If you’re new to jump rope workouts, you may have asked yourself, “how long should I jump rope?”
This is a question that comes up often, and it’s a fundamental question because how often you jump impacts your results and plays a role in injury prevention.
Some say it’s OK to jump every single day. Others say it’s only reasonable to be using a jump rope once or twice a week.
So, how long should you jump rope?
The answer depends on a few essential questions you need to ask yourself to determine how much you should be jumping to achieve your personal goals.
Here are the questions that we want you to ask yourself when determining how long you should jump rope:
- What is your current fitness level?
- What is your current jump rope skill level?
- Do you have previous injuries?
- What kind of surface are you jumping on?
- What are your personal fitness goals?
Before we go into more detail, here’s our quick answer:
How Long Should I Jump Rope?
If you’re a beginner, it’s recommended that you only jump rope one to three times a week, focusing on short sessions (one to five minutes). Suppose you are more experienced and exercise regularly. In that case, you can jump rope more frequently, anywhere from three to five times a week, working your way up to longer sessions (15 to 30+ minutes).
Is it OK to Jump Rope Every Day?
No matter what exercise routine you enjoy, you have to prioritize active recovery. Jumping rope three to five times a week is plenty. With that said, if you want to jump rope every day, keep your workouts relatively short and your intensity low. Listen to your body and rest when you need.
How To Decide Your Jumping Volume
1. What is your current fitness level?
Are you already training regularly every week?
If you’re an avid gym-goer, your routine will determine how you answer the question, how long should I jump rope.
You should have no trouble working a jump rope into your current routine if you’re already an active person. However, you still shouldn’t rush into jumping rope every day.
Even if you train regularly, you have to gradually incorporate the rope into the mix. You have to let your muscles adapt to the new stresses that jumping rope brings.
If you’re a beginner, this is even more important. We’ve seen many new jumpers let their excitement get the best of them, and they start their jump rope journey with daily hour-long sessions. That’s a recipe of injury.
You want to start off slowly with an overall low weekly jumping volume and then gradually build up as you feel your muscles adapt.
Always listen to what your body is telling you. If it’s telling you to rest, listen to it. It’s better to take a day off than create a situation where you’re off for a month with an injury.
How Long Should I Jump Rope? Crossrope Recommendations:
Crossrope recommendation for experienced exercisers: 1-5 times per week
Crossrope recommendation for new exercisers: 1-2 times per week
2. What is your current jump rope skill level?
Are you just getting started with your jump rope training journey? If you’re picking up a rope for the first time, that will also play a role in how you answer the question of how long should I jump rope.
The best place to start learning is with our complete beginner’s guide on how to jump rope.
We find that beginners often make the same common mistakes—jumping too high, landing aggressively, poor jumping posture, etc. Mistakes like these hinder your progress, cause you to fatigue quickly, and potentially lead to injuries.
If you’re brand new to jump rope, keep your sessions short and focused. Focus on learning one thing at time. If you start to get frustrated or aren’t making any progress, take a break and try again tomorrow. There’s no rush to mastery.
One of the best things you can do is post a video of yourself jumping in our Online Jump Rope Fitness Community, and we’ll help you assess your technique.
The last thing you want to do is jump too often with bad technique. You want to make sure you’ve got the proper form down before you start to ramp up your jumping volume.
Bonus Tip: always spend a few minutes practicing your basic technique and skill work before each jump rope workout. It’s a great way to build a solid foundation.
Once you feel that your technique is good enough to jump safely, you can increase your jumping volume to fit your training needs.
How Long Should I Jump Rope? Crossrope Recommendation:
Crossrope recommendation for new jumpers: 1-2 times per week for short sessions
3. Do you have any previous injuries?
Injuries suck. We’ve talked about how to avoid jump rope injuries and shin splints in the past. We also have this great video on the topic:
If you have any previous injuries, you must do two things:
- Pay attention to how your body feels when you’re jumping and adjust accordingly.
- Take a lot of breaks and make room for post-workout recovery.
If you’re cleared by a physician to jump, keep your initial jumping volume low and your sessions short. As your injury heals, pay attention to how your body reacts to the new stress of jumping, and build up your sessions when it feels right.
How Long Should I Jump Rope? Crossrope Recommendation:
Crossrope recommendation for past injuries: 1-2 times per week for short sessions, get cleared b a physician first.
4. What kind of surface are you jumping on?
One of the most incredible jump rope benefits is portability. You can bring your ropes with you and use them almost anywhere, on any surface.
Unfortunately, a lot of cheap jump ropes won’t stay intact when used on rough surfaces.
This is why at Crossrope, we focus on designing jump ropes that can be used on the roughest surfaces while maintaining impressive durability. Our AMP Set is a prime example. The jump ropes pictured below can be used on any surface:
Regardless, suppose you want to protect your joints and your rope. In that case,, we recommend that you jump on softer surfaces more frequently (or use a jump rope mat when soft surfaces are not available).
We focus heavily on designing our jump rope mats for functionality, durability, and portability like our ropes. Our Crossrope LE Mat is built with a custom material formulation and is heavier than standard mats for superior durability. The added weight makes it more sturdy for a weighted jump rope circuit. However, it can still be easily transported to any of your favorite workout locations.
If you do find yourself constantly jumping on harder surfaces (like concrete or asphalt), then it’s important that you not only keep your weekly volume low but that your fitness jump rope sessions are kept short as well.
On the other hand, you’re jumping on softer surfaces (like rubber flooring or hardwood) or you’re using a jump rope mat, then it’s OK to increase your weekly volume.
How Long Should I Jump Rope? Crossrope Recommendations:
Crossrope recommendation for hard/rough surfaces: 1-2 times per week (1-10 minute sessions)
Crossrope recommendation for soft surfaces: 3-5 times per week (1-20+ minute sessions)
5. What are your personal fitness goals?
Your fitness goals will ultimately determine how often to incorporate your jump rope into your weekly training. Two primary factors come into play here:
- Jumping duration
- Jumping intensity
For example, if you’re looking to build your endurance and stamina, you’ll likely want to focus on longer-duration jumping at lower intensities. On the other hand, if you’re wondering how long you should jump rope to lose weight, you will want to focus on shorter, higher intensity workouts.
Longer jump rope sessions (20-60 minutes) are great for building aerobic fitness. Still, it’s important to be wary of the stresses imposed on your legs and connective tissues during long periods of jumping. You want to build up to long duration (not start there).
Also, a good jumping surface (see point #4) is essential for longer-duration jumping.
If you’re consistently putting in longer jumping sessions but at lower intensities, you should be able to jump comfortably 3-4 times per week as long as you’re paying attention to how your body is reacting and adjusting accordingly.
Note – if you want to learn how to jump rope for longer periods at a time, watch this video:
On the contrary, if your goal is to get lean and burn fat with a jump rope, you’ll want to keep your duration short but your intensity high.
HIIT workouts (like this or this) are great for getting your heart rate up, burning calories, and turning your body into a fat-burning machine even after a workout.
But while high-intensity sessions are great for fat loss, they can impose a lot of stress on the body’s systems. Do your higher intensity sessions no more than 1-3 times per week.
If you’re mixing up short and long durations of varying intensities – as most of us do – then you’ll need to play around and find a weekly volume that challenges you but doesn’t put you at risk for injury.
How Long Should I Jump Rope? Crossrope Recommendations:
Crossrope recommendation for endurance training: 3-4 times per week (long duration, lower intensity)
Crossrope recommendation for how long you should jump rope to lose weight: 1-3 times per week (short duration, higher intensity)
That’s it – you now have 5 questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to determine how long you should jump rope.
Remember that your current fitness level, jump rope skills, past injuries, jumping surface, and general training goals will all play a role in helping you determine what your ideal weekly jumping volume should be.
But you need to start testing.
And once you do, you have to listen to your body. If you’re feeling pain and discomfort too often, cut down your weekly volume and shorten your jump rope sessions. If you find that your sessions are too easy, slowly up the volume, duration, and intensity and see how that works.
You’ll find that as your fitness and skills improve, your volume will naturally increase as well.
Your Turn
How long should I jump rope—what’s your answer? Once a week? Three times a week? Are you jumping every day? Leave your answers in the comments below.
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