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Home › Articles › Physical Fitness › Kids Jumping Into Fitness

Kids Jumping Into Fitness

Jumping Rope for Exercise

By Sue Marquette Poremba

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Boredom Buster

Mia St. John is a professional boxer and creator of the Million Dollar Workout DVD, so she takes a different approach to jumping rope than the average exerciser. However, she realizes the major obstacles to regular exercise. "Getting bored is the biggest problem," she says.

Time is another problem. "Most people don't have time to spend hours walking on a treadmill," St. John says. Jumping rope, on the other hand, is a quick, high-intensity workout that will have the heart rate pumping in no time. Plus, every exercise session can be different or of any length of time. An excellent workout is 10 or 20 minutes of interval training – a minute or two of jumping rope, then a minute or two of weight training or push ups or crunches.

It's an exercise that isn't just good for the heart and the legs – jumping rope requires good posture, which works the abs. The upper body, especially the shoulders, gets a great workout, since the arms and shoulders are what power the rope. In fact, the experts say, if you are jumping rope properly, your shoulders will tire before your legs.

You first learned to jump rope on the playground in elementary school, but if done right, jumping rope might be the perfect exercise of adulthood.

Jumping Rope Made Easy

Bruce Silverglade, owner of Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, N.Y., says jumping rope isn't that tough. "That's why kids love it so much," he says. "It's best to start out slow and steady so you don't get tripped up." Silverglade suggests beginners follow these guidelines:

  • Keep it simple, relax and find your rhythm.
  • Jump with both feet and land on the balls of your feet.
  • Lift your feet off the floor just high enough for the rope to pass quickly. Avoid jumping too high or landing too hard.
  • Wear sneakers with plenty of padding to absorb the shock of your body weight. Always wear socks to avoid blisters.
  • Bend your knees slightly, rather than locking them. This will help absorb the force of your body weight.
  • Keep your shoulders relaxed and your hands at your sides, and turn with your wrists, not with your arms.
  • Be patient. Start out slowly, and then increase your speed once you become more comfortable.


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