Today we’re going to talk about how you can improve your cardio endurance with a jump rope. Jumping rope is a great way to get your cardio in and the more you do it, the more you’ll improve your endurance.
To get you started building that stamina with jump rope we’re going to give you 6 easy steps to follow to get started. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced we will give you tips that we know will help you improve. Let’s get to it!
Step 1: Master the Basics of Jump Rope
When you’re looking to improve your cardio by adding jump rope to your workout routine, you want to get the basic jump rope form down. If you don’t use the proper form and technique, you will be more likely to trip over your rope, which is never fun!
We’ve created a simple tutorial where we teach you how to jump rope, show you exactly how you should hold the rope and how to incorporate good posture.
We also have this free 7-day jump rope challenge on YouTube where we cover everything from jumping rope fast to correcting beginner mistakes if you want some more in depth beginner tips. It’s a great place to start if you want to perfect your jump rope form so you can reach your fitness goals.
Step 2: Establish a Baseline
In order to track how well your cardio is improving, you need to establish a baseline, so you have somewhere to work from. We recommend pulling out your jump rope, setting a timer on your phone and then jumping rope for as long as possible. Whenever you get fatigued to the point where you just can’t jump rope any longer, stop the timer and write down that number. This number will be your baseline that you can use to measure how much your cardio improves over time.
We do want to mention that you should not stop the timer before you get exhausted. Even if you mess up or trip over the rope, don’t stop the timer. Just bring the rope back to a starting position and keep going. Since you’re measuring endurance, it’s not about jumping rope without messing up, it’s all about jumping rope for as long as you possibly can.
Step 3: Record Your Baseline
Once you have your baseline, you need to record it somewhere you can easily pull it up. We recommend using the notes app on your phone or in a spreadsheet. By writing down your baseline, you can see exactly where you started and monitor the progress you make as weeks go by.
Step 4: Establish a Practice Routine
Now that you have a baseline to work from, you need to start working on improving your cardio. As with most things in fitness, practice makes better so you’re going to need to put in the hours. We recommend doing a minimum of 3-5 workouts per week for 4 weeks. Once a week (before your workout) you should incorporate a test where you time yourself and jump rope for as long as possible.
The goal here is to push yourself a little bit harder every single workout. For example, if your baseline is 1 minute, then you should be aiming for at least 1 minute, 1 second for your next workout and so on. Always try to beat your time from the last workout, compete with yourself and don’t worry about anybody else’s time. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 4 weeks just by pushing yourself to be a tiny bit better every single workout.
Tips for Beating Your Time: Utilize Mind Hacks
There are some mental tools you can use to push yourself farther with your cardio endurance. One of the techniques that works best for us is to focus on our breath. We try to get into a meditative state, eliminate distractions and focus on the present moment. Another thing that helps a lot is listening to music that inspires us. When we listen to music that gets us in the zone, we feel the music instead of focusing on the pain and feeling like giving up. Music makes our workouts fun and keeps us pushing through when it starts to get tough, so find tunes you enjoy and get after it.
If you need some awesome workout songs we have you covered.
Check out our free jump rope workout playlist here.
Step 5: Review Progress
After 4 weeks, we want you to review the progress that you’ve made. You should have your baseline number and the results from the last 4 weeks written down. If you commit yourself and put in the work, you’ll see an amazing improvement in your numbers.
Step 6: Post Challenge Strategy
Once you complete this initial challenge, we recommend doing more endurance style workouts in general. You don’t always have to see just how long you can jump rope; you can also incorporate other endurance workouts to keep things interesting. If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out our free 10-30 minute jump rope workout playlist that will help you improve your endurance even more.
Do The Thing
If you want to improve your cardio using jump rope, you need to make sure you have the basics down and create a routine that is focused on tracking your progress. Remember to start by using the proper form and writing down a baseline so you can measure your progress. Once you have that baseline, try to beat your time from week to week. Keep track of you progress and review your success. Remember to stay committed and push yourself throughout the entire process. If you put in the time and effort, you’ll increase your cardio and endurance. Jump rope, get lean and life an awesome life!
#dothething