I will not beat around the bush with this one! It is the skipping /jump rope. That is why athletes use it to build stamina (the most familiar is boxers), a skipping rope provides the ultimate exercise. It is the most effective exercise for all-around toning and weight loss. The best part is that you do not even need to skip for long. My routine for over a decade has been to skip 10 minutes in the morning, in which time I do 1000 skips. I prefer a skipping rope with padded handles and a counter.Because not everyone can start doing a thousand skips in 10 minutes tomorrow, when asked by friends, I recommend they ease into it. Skipping is a very high impact exercise and speaking to your doctor before you get started – especially if you have other underlying health conditions – is wise. Start slow; I suggest 50 skips for the first day and if you have no health issue, add 5-10 skips every day. To skip effectively without the pain of over-exercising, you will have to be disciplined in two ways; First, you must set time to skip and do it religiously and second, you must limit yourself to the skips you are scheduled to do each day. Skipping is easily addictive so do not be over-ambitious as you may not be able to walk by day three.
Some advantages of using a skipping rope include;
- High impact and therefore you get fast results
- You look good and no one can tell why (now you know my beauty secret other than a loving God, good genes and a smile!)
- Very effective for the face if you combine it with your facial exercise routine
- You can carry your rope anywhere so you need not miss out on your exercise even when you travel
- Most important for me, you save on time. I am not into spending half a day in the gym though I look like I do!
- With such a high impact exercise there’s no reason to worry about how much you eat so much as long as the food is healthy. While I generally eat healthily I don’t think twice about indulging myself during holidays or when I am enjoying myself. It worries me that often ladies can not really enjoy great cuisine because they are counting every calorie that goes through their lips.
- Builds all body muscle
- Helps with posture correction naturally as the default position for effectively skipping requires that your back is straight and head held high, resulting in your back muscles firming up.
- Given, some very heavy people may not be able to skip. A friend of mine told me this after we had not met for a while and I could not believe it till I saw her. She was well over 100 kilos and she is a rather short lady. She had to start her routine by just walking coupled with a good diet. Next was getting a good sports bra which cost her a little fortune because of her size. In the long run, this was a good investment as she is down to 70 kgs after exercising for about 4 months. Generally, you should be able to see some results by day 5. This is because the impact of skipping continues throughout the day.
To effectively get started you will need a good sports bra, sneakers with good padding and a skipping rope.
Caution; do not skip on bare fit and on the hard floor. I found out that you can easily hurt your legs when you do this. Skip in good well-padded sports shoes and if possible on a carpet with a short nap. Ladies ensure you are in a good firm sports bra.
I really hope you fall in love with skipping as I have. Do let me know how it goes.
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