Skip the gym and skip rope

March 29, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

Sure, you want to get a good cardio burn in today.

But by the time you trek to the gym and back, you’ve eaten up over an hour. Plus, running amongst ambient automotive pollution kinda blows. Plus, you don’t have one of them fancy at-home fitness rooms. Plus-… The valid excuses are copious. Unfortunately, so is the amount of weight you’ve been putting on while making them. So, what do you do when you’re at the end of your exercise tether? Why, tie a handle to each end… and then swing it around your hopping body. Obviously.

Yes.

I’m suggesting you jump rope.

Because that thing fighters and eight year old girls do just happens to be one of the best, easiest ways to stay in shape. Aside from the fact that you can fit it in your travel bag and do it anywhere (except in a non-bottom level apartment), it’s also a fab fat fighter. When done at a high enough intensity, it can fry fat at a rate of about 13 calories each minute. In fact, per WebMd, you’d hafta traipse an eight-minute mile before you’d burn as many calories as you do jump-roping.

That said, according to some sweat experts (sweatxperts?), even if you can rock that record breaking run, you’d be better off bobbing around over a cord for fifteen minutes or more. Why? Because (even though I hate to admit this, as a jogging junkie), you’ll protect your patellas a helluva lot more while still reaping the calorie ravaging gains. (And losses – of weight.) At first this made zero sense to me. I mean, purposely hurdling a rotating tripwire over ‘n over is still and impact exercise, no? Yes. But the duh-response I didn’t consider is that: while, yes, it’s still plyometric – both limbs are absorbing the smash of your gams against the ground each time. Compare this to the typical individual stem strike of each stride during running, and the difference is clear.

When both legs bear the burden, less damage is done.

(Is it bad that the track in this pic has more power over the pain image? And just makes me want to run more?)

And the personal verdict?

Well, this new info def makes me wanna hit Amazon for a new aerobic rope. But, seeing as I’m a glutton for punishing my knees, I’ll likely reserve actually ever using it for spesh occasions. (Level 9 hurricane, zombie apocalypse, all the running trails simultaneously disappearing into a spontaneously manifested rip in spacetime). However, I’d highly recommend it for anyone who’s lucky enough not to be a trail-trotting fiend like myself. Because the numbers don’t lie. Already have one’ve these braided fiber wires gathering dust somewhere in your cellar? Then awesome. Dust that shiz off and you’re already a hop ahead of your excuses.

So, if you’re not feeling like taking the trip today – then, sure, skip the gym.

But skip some rope, too.