By Ed Yong, MS, CSCS, RYT
Jumping rope has been a go to exercise in team sports like baseball and softball for decades. Reasons to incorporate jumping rope into your fitness program include:
- It’s a great way to improve speed, agility, quickness, coordination, strength, and power.
- It can help reduce the risk of injury by increasing strength and ankle stability while working in a safe, controlled environment.
- It can be used to increase aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Improve aerobic fitness by jumping at a steady rate for an extended period and improve anaerobic fitness by jumping at a higher rate for shorter periods of time (interval training).
If you are a beginner, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that your rope is the right length for your height. To determine correct length, step on the rope with one foot, put the handles together and pull them to your shoulder. The handles should come to your shoulder, but no higher than your shoulder.
Start your rope training with the basic bounce step. This is the foundation to developing rhythm, form, coordination, and speed. To perform the bounce step, stand with your feet together and the rope behind you. Swing the rope forward over your head. As the rope approaches your feet, jump over it with both feet. Clear the floor by about 2 inches and land lightly on the balls of your feet. Jumping rope is a low-impact activity, so stay close to the floor. Start at a steady pace of 1 jump per second for one minute (60 RPM). When this gets easier, increase the rate to 2 jumps per minute (120 RPM) for one minute. Increase your time every day by 30 to 60 seconds for as long as you can or try the advanced jumps and hops listed below.
Jumps start and end on both feet. Hops start and end on one foot.
- Double Foot (Regular) – This is your “basic bounce jump” on 2 feet.
- Single Leg Hops – This is your basic bounce movement, but on 1 foot at a time. Perform hops on each foot.
- High Knee Run – Start by jogging forward and alternate hopping from one foot to the next. Gradually increase speed.
- Boxer’s Skip – (R, R, L, L) – Alternate the bounce step jumping 2 times to the right and 2 to the left.
- Split Jumps – Start with one foot forward and one foot back and alternate moving your feet forward and backward on each jump.
- Crossover – Cross your hands in front of your body as the rope comes forward and jump through the loop created by the crossing action of your hands.
- Lateral – Jumps Side-to-Side – Jump side-to-side on each revolution of the rope.
- Lateral – Hops Side-to-Side – Hop on one foot side-to-side on each revolution of the rope. Repeat on the opposite foot.
- Forward and Backward Jumps – Alternate jumping forward and backwards.
- Forward and Backward Hops – Alternate hopping forward and backwards. Repeat on the opposite foot.
- Double Under – This is a power or plyometric jump. Jump twice on each revolution of the rope.
- Tuck Jump – This is a power or plyometric exercise. Jump and bring your knees to your chest on each jump.
Get creative and put together different combinations of jumps and hops to create personalized routines. For example, do 60 seconds of bounce steps followed by 20 seconds of power jumps without rest between exercises. Rest for 30 seconds and do a paired set of hops for 60 seconds on each leg followed by 20 consecutive power jumps.
Try to spend as little time on the ground as possible between jumps and hops. Stay on the balls of your feet, and when doing any lateral movement and keep most of your weight on the instep and big toe without letting your ankle role. When jumping forward and backward or side-to-side, focus on jumping/hopping as quickly as you can, not on how much distance you can cover.
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Ed Yong, MS, CSCS, RYT is a Rehabilitation Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Texas Rangers. Ed has earned the PBSCCS Northwest League Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year 6 times (2010-2013, 2015, 2019. Prior to joining the Rangers, Ed spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues as a strength and conditioning coach with the Indians and 3 years with the D-Backs.