Beginner Jump Rope Workout for Weight Loss

Jump roping is one of the best beginner weight loss workouts you can do.  Not only are jump ropes always in stock at stores, but jumping rope can burn more calories than running and spinning! There are also numerous options to choose from including weighted and speed so you can increase or decrease the intensity of your workouts.

According to this study at Harvard, depending on your weight, you can burn this many calories with 30 minutes of each of these activities:

Benefits of A Jump Rope Workout

Why should you use a jump rope for your home workout?  A jump rope weight loss workout can test your cardio strength, increase your calf and knee strength, improve your athletic performance, challenge your heart and lungs, and help you to burn calories. Jump ropes are also budget-friendly, portable, and easy to find!  Best of all, you can improve your agility, speed, balance, coordination, and weight working out with them!

Now Let's Do the Jump Rope Workout for Weight Loss!

 A few tips to help with your workout:

• Don’t jump too high.
• Use your wrists to turn the rope.
• Try not to do all the swinging with your dominant hand.
• Start slow. 
• Take 30 seconds to 1-minute breaks between exercises to catch your breath. 

1. Forward Jumps

3 sets of 30 seconds

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body. 
3. Hop as the rope nears your feet jumping over it, and land on both feet together.
4. Continue swinging the rope while hopping every time it goes by.

2. Alternative Foot Jumps

3 sets of 30 seconds

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body. 
3. As the rope nears your feet, hop over the jump rope and land on your right foot.  
4. Continue swinging the rope. 
5. As the rope nears your feet, hop over the jump rope and land on your left foot.  
6. Alternate on each rotation.

Tip:  It should feel like you are running in place.

3. Leap Frogs

3 sets of 10 reps 

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. 
2. Fold your jump rope into quarters and hold one end of the jump rope in each hand with your palms up. 
3. Squat until your thighs are parallel to ground while holding the jump rope in front of your knees. 
4. Straighten your legs and jump up. 
5. As you are jumping, bend your elbows and curl the jump rope towards your chest. 
6. Land back in the squat position. 

4. Twisters

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body. 
3. As the rope nears your feet, hop over the rope and twist your body in the air so that you land with both feet together at a 45-degree angle from the center facing the left.
4. Continue swinging the rope. 
5. As the rope nears your feet, hop over the rope and twist your body in the air so that you land with both feet together at a 45-degree angle from the center facing the right.
6. Alternate on each rotation.

5. Heel Taps

3 sets of 30 seconds

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body. 
3. As the rope nears your feet, hop over the jump rope and kick your right foot out in front of you.  Quickly tap your heel to the ground and switch to your left foot and do the same.  (While both feet are up in hair as you hop, the rope should be going under your feet as you switch foot positions.)
4. Continue swinging the rope while tapping your heels every time it goes by.

6. Rope Twists

3 sets of 10 reps (each side)

1. Start in a lunge position with your right foot forward. 
2. Fold your jump rope into quarters and hold one end of the jump rope in each hand with your arms raised to chest level. 
3. Twist your torso to the right and hold for 1-3 seconds.
4. Twist back to the center. 

7. Scissors

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body.   
3. Jump and scissor your legs so your right foot lands in front of your body and your left foot lands behind. On the next jump, alternate your leg position so that your left foot lands in front of your body and your right foot lands behind.

8. Criss Cross

3 sets of 30 seconds

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body.   
3. As the rope goes under your feet and then over your head, cross your arms in front of your body so your arms are crossed. 
4. As soon as you hop over the rope with your arms crossed, uncross your arms.
5. Swing the rope so it goes over your head and in front of your body again.
6. Alternate between your normal hop and the crisscross one. 

9. Side Swipes

3 sets of 30 reps

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope in front of your feet as you hold a handle in each hand.
2. Bring your left hand next to your right and slightly lift both nearing your right shoulder. Move your hands near your left hip and cross your front. Your jump rope should cross in front of you and swipe by your left side. 
3. Lift your hands near your left shoulder and swipe to your right hip. 
4. Bring your hands to either side of you, opening the rope and swing under your feet to perform a forward jump. 
5. Side swipe every 4 jumps.

10. Double Unders

3 sets of 30 seconds

1. Stand with your feet together with the jump rope behind your feet as you hold a handle in each hand. 
2. Swing the rope quickly so it goes over your head and in front of your body. 
3. The jump rope should pass under your feet twice before you land with both feet.  

If you are looking for a mid-level or advanced jump rope weight loss workout, there are several modifications you can make.  Start by increasing the jump rope times from 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes.  Also, instead of taking a 30 second to 1-minute break between exercises, plank for that amount of time.  You can also add ankle weights to increase the difficulty of this workout.  

This jump rope workout for beginners will make your heart rate jump up and thank you.  Don’t underestimate the power of your jump rope! 

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