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Skipping for May Day!
As the first spring bank holiday weekend arrives, how about a quick rewind back to your school days when some of you may have been dancing round the maypole (!?!), or better still, watching the movie, Rocky!
The wellness world has a hot, new workout! With just a 10-minute bounce session, you can achieve the triple whammy of balance, co-ordination and speed – all providing the same health benefits of a 45-minute run! Don’t believe me? Well give it a go and then tell me if you’re not ready to take on Rocky!
How to skip at home:
- Keep your elbows by your waist and forearms parallel to the ground.
- To keep the rotations smooth, think of the rope as going around you, rather than throwing it towards the ground. Think around and around, rather than down, down, down.
- When the rope hits the floor, jump over it – don’t jump with it. The rhythm needs to be hit, jump, hit, jump, hit, jump.
- Don’t take baby-jump steps between rotations – this will slow you down and could even trip you up.
- Give yourself mini-challenges. Attempt to complete 20 jumps in one go. Then build up to 30 jumps. Then increase the time intervals. Start with 30 seconds, then add 5 seconds, slowly building up to 10 minutes of jumping at a time.
- Avoid wearing shoes with deep ridges on the sole or heel – the rope can tangle up in them.
Jumping rope, or skipping to the rest of us, doesn’t just possess calorie-burning powers, it provides a total body workout! Unlike running, where the benefits can be seen mostly below the belt, skipping impacts the upper arms and shoulders, due to constantly having to move them to control the rope, as well working out the legs and your bum. Skip three times a week for six months, and your bone mineral density will increase brilliantly in your legs and lower spine – well, you didn’t know that now, did you?!!