If you are really diligent with exercise, a single rope and a pair of sneakers can make your body fit and lower your risk of developing various diseases, especially heart disease, which is often overlooked by many people.
Rope jumping is an aerobic exercise that uses arm and leg muscles continuously over an extended period of time. This slows down your heartrate and allows the heart to be able to pump a lot of blood throughout the body each time, which contributes to the enlargement of the lungs and greater oxygen storage for an improved function of the circulatory system, respiratory system along with the heart, lungs and other systems. Research has confirmed that rope jumping helps reduce risk of various diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and high cholesterol levels, etc.
You can start by finding a rope. It can be a small plastic rope made from plastic, rubber or PVC. Measure an appropriate distance for your height and choose the appropriate shoes for you. Then go ahead and start jumping.
The correct jumping posture is to stand upright with your back straight and your eyes looking directly forward. Stand with your heels slightly raised in order to allow the balls of your feet to support your body weight, and slightly bend your knees. Bending your knees will help you absorb some of the impact from jumping. As for the technique to swing the rope, you mostly swing it by turning your wrists. The elbows should be close to the torso at all times, and you should not swing the rope by using your shoulders. Start by jumping with both feet and try to jump as low as possible while letting the rope to pass under you. You should start by jumping for just 3-5 minutes at a time for the first 1-2 weeks to allow your body to adjust. Later on, you can gradually increase your jumping duration.
(Source: Prayut Mahakitsiri, President of Thailand Jump Rope Sport Association)
For people who never exercised regularly before, they should not continuously jump right away. Instead, they should jump for only 1-minute sessions at a time, followed by a break of 1 minute before gradually increasing the overall jumping time and reducing break time to allow the body to adjust and to reduce injuries.
