The jump rope has long been considered nothing more than a simple schoolyard game.
But a lot has changed. It’s no longer a forgotten childhood pastime.
With the introduction of new training methods and durable materials, jump ropes have become an extremely versatile training tool that can help anyone (of any fitness level) achieve a wide variety of fitness goals.
So if you’re wondering, does jump rope burn fat? We have your answer.
This post will focus on jumping rope for weight loss, explain why jumping rope is the best weight loss workout, and offer insight on choosing the best jump rope to lose weight.
If weight loss is on your mind, this post is for you. Let’s dig in.
Does Jump Rope Burn Fat?
The answer is yes. Fat loss is one of many jump rope benefits. Jumping rope is considered a vigorous-intensity activity. It is an excellent exercise for elevating your heart rate and burning calories. To lose weight and burn fat, you need to incorporate a high amount of physical activity into your lifestyle. A jump rope can help you reach that threshold in less time than other exercises.
The How To Jump Rope for Weight Loss
One of the best ways to use jump ropes to lose weight is to do HIIT cardio.
HIIT, or High-Intensity Interval Training, is getting a lot of attention these days. Plenty of studies have proven its effectiveness for burning fat quickly and efficiently compared to traditional steady-state cardio.
You can read up on a few studies here, here, and here.
Now, before we dig into the advantages of HIIT and answer in more detail the question, does jump rope burn belly fat? Let’s break down the definition of HIIT.
HIIT is a training technique where you alternate between intervals of high-intensity activity and periods of low-intensity activity.
For example, a popular HIIT workout is switching between 30 seconds of max-effort sprints and 30 seconds of jogging for five consecutive rounds.
We’ll take a look at a few other workout options later. Let’s quickly highlight three reasons why we recommend using HIIT for your fat loss goals.
- HIIT results in more fat loss than steady-state cardio
- HIIT is more efficient than traditional cardio
- You can do HIIT workouts anywhere
1. HIIT Results In More Fat Loss Than Steady-State Cardio
All of the studies we’ve linked come to the same conclusion: short, high-intensity training sessions result in greater fat loss than long, low-intensity cardio sessions.
One study, in particular, conducted by researchers at Laval University had some exciting results.
They split men and women into two groups: the first group followed a 15-week HIIT program while the second group followed a 20-week-steady-state cardio program.
The findings: the steady-state group burned 15,000 more calories, but the subjects in the HIIT group lost, on average, nine times more fat than the steady-state group.
2. HIIT Is More Efficient Than Traditional Cardio
You can burn more fat in less time with HIIT workouts than you can with traditional steady-state cardio.
The efficiency of HIIT training touches on a question we get asked a lot: is jumping rope or running better for weight loss? And the answer depends on how you’re training. If you’re going for long, steady-state jogs where you’re maintaining the same pace throughout the session, then you’re going to see more weight loss results from shorter jump rope HIIT workouts.
Just take a look at that Laval study again (up top). The subjects in the HIIT group burned more fat even though they trained for five fewer weeks.
So here’s what’s up: HIIT saves you time and gets you better results.
As you’ll see in our fat-burning workouts later, a solid jump rope HIIT routine only needs about 10 minutes (even as little as four minutes). So the excuse, “I don’t have time to exercise,” no longer applies here.
3. You Can Do HIIT Workouts Anywhere
If you’re worried that you need a lot of equipment to take advantage of HIIT, you’d be wrong. You can do HIIT workouts anywhere with very little equipment. You don’t need access to a gym or expensive equipment. You can do your HIIT workouts at home, outside, at a hotel, or wherever else you find yourself when it’s time to train. And that flexibility is an important factor over the long term.
Why A Jump Rope Is Perfect For HIIT
There are several training tools you can use to build a HIIT cardio workout. You can use bodyweight exercises, kettlebells, barbells, sandbags, tires, monkey bars, and the list goes on. But the one training tool we’ve found to be the best? The jump rope. Let's go over a few reasons why.
- You can switch up intensities on the fly
- You can keep your workouts fresh and effective
For a HIIT workout to be effective, you must transition between different intensity levels quickly. You must be able to go from high intensity to low intensity (and vice-versa) within a split second.
The jump rope allows you to do precisely this.
You can switch between a light basic jump and a max-effort sprint almost instantly. You can transition quickly between a high-intensity double under and a low-intensity scissor jump. The options are endless.
Next, Very few training tools are as versatile as the jump rope.
While an outdoor sprinting HIIT workout, for example, can do wonders for fat loss, you can only do it so many times before you get bored with it. When you start jumping rope to lose weight, you can constantly switch up your variations. You can transition between countless different jump rope exercises to make your workouts more engaging.
The Best Jump Rope For Weight Loss
The great thing about jumping rope is that it’s effortless to get started – you can pick up a simple jump rope at any fitness or department store.
But what if you wanted to get a little more out of each workout?
The question we’ve been trying to answer at Crossrope is how do we make high-intensity jump rope training even more effective?
Here’s what we’ve done:
We’ve introduced a unique jump rope training system that adds another layer of effectiveness to your fat loss training: resistance.
There are a number of weighted jump rope benefits and resistance is a big one – and this applies to all fitness levels, especially beginners.
Heavy ropes force you to slow down your rotation and give you great rotational feedback so you know where the rope is on each and every jump – this is super helpful if you’re just learning how to jump rope.
But as you get better – as your skills improve and your confidence grows – our jump rope system becomes an incredible fat-burning, strength-building, and endurance-improving tool, making ours a top choice for the best jump rope for weight loss.
As you increase the weight of your rope and the speed at which you rotate the rope around your body, you force greater muscular recruitment and engagement, you get faster heart rate elevation, and you experience a greater secretion of fat-burning hormones (like HGH).
The heavier the rope, the greater the resistance. And the greater resistance, the greater the muscle engagement.
Jump Rope Cardio Training: How to get Started (Quickly)
We’ve shared a lot of information so far. Now let’s get your hands dirty with some powerful fat burning jump rope workouts.
Note – if you’re a beginner, make sure to check out our Complete Beginner’s Guide to Jump Rope Training so you can get up to speed with the skills and techniques that you’ll need to get the most out of these workouts.
When we’re building our own jump rope workouts, we like to start by choosing a workout protocol or blueprint that lays the foundation – these include intervals, AMRAP, ladders, EMOM, Tabatas, etc.
We then take other factors into consideration like the pace of rotation, the weight of rope, footwork patterns, etc. A simple tweak here and there can drastically change the speed and intensity of your workout.
So let me share two workout ideas that you can get started with today.
Fat Burning Jump Rope Workout for Beginners
Want to find out for yourself if jumping rope is good for weight loss? Here’s a very simple 10-minute jump rope weight loss workout that you can follow along to.
You will need your jump rope and a timer (or stopwatch) for this workout. This workout uses the 1/2 LB Jump Rope from the Get Fit Bundle, but you can use any rope you have on hand.
Set your timer to beep every 30 seconds and complete 5 rounds of the following series of jump rope exercises:
- 30 seconds of basic jump
- 30 seconds of jumping jacks
- 30 seconds of alternate foot jump
- 30 seconds of rest
You can follow along to the workout in this video below:
You will notice in the video below that the workout starts off very slowly and progressively increases the pace from round to round. Try to do the same thing with your rounds.
When you’re done, make sure to go to our Crossrope Jump Rope Community and share your experience with everyone. We’d love to have you there.
Advanced Jump Rope Fat Loss Workout
Alright, so you’re ready to try a more challenging jump rope fat loss workout to boost your cardio and endurance?
Perfect.
Here’s a 5 minute full-body AMRAP workout that will really get your heart rate up. You’re going to follow a traditional AMRAP workout structure for this one, which means your goal is to complete as many rounds as possible of the following exercises in 5 minutes.
Yes, only 5 minutes; we weren’t kidding when we said you can burn more fat in less time with HIIT cardio.
Set your timer to 5 minutes and try to complete as many round of the following exercises:
- 20 Double Unders
- 10 Plank Up Downs
- 5 Star Jump Burpees
If you need help with your double under technique, make sure to check out our double under guide.
Here’s what this workout looks like:
You can follow along with this video:
Creating the Best Jump Rope for Weight Loss Workout for You
This is where things get really fun and interesting. Once you try out a few of the jump rope workouts we’ve put together, you’ll want to start building your own. And this is where your creativity comes into play. This is where you get to mix things up with different jump rope exercises, combinations, and training styles – it’s where you get to have a bit of fun. Because jumping rope to lose weight should always be fun.
For example, one of our favorite ways of increasing the intensity of our fat loss workouts is mixing jump rope exercises with high-intensity bodyweight exercises. And the combinations are endless. Watch this short video to see how we do it:
This is what you want to work your way up to because this is what differentiates the jump rope from countless other training tools. By learning how to build your own workouts, you open up a world of training opportunities. If you’re looking for idea read about these fitness challenge ideas.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our jump rope fat loss tips. We encourage you to try the HIIT workouts we’ve outlined, start building your own, and share this post with others so they can join you in on the fun.
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