How to Build Cardiovascular Health with Jump Rope

Do you ever get bored of the same old sport? Are you looking to get into great shape? Give jump rope a chance; it's one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. According to ProHealth, a 150 lbs person would burn 110 calories in just 5-10 minutes. I used to jump rope competitively and I was probably the most fit then, than I ever have been in my whole life. During just one practice, I would burn between 800 and 1000 calories. The thing that many people don't understand is that jump rope is actually fairly easy. It's all about hand eye coordination which can easily be built within a week or so. Boxer's don't jump rope before their match for nothing. Jump rope improves concentration, sports skills, and cardiovascular health.

I remember, as a part of the team we got these foam hearts that we were supposed to squeeze whenever we got bored. Whether it was when the commercials came on during our favorite TV show, or in between homework. My point is that squeezing something like that foam heart actually builds up the wrist muscles. Any kind of foam object or stress ball would work just fine. If you still can't find anything around the house there are some really great and cheap ones at any sporting goods store.

To build up your stamina, you can try simply running, and or what coaches call "quick feet." Raise each foot up about 3 inches, and basically jump from one, to another, but fast! Now when actually ready to jump rope, start by bringing the rope in front of you, then jumping over. Don't be afraid to pause, that's how everybody starts out. Keep doing this until you feel comfortable with jumping over the rope twice in a row without pausing. Eventually you will be able to jump rope continuously. Once you've reached that point, just know that that is the workout. The only reason most people don't jump rope to exercise is they either can't, or they get bored.

To make things a little more interesting, you should try adding some tricks. Moving from side to side while jump roping increases the amount of calories that you burn, and it gives you something to do other than just jump up and down. Just know that you can do any sort or movement like that while jumping rope. You could try opening your legs, then closing, opening, then closing them like scissors. You could even do the can-can while jumping if you wanted to. The ways you can jump are unlimited; you just have to have a rope, and a great imagination.