intensity and very high speed)
• Double unders for 15 seconds (very very high intensity)
• Double leg high knee jumps for 15 seconds (very high intensity)
• Repeat for 3 minutes, rest for 1 minute, and then go again.

Routine 5
• Run skipping for 30-45 minutes

Routine 6
• Ali Shuffle jumping for 30-45 minutes

These of course are just samples of some routines that I use. I change my workout routines pretty much daily so these aren’t set in stone, but as you can see, you can easily make a jump rope workout that fits for you very easily just by using these jumping methods. Muscle-heads think jump roping is for girls; that’s because they can’t jump for more than 20 times.

Start skipping rope, and your body will be greatly appreciative of your efforts, trust me. It is important to get a good quality plastic, or leather, speed rope, which runs about a whopping 3 dollars or so. I don’t like leather ropes too much because they hurt like a bitch if you get hit by one of them. Don’t be lazy; start working out the real way, not just the way that you heard from some fools. Keep your mind open to what actually works. I would choose jumping rope over many of the common “incredible and amazing” workouts. Jump roping can be done daily as long as you train smart. Get up on a solid jump rope routine for 2 weeks and you will IMMEDIATELY feel and see a difference in conditioning, strength, and speed. And that’s what we are all in it for, so stop thinking, and start jumping! Peace out.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.