Using a Skipping Rope for Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, skipping is one of the best forms of cardio exercise you can do. It burns around 800-1000 calories an hour, making it better than running on a treadmill, using an elliptical or jumping on a rowing machine. To get the most benefit from skipping for weight loss, however, you’ve got to do it the right way. In this article, I’ll reveal 6 hacks to make your skipping for weight loss workouts as productive as humanly possible.

Fasted Skipping in the Morning

Your goal when you’re skipping should be to burn off stored body fat rather than consuming glucose, which is the body’s preferred energy source. For that to happen you need to begin your skipping workout with depleted glucose stores. The best way to do that is to fast before your workout.

Glucose comes into the body through foods that you eat. However, the body cannot store very much of it. After about 12 hours of not eating, your body will have used up its glucose stores. At that point, in order to continue supplying your body with the energy that it needs to function, your body will have no option but to call on its reserve energy source - stored body fat.

The takeaway here is that by not eating for at least 12 hours prior to your skipping workout, you’ll be burning through body fat rather than glucose. That’s why the best time to do your workout is first thing in the morning before you eat. Assuming that your last meal the previous evening was around 7pm, that should provide the 12 hour window you need to be in maximum fat burning mode.

Use a Weighted Skipping Rope

Using a weighted handle or heavy rope for your skipping rope will allow you to burn more calories while skipping. Even though it may sound more difficult, skipping with a weighted rope actually makes it easier to learn to jump for novices. The heavier handle allows you to be better able to control the rope. In addition, the rope will rotate more slowly, allowing beginners to better coordinate the jump.

A weighted skipping rope will give you a much better shoulder and calf workout, helping you to build muscle. When you add lean muscle tissue to your frame, your metabolism will speed up. That’s because it takes 5 times more energy to sustain muscle tissue than it does fat tissue. 

High Intensity Interval Skipping

High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, has proven itself in numerous studies as the most effective form of cardio that exists. That’s because, as well as burning plenty of calories while you’re doing your workout, you will be boosting your metabolism for up to 24 hours after the workout. This is as a result of the EPOC, or enhanced post exercise oxygen consumption effect, where your body has an enhanced need for oxygen after your workout. 

HIIT involves doing fast, intense work for a short burst, followed by an even shorter rest period. One of the most popular forms of HIIT is Tabata, which involves doing a 20 second sprint, followed by a 10 seconds rest period and then repeated for 8 rounds. Here’s how to perform  a HIIT skipping workout for weight loss:

• Do a 60 second warm up where you skip at a slow pace.
• Go all out, skipping as fast as you can for 20 seconds.
• Rest for 10 seconds.
• Go directly into your next 20 second sprint.
• Rest for another 10 seconds.
• Continue until you have done 8 rounds.

In order to get the most out of HIIT style workouts, you need to exert all out intensity during your sprint phases. Imagine that you’re being chased by a very hungry doberman. Then, on the next round, strive to maintain that same intensity that you displayed last time. At the end of this workout, which only takes 5 minutes (including the warmup) you should be totally exhausted.

You should aim to progressively increase your sprint session time and number of rounds with this HIIT workout. Work up from 8 to 10 round and then increase the sprint time to 30 seconds. 

Keep it Simple

The key to weight loss skipping success is consistency. That means that you want to find a routine that works and stick with it. Weight loss skipping workouts don’t have any place for fancy trick moves that are likely to break your rhythm. In the above HIIT workout, you need to be able to consistently skip at high speed for 20 seconds. To do that just stick to the basic skip and keep your mind tuned in - the moment you start thinking about your next meal, you’re bound to muck it up!

Keep Your Arms Out To The Sides

When you’re doing your HIIT sprints, keep your arms out in a slightly exaggerated manner. This will allow you to spin the rope faster than if you had it held in closer. And the faster you skip, the more fat calories you will burn.

Be Consistent

As previously mentioned, your HIIT skipping workout will only take you a paltry 5 minutes to complete. Yet, because of its intense nature, that 5 minutes will be better as a fat burner than 30-40 minutes of slow steady state exercise on a treadmill or elliptical. But success will only come if you are consistent with your training. 

Make it your goal to perform your HIIT skipping session 5 mornings a week when you first get out of bed. Doing so will give you a permanently elevated metabolism so that you’re burning more calories all day long. You’ll also be setting yourself up for a great day as a result of the endorphin rush you’ll experience post workout. 

Key Takeaways

• Performed fasted skipping first thing in the morning
• Use a weighted skip rope
• Do HIIT Tabata workouts of 8 X 20 second sprint/ 10 seconds rest
• Stick with a basic skip
• Keep your arms out 
• Do 5 HIIT sessions per week