Jump Rope and Crunches – 10 Minute Workout Routine Busy People
It’s just this past few months that I realized that if I wanted to become a wrestler, I don’t just need to get bulked with muscles. I needed to be conditioned, fit, agile, flexible, and with a steady supply of cardio as not to gas-out mid match. Here’s my catch. I HATE CARDIO. I HATE RUNNING. I HATE MARATHONS. Don’t hate me for this, I’m just stating my opinion. I’m sure I’m not alone in this crusade. I love my barbells and I absufuckinglutely hate treadmills so how?
Every Sunday we’re given a dose of heavy cardiovascular conditioning for about an hour with HIIT and wrestling drills. I hit the gym twice to thrice a week for my Wendler 531 routine (story immediately after the next post) and now I re-discovered a conditioning workout that’s both fun, effective and can be done literally ANYWHERE.
Jump Ropes + Crunches
The 10-Minute Jump Rope and Crunch Routine
I made this simple routine to clear your mind and finish as fast as you can without excessive thinking of which exercise to do next. You just have to do two. I simply added the crunch to strengthen your core. Remember, this is just 30% if you want to get fit. 70% is on your diet. If you need help go to my Project Sexy guide because I follow a simple IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) split that makes me eat anything in moderation. ENJOY!!!
- 100 jump rope jumps or skips
- 50 crunches
- Rest 30 seconds
- Repeat 5-10 times depending on your endurance
Jump Rope Benefits
Jumping Rope is an Ideal Warm Up
There really is no better warm-up tool before intense training than a simple jump rope. Skipping rope before plyometrics, sprints, and explosive lifts fires up the nervous system, increases core/muscular temperature, and conditions the tissues of the lower body for explosive activity. Explosiveness isn’t in your bag of tricks? No worries, for most gym rats skippin’ rope will improve coordination and athleticism in five minutes before your workout.
The Jump Rope Poses Minimal Risk for Injury
Jumping rope is a low-risk tool for two reasons.
Firstly, jumping rope is a self-limiting exercise: to jump rope without failing you must stay in an aligned, joint stacked position while moving, forcing your trunk to stay engaged and resilient under the load of movement.
If you miss mess up, welt your calves or triceps, or catch a toe, the exercise ends. All of this makes it extremely unlikely to over-do it; and, even better, nearly impossible to incur injury.
Secondly, jumping rope is a low-impact movement, despite a high number of foot strikes. Here’s why this is important for us formerly skinny guys: unlike many other repetitive impact exercises, the lower impact does not create a hyper-catabolic environment—so you can use it get shredded without worrying about dropping lean body mass.
Jumping Rope Builds an Important Movement Foundation
Jumping rope develops speed, agility, and a coordination foundation for sports. Sprinting and high velocity movements are great—they build great levels of conditioning, improve athleticism, preserve muscle, and shred fat. Problem is, most guys haven’t sprinted in ages and those who have sprinted leave much to be desired with efficiency and technique.
The Jump Rope is Well Suited to Power Development
When combined with weight training, jumping rope is a viable method to developing explosive and reactive power. Additionally jump rope requires minimal equipment or space and has a non-existent learning curl, making it a simple tool for power development.
Jumping Rope Leads to Increased Athleticism
Building on the above two points, jumping rope is an excellent way to develop the individual qualities that make up coordinative athletic movement—what we typically call “athleticism.”
Hitting the weights hard and eating well is important, but true athleticism requires coordination, not just brute strength. Everyone loves being big, strong, and fast, but they’re useless without technique and the ability to consistently express those physical qualities on demand.
The Jump Rope is Amazing for Interval/Conditioning Work
Despite being low-impact jumping rope is a great conditioning tool. Rapid arm movement, maintaining a rigid core, and quick feet all combine to send your heart rate sky-high. Better yet, jumping rope is a low-impact exercise, meaning it’s a great way to condition frequently without undue stress on your joints, hormones, and nervous system.
One Comment
Pingback: