Zen Dude Nation! Today we are going over the FUNDAMENTALS OF HOW TO JUMP ROPE.You must get these skills down before you start doing some of the more advanced stuff. You can’t run if you can’t walk. You know?
Your homework is to jump rope for five minutes… continuously. It’s okay if you mess up, just try your best. Let’s get into it!
Size your jump rope.
Dudes and dudettes. It’s very important to have the right jump rope length. You can measure it by stepping in the middle of the rope and pulling the handles up to your nipple or chest area. The jump rope handle should be right underneath your armpit.
If you are 5″10′ or taller
The recommended size for your jump rope (your rope cable, excluding the handles) is 3 feet taller than your height.
If you are 6″3′ you’re gonna want your jump rope cable to be about 9’3” not including the handles.
If you are shorter than 5″10′
Just add 2″10′ to your height and that’s the length your jump rope cable you should have. If this isn’t adding up, check out this tutorial for more info.
Jump rope grip.
Now, before we go all out and start showing you how to skip, we want to show you how to hold the jump rope.
Here’s what you do: Get your body symmetrical. Your wrists are jutting out, just outside your hips, because jump rope is all about doing less.
There should NOT a lot of movement involved, check out the video (above). When holding the rope, you don’t want to be too high up and you don’t want to have your wrists down too far. You want your hands to be in a neutral, comfortable position because you want the jump rope to clear your head with the same amount of space that it clears your feet. You want to be right in the middle of that spin.
Jump rope posture.
Always have your knees slightly bent. It’s VERY important and we can not stress that enough. You don’t want to have your knees locked ’cause that would definitely be painful and subject you to some unwanted injuries.
On the flip side, you don’t want to be, too low because that would make jumping rope very difficult.
Establishing good posture while jumping rope will allow you to move better, while training and throughout your daily life.
On your toes.
Next up? Get up on your toes! Bend the knees and make sure you’re up on the balls of your feet; the entire time you’re jumping.You never want to be flat flooted because, again, this could lead to pain and injury. Picture a boxer bouncing around light-footed and nimble. You want to look like that!
Bounce height.
So now you are gripping your jump rope properly and you are up on your toes. This is the part where you start to bounce. Make sure your feet are not coming any more than 2” off the ground for regular bounce. Somewhere in the range of 1” to 2” is all you need.
You’ll notice as you practice and start to go faster that skipping actually requires you to stay lower to the ground.
Practice. You got this.
Spinning the rope.
Let’s put it all together and get the rope spinning. Jumping rope is all about doing less; finding your efficiency. The only thing that needs to work to spin the rope is the wrists. Your wrists are controlling everything. We cannot stress that enough. Some people jump too high, almost butt-kick, and can’t figure it out. If this is you, step back and focus on your wrists; your feet will follow.
Give it a shot. Spin the rope just using your wrists. Everything above your elbows, especially your shoulders, should have very little movement. You’re up on your toes, your knees bent and you’re swinging the rope. Everything is controlled by your wrists and you’re making an effort to keep everything nice and tight.
#DOTHETHING
This is gonna take some practice! What we recommend is that you start practicing three to five minutes a few times a day to just grasp the fundamentals of regular bounce. From here, if you can spin the rope fast, you can not only get an awesome body, but you can learn to do tricks that make it more fun and challenging.
When you are ready, join us in our FREE 4 week challenge. We have 4 weeks worth of free programming that will help you hone your jump rope skills and improve your fitness.