Who actually invented jumping rope is a mystery. Some believe Chinese rope makers invented it as part of their New Year’s celebrations and called it the Hundred Rope Jumping game, or Jumping 100 Threads (source – International Rope Skipping Federation). Some say the Egyptians invented it in 1600 BC, whose athletes jumped vines as part of their conditioning routines. Or it might have been the Aborigines of Australia who were seen jumping vines and bamboo for fun (source – Jump Rope Institute). Some have even said that the Japanese army were using skipping as part of their fitness regime 2000 years ago.
Jumping rope actually improves your coordination by making you focus on your feet. Whether or not you’re paying attention to them, your brain is aware of what your feet are doing. This practice, over and over again, makes you “lighter” on your feet. Training for one of those warrior-style obstacle course races? Jumping rope can help. According to expertboxing.com‘s Boxing Training Guide, “the more tricks you do with the jump rope, the more conscious and coordinated you have to be.”
Compared to jogging for 30 minutes, jumping rope actually burns more calories. According to Science Daily, “This aerobic exercise can achieve a “burn rate” of up to 1300 calories per hour of vigorous activity, with about 0.1 calories consumed per jump.Ten minutes of jumping rope can roughly be considered the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile.”
Believe it or not, jumping rope can make you smarter. According the Jump Rope Institute, jumping aids in the development of the left and right hemispheres of your brain, which further enhances spacial awareness, improves reading skills, increases memory and makes you more mentally alert. Jumping on the balls of your feet requires your body and mind to make neural muscular adjustments to imbalances created from continuous jumping. As a result jumping improves dynamic balance and coordination, reflexes, bone density and muscular endurance.
The two-footed skip is the most simple skip and the one you almost definitely already know. Holding the rope in either hand, with the rope behind you, swing it up and over your head. Jump a couple of inches in the air as the rope passes under your feet. There are loads of different combinations of skips you can do to build up your body conditioning and stamina. From crisscrosses to double unders, as you improve your skipping techniques there’s plenty of advanced moves to progress to.