Jumping Rope for weight loss/getting in shape

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine lost 20 lbs doing this. I'm thinking about doing it myself. The simplicity is appealing, but I hear its killer hard.

[Anonymous]

Supposed to be a good workout but after 2 kids, my bladder just won't let me do it. Hope you don't have that problem!

[Anonymous]

I hear ya, PP - after 3 kids, there's no way I could jump rope intensely without peeing my pants, or some vital organ falling out!

[Anonymous]

How long was the workout (total number of wks, days/wk and minutes/day)? It sounds hard on the knees but I guess no worse than running. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I have been taking classes at LA Boxing and jumping rope is a regular part of the workouts. I cannot believe how hard it is. I also cannot believe I used to jump run for fun. In the classes, we typically do at least one interval of jumping rope for 5 minutes. I have yet to be able to complete that without taking a few 5 second breaks (and also messing up). I cannot imagine that I will ever be able to jump rope straight for much more than 5 minutes, so I can't imagine a whole jump rope workout. (Nor can I imagine that I will ever particularly enjoy jumping rope.) Sometimes we do 3-5 minute intervals of jump rope, and then something else, and then repeat that cycle for a whole class (1 hour). It is very hard and really gets your heart rate pumping. If the jump rope workout involves intervals, I expect it would be a very good workout and could see how one could lose 20 pounds doing it. Whether it was enjoyable would very much depend on the teacher, music and class.

FWIW, my knees and back are not in very good shape, but so far jumping rope hasn't bothered them.

[Anonymous]

One nice thing about jumping rope is that you can do it anywhere you have a high enough ceiling .

[Anonymous]

Too hard on my knees. But I think hula hooping burns calories at a comparable rate and tones the midsection.

[zumbamama]

I used to jump rope 100x a day, first thing in the morning. It was a great mini-workout right before I got ready for work. It was quite energizing...better than coffee!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear ya, PP - after 3 kids, there's no way I could jump rope intensely without peeing my pants, or some vital organ falling out!

And if it makes you feel any better, my sister who's 46 and never had any kids has the same issue. So it's not just having kids that leaves you with less bladder control, just another lovely side effect of aging.