Hip Hop High Touch the Sky

Just 10 minutes of skipping can have the same effect as a 45 minute of jog, as per British Rope Skipping Association.

Unlike other exercises, you don’t have to actually prepare yourself to kick-start this exercise. Just pick up a jump rope, find some open place, put on some cool music and get started. It’s simple to learn, fun to do, low on cost and great for overall fitness. Skipping can be done anywhere and at your own level. All it requires is a coordination and rhythm between your body and the jump rope. Regular exercise with a skipping rope improves cardiovascular fitness, lowers cholesterol levels and helps lose or maintain a healthy body weight. It’s an exercise for all-weathers and carries little risk of injury. You can also keep a check on your calories being burnt while skipping, using a calorie skipper. Monitoring the fat burnt can actually motivate one to be persistent with the exercise regime.

Immense benefits that skipping and the calorie skipper offer are:

• Helps calculate calories burnt while skipping.
• Improves agility.
• Enhances coordination and timing between hands and feet.
• Increases stamina and flexibility.
• Helps improve bone density.
• Assists upper and lower body to work together in synchronization.
• Strengthens the cardiovascular system and lungs.
• Helps burn calories in a very short period.
• Helps tone thighs, calves, back, abdominal, chest and shoulders.
• Improves balance and body posture.
• It makes a healthy sport.

The Basics- Guidelines

• Wear soft-soled shoes. Jump on softer surfaces where possible
• Breathe naturally while taking this high-energy workout. Keep your elbows at the waist level with arms extended sideways.
• Use a  Circular wrist motion to turn the rope.

How should you skip?

Hold the rope loosely, using thumb and index finder for control

• Skip on the balls of the feet landing softly.
• Skipping sixty to seventy times per minute is a good start.
• Better if combined with some other exercise, say after a walk or a jog or a few minutes of aerobics.
• Most importantly, one must stick to low impact skips. Most people while skipping tend to jump high and this can lead to fatal results as low back injuries.

OTO Calorie Skipper available at select Guardian stores.

With inputs frpm- Nisha Varma-Reebok Master Trainer

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