Looking to Exercise? Jump to It

Exercise science gets more sophisticated every day. Machines are designed for specific muscles, schedules are carefully timed for maximum gain. And the more sophisticated exercise gets, the more it resembles work.

Jumping rope, on the other hand, is easy and fun, but it needn’t be considered second-rate exercise just because it’s enjoyable.

“Jump rope done properly is a fairly subtle type of exercise,” says Harvey Newton, director of program development of the National Strength and Conditioning Assn. in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Once basic skills are developed, [jumping] offers a fairly continuous aerobic conditioning program. . . . We would suggest early on that people jump off both feet and land on both feet. The more advanced technique would be jumping off one foot at a time or alternating feet.

“Think of a professional boxer who jumps rope on a regular basis. They’re very smooth, they’re barely leaving the ground, they’re a real picture of efficiency.”

Dr. Ken Solis, a physician in Milwaukee who’s written two books on the subject and performed fancy rope-jumping in shows, says it’s “like swimming in that it looks easy but you really need instruction and practice to manage it.”

The sport involves “many, many skills,” he says, “and some are very strenuous, but there’s a lot that can be done by the average adult. . . . It’s one of the few aerobic exercises that is also entertainment.”

Glenn Gastwirth, deputy executive director of the American Podiatric Medical Assn., urges jumpers to wear socks and well-cushioned shoes to avoid foot injury.

Running shoes should not be worn, he says, because they “are really designed for forward motion. You would prefer shoes made for aerobics, tennis and basketball or cross-training shoes.”