Home workouts have become very popular recently. Does skipping rope burn fat? so whether you want to work out from home in the winter or enjoy the sun in the park in the summer, skipping ropes are an affordable and convenient option. But does skipping rope burn fat?
The simple answer is yes. Anything you do, including jumping rope, can burn calories and help with fat loss, and it also provides an excellent cardio workout for heart health.
But how much fat can you burn jumping rope? Is it as effective as burpees or running? With limited time to exercise, you want to make sure you’re doing the most effective training to achieve your goals.
If your goal is to burn fat and get optimal training results, read on so we can provide you with all the information you need to decide if skipping rope is the best option for your weight loss goals.
Why jumping is the best weight loss workout
Fat loss is one of the main benefits of jumping rope. With the minimal cost of buying a jump rope and the ability to jump almost anywhere, jumping rope is one of the best fat burning options.
You can be slow and a little clumsy when you start, but as you progress you can increase the intensity to increase the amount of fat you burn. So, jumping rope can be for beginners, but it can also be used as you progress on your fitness journey.
You can take your jump rope anywhere; it is small and lightweight and requires almost no experience to get started. You probably jumped rope in school, so you know the basics and will get back to jumping in no time. You can do it during your lunch break, do it in the living room while watching TV, or even take it with you on a trip.
What is the best way to jump rope to burn fat?
All studies on training styles show that HIIT workouts burn the most fat in the shortest amount of time. But what exactly is HIIT training?
HIIT workouts to burn fat
Without boring you with the complicated details, HIIT training or “high-intensity interval training” is a method where you alternate between periods of high-intensity and low-intensity cardio.
For example, you would jump rope as fast as possible for 30 seconds, then slow down to your normal jumping pace for 30 seconds. You repeat this five times, and then you can take a short break and repeat. The amount of time can be dependent, and you can even increase the times as you progress.
Stationary workouts for fat burning
Another method you would naturally do is steady state cardio, which is just jumping rope for as long as you can at a steady pace.
This could mean jumping rope at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes. You may have to stop for a minute if you run out of breath or trip over a rope. But generally you just jump for 30 minutes.
This method burns fat but lasts longer and is not as effective as HIIT training.
Choose the right method for you
Thus, HIIT training has been found to burn the most fat in less time than steady-state cardio. However, the intensity of HIIT training will be much higher.
You need to decide what method you can follow consistently. If HIIT is too strenuous for you to begin with, just do steady-state cardio until you can work up to your HIIT workout.
You can even try a combination of the two, so start with HIIT and when you get too tired for high-intensity levels, just go back to steady state to complete your workout.
The least effective method of burning fat is giving up because your training was too extreme for your abilities and you were trying to lose fat too quickly.
HIIT training is the most effective
While we suggest choosing the best method to start with, the ultimate goal should be to transition to HIIT training using a jump rope. There are three main reasons for this, which we will outline below.
HIIT provides greater fat loss than steady-state cardio
Every recent study shows that high-intensity training for short periods results in greater fat loss than low-intensity training.
When you compare HIIT and steady-state cardio side by side, the results show that you can burn more calories while training steady-state, but the actual fat loss is greater when you do HIIT training. This is often up to 9 times more fat loss with HIIT.
So your goal is never to burn calories as you will need to replenish them for your body to function efficiently. If you burn too many calories and don’t replenish them, you will become exhausted, mentally foggy and generally less able to exercise.
With HIIT, you burn fewer calories and lose more fat, which is really the ideal situation.
High-intensity training is the most effective way to lose fat
We mentioned above that HIIT training burns more fat than steady-state cardio. But how does HIIT with a jump rope compare to running?
It depends on how you run. Are you comparing HIIT runs to HIIT rope, or are you comparing steady state long run to HIIT rope?
HIIT runs with HIIT jump rope are comparable in terms of fat loss. HIIT jumping rope will be a better fat loss option than stationary running. However, this will depend on how long your workouts last and how efficient you are with each training method.
By choosing a good HIIT training program for jumping rope, you can make your daily workouts as short as 4 minutes, although you may want a little longer if you are really seeing fat loss.
High-intensity training can be done anywhere, anytime
Consider the main options for exercise and cardio exercises. For example, you can go jogging, swimming, biking somewhere or jumping rope.
Most are relatively cheap, apart from owning a bike, but require you to go elsewhere or buy expensive equipment for your home. For a jump rope, you can pay $10 for a basic version that you can pull out and start jumping in your living room. You don’t have to go anywhere or spend a lot of time. Just grab a rope and jump for 4-20 minutes, then you’re done.
So no matter where you are or when you have 20 minutes to spare, you can jump rope and exercise for the day. So it is a very effective and quick option to choose from.
Why is jumping rope the best fat loss option?
We know that HIIT training will be the best method for fast fat loss. We’ve also suggested that jumping rope is the best option for HIIT training, but we’ll delve into jumping a little deeper.
For a HIIT training session to be effective, you need to quickly switch between high and low intensity modes. If you have 30 seconds to complete each action, you don’t want to waste time or change anything.
With a skipping rope, the intensity depends on how fast you spin the rope, and it’s as simple as slowing down the speed of rotation, which should be instantaneous. So the transitions are instant, and you’re putting your time and energy into training rather than fiddling around and adjusting anything.
Another great thing about jumping rope is the variety of ways to jump. You may think that you are just standing, jumping and twirling the rope. But you’ll find a huge variety of different jumping methods and styles that you can incorporate into your workouts to keep you from getting bored or your body getting used to what you’re doing.
If you’re doing uphill sprints or swimming back and forth in the pool, there’s only so much you can do before you get bored and want to move on to something else.
If you’re ready to get started, head to your local sporting goods store or hop on Amazon and order a skipping rope that could arrive today or tomorrow at the latest. You don’t need anything special to start with, just a basic jump rope that’s cheap and does the job.
So what is a good HIIT jumping program for you for beginners? First, download an interval timer on your phone that will beep every 30 seconds.
You’ll want to go through this series of jumps five times and increase the intensity with each round you complete.
- Standard jump for 30 seconds
- Jump with your right foot for 30 seconds
- Jump on your left foot for 30 seconds
- Rest for 30 seconds.
This workout is a simple and effective way to get started. However, you can mix it up to see what works best for you. Check out online for new and interesting HIIT workouts you can try.
