My Nemesis
When I first bought my jumprope (a while back), it was ugly.
Picture Lucy with a jumprope. That was me. But it was more pathetic than funny.
I tried. I showed the BF+ my attempts.
He tried to be kind and hide his astonishment, but I know THAT look in his eyes. Just like his horror with my learning how to ride a bike, he couldn’t imagine how such a capable person could be so bad at something so simple.
He picked up the jumprope and busted out some moves – the double thingies, crossovers, one footed, alternating foot….
I hated him. He hadn’t picked up a jumprope in 20 years and he could do THAT?!
It is soooooo unfair!
But I still thought this jumprope thing was a good idea. I could pack it in my suitcase for business trips. It’s quick and easy. It mixes things up. What’s not to love about jumprope, right?
But I couldn’t get it – there was no love here.
So the jumprope eventually buried itself in the “basket” – going deeper and deeper, only to be forgotten….
Until recently.
I found the jumprope in the move while setting up the new home gym, and that old thought of incorporating jumping rope into my workouts resurfaced. After a few tweets and realizing that there were others out there who wanted to improve, I recommitted.
I came to the rocket science realization that I probably needed to practice.
Enter the #7dayjumprope
Here’s what I focused on:
- Practice a little every day for 7 days #7dayjumprope
- Quiet the arms, focus on rotating the rope from the wrists
- Quiet the feet, focus on teeny, tiny hops
I gotta say, when I started, my calves HURT, even though I couldn’t really get past 15-20 hops. And in the past, I would always quit. But I found with practicing a couple of minutes a day that by day 4 my calves didn’t hurt. It reminds me of riding a bike – the saddle sore thing always passes, right?
The consistency thing was really important. I had to keep trying, even though it was ugly. And borrowing Carla’s mantra of “setting ourselves up to succeed”, I made mini milestones.
Remember, I was REALLY bad… I had to ignore all of those people out there that talked about working in 2-3 minute sets. Uh…. I was NOT watching a clock – that would be VERY discouraging. Rather, I counted my rotations, focused on timing and concentration. (Yes, this is very much a mental exercise for me.)
Milestone 1: 30 continuous rotations (I achieved this after the 1st week and it was BIG!)
Milestone 2: Improve the tempo (My tempo is a LOT better, I “think”, I’m getting about 2 rotations/second)
Milestone 3: 45 continuous rotations at the better tempo (I’ve done this several times, but am not completely consistent with this – I even did 60 rotations once)
Milestone 4: 30 seconds at better tempo… consistently <Note: Up until now, the practice did NOT include a clock >
I’m sort of hovering around 3 & 4 right now, but I’m definitely getting better. In fact, I’m good enough to LOOK FORWARD to picking up the jumprope in between sets and practicing. YAY!
Now the beauty of the #7dayjumprope is that everyone is in a different place. Heather (@smashfit) wants to jump like Rocky. (For those of you that know her, that will not be a surprise! I adore Heather!) And she has informed me that her side to side movement is pretty awesome now!
Me? Well, I just want to be able to jump well enough to raise my heartrate and not feel like such a klutz.
Now nothing beats PRACTICE, but I found some great tips on this Jumprope Tips Video for people in all stages of their jumprope career.
And it should not be a surprise that my friends Lisa (110pounds.com) and Josie (yumyucky.com) also like to skip – so a-skipping-we-will-go!
Aaack! No! I am glad that I have the excuse of having long since given up high impact exercise thanks to neuroma. And jumping is the worst – not because of my feet but because of, ahem, well, let’s just say I gave birth to two large babies.
Karen@WaistingTime recently posted..I Don’t Want to Work; I Just Want to Bang on My Blog All Day
Once again… the phrase “Dang Spawn” applies. Ha!
I dont rock the solo jumping—but the tying one end of a longa** rope to a pole and having a 6 year old twist?
I ROCK!!!!!
Miz recently posted..We cannot have it all.
That DOES sound like fun – are you a double hopper? Oooooh – maybe even bustin’ out some jacks w said rope?
Love this, embracing something new and challenging and rocking it! Now you just need some of those cool rhymes we said as kids.
Katie Squires recently posted..Focus on how far you have come….
Oh yes – a RHYME! I haven’t even thought of that….
This reminds me of my 8 year- old learning to jump rope. She wants it sooo bad, but it’s just not happening. I tried to teach her about the wrists and tempo but she’s still using her whole arm and the rope gets stuck on top of her head! Grrr, I wish I could teach her how! Well anyway, kudos to you – I LOVE your approach and how accessible you make jump roping to others. I’m not overly coordinated either and if my knee would let me, I would totally take it up based on this post alone!!
Suzanne @WorkoutNirvana recently posted..Getting the Swing of Kettle Bells: A Demo and More
Oh wow… we must help your little princess! Maybe try the Mizfit approach and get a longer one tied to a post or something? You can swing and she can jump? Ooooh – I’m just giddy with excitement anticipating the victory in the mountains!
Just THINKING about jumping rope has me winded. I remember 10 years or so ago trying to take it up. I could JUMP rope..not like a pro and it stings like hell when you miss..I just couldn’t jump rope for more than a…well..probably less than a minute.
I used to jump rope when I was a kid..and in my memory, it lasted a LONG time. Maybe I should join you. Although..not sure how much I want to feel THAT much jiggle.
Ragemichelle recently posted..50 Ways To Leave Your Blubber
Oh sunshine… I am not jumping rope for a minute… but maybe in a month or so? You should join us! It is quite fun and conquering the mini victories (the only ones I have) is quite satisfying :)
Yeah jump rope! I’m actually going to Vegas next month and will be packing my jump rope for a in-room workout!
Lisa recently posted..FAQ – Part One
WOOOT! packing my rope as we speak :) I’ve packed it before, but since I couldn’t really jump, it didn’t get much use…. I’m a-gonna-be-jump-roping in the hotel – I just know it :)
It just occurred to me–will Homeland Security seize my jump rope as a weapon!??!?!
;)
Lisa recently posted..FAQ – Part One
I love rocket science realizations! :D
the last time I jumped rope was a couple years ago in a boot camp class, we jumped every day. I loved it. I know exactly where my rope is, as soon as it is not SNOWING I will use it ;)
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yes… the aha moment of the practice concept… sigh…
oooooh – you know where your rope is? that is always a good sign! And yes… dang snow… lovely indeed, but it can interfere, eh? xo
skipping intervals have done SO MUCH for my fat loss and cardio/endurance in these past two months alone. I tend to skip indoors, so I use the my “virtual, invisible” rope more often than not (due to the hindrance of carpeting). But the weather is warming up, so I’ll be outside on my deck soon!
My usual interval is 45 seconds skipping / 15 seconds high knee jog. I’m getting in about 20 minutes total skipping with each interval workout. The skipping is ALWAYS an add-on to the other part of my workout (usualy plyo or bodyweight stuff). Skipping video demo coming soon! I’m soooo glad you’re skipping, girl. xo
Sooooo – when I first saw how much you skipped, I was like, uh…. SUPERHERO!!!! I have totally enjoyed working in the rope in between said supersets… It’s been a great addition to boost that HR & get my sweat on. And for me, being the reluctant exerciser, it is always fun to discover stuff that I kinda like :)
Skip skip skip we go!
You Rock Kris!! Love your tenacity and PUSHattude! Happy to cheer for you my fine fit friend! YAY xoxo
Let’s SKIP! ShaBANG!
Fyi – I can kinda sorta do the Rocky jumproping… got the side to side down, just have to work on my speed by like a million. ;)
oh dang… I can only imagine what your speed looks like – I’m guessing you’re smokin’ hot!
No…not at all. I won’t take it in the gym yet! Only in front of my 7 year old who thinks I’m awesome. Good for my self esteem :) YOU are the smokin hot one!
I think jumping rope is evil. I’m with all those who did the big-headed baby birth thing. It goes like this: jump, pee, jump, pee, jump, pee. Start checking backside in mirror. So I make my students jump rope and I do the demo, then retire to other duties!
http://funandfit.org/2012/03/3-top-natural-living-trends-be-free/
that is VERY smart! make the students do it
oh wow, thats tough. But you are nailing it! i think it alsmost as hard as planks. Keep it up kris!
lindsay recently posted..Tell all Tuesday and GIVEAWAY
Double and triple unders! Keep it interesting…
eeek! I’m so not there :)
Kris @Krazy_Kris recently posted..You Sexy Thing (aka Our New Stove) | Music Monday
It is so hard NOT to be hard on ourselves. I am sort of like that & want to be good right away but 99.9% of the time it takes practice & consistency & just not worrying about what others thing & just challenging ourselves & nobody else! :-)
No rope jumping for me… but maybe one day…. not sure the balls of my bad feet would like it…
Jody – Fit at 54 recently posted..Think Outside the Box – Enter to Win!
You just may be tempting me to dig in our “basket” for our jump rope. But I need to wait until after my April races, because it will threaten my calves which will threaten my plantar fascitis ….
Coco recently posted..Ready To Rock And Roll
Awesome! I haven’t rocked the jump rope in years… but know that it is a fantastic workout! :)
Rachel @RunningRachel recently posted..Play+Games+Math=School=Fun!
The last time I tried jump rope I almost killed myself ehhehe
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Kris, I hope you stick with the jump rope. It’s one of my favorite choices for getting in a pretty effective cardio session. The technique of some of the foot work might take some practice, but the benefits are worth the effort.
-Mitchell
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