Jump Rope For Boxing and Muay Thai

Jump Rope for boxing and Muay Thai is probably one of the most fun and important tools to developing light-feet, tricky footwork ability, increased cardio as well as working as a warm up.

There are many ways to jump rope. In any gym it is unlikely that two people will skip with the same style, intensity and rhythm. Jumping rope, or skipping rope as it is also know, is truly a personal experience. Some People find a fifteen minute skipping session to be one of the most redundant and boring parts of training. Me, I find this part of training something that I look forward to each and every training session.

One idea that I love to bring to my jump-rope session is to do more in less. What I mean by this is concentrated effort. For most combat athletes I know, many of them will skip for a time of 15 minutes. I believe that 15 minutes of skipping-rope is a good place to start. However, as our ability increases and we become more fluid in the movements I think it is important to concentrate on "quality time" and do more in less time: take the 15 minute session and squeeze it down to 8 minutes of full speed, hardcore, no playing around intensity. Quicker footwork, more rotations of the rope, variety of foot-placement as well as intense high-knees for longer durations is a good place to start when applying the "do more in less" philosophy. "More in Less" is a simple way of training intensity and getting more out of a workout with less time.

So you may be wondering what types of things you can do while jumping rope...here are a few things I like to do:

8 minute Session:

*30 seconds Swing the rope at full speed...keeping light on the toes.

**30 Seconds high knees bringing knees up to the chest

***30 seconds of "double-under's"... jump up as high as possible... allow the rope to pass under the feet 2 times before landing into the next jump!

****30 seconds of footwork: Jump in stance left&right side; jump alternating front foot forward *back foot forward; criss crossing the legs, feet wide, feet held together, alternate landing heel to toe / toe to heel....

Each of the previous methods twice will equal 8 minutes. Have fun. Mix it Up.

If jumping-rope does not add burn your muscles, increase your heart rate, and add a burn to your throat, I imagine your skipping style is one that can last for an easy 30minutes.

The better I get at skipping rope the harder and more difficult i find it to be.

Now we have all seen many different kinds of jump ropes. Here are a few that come to mind, although there a certainly more variations out there: Leather Ropes, Nylon Ropes, "Speed-Ropes", Weighted Handle Ropes, Digital/Counting Ropes, Plastic Red/Blue/White Beads Ropes, and the classic Muay Thai Jump Rope made of "hollowed" thick and heavy plastic with wooden handles. The question you may ask is...which is best?

With all the different types of jump-ropes on the circuit I find the Classic Muay Thai Jump Rope to be the most durable and challenging one that i have come across. This rope made of plastic tubing is quite heavy, has a lot of drag to it, requires much more physical effort for each turn/revolution than a "standard" jump rope found at most Sporting Goods stores and will certainly work muscle endurance throughout the entire arms and shoulders. Also, the weight is balanced throughout the rope as opposed to one with weighted handles. Although this thick plastic jump rope as seen in Thailand is harder to use than any other kind if have seen, it is certainly well worth the extra effort and if you bring intensity to the workout this rope can get moving quite fast.

Although for obvious reasons the Thai-rope is not as fast as a thin speed-rope, the weight and drag keeps the feeling of actually having to work very hard and continuous, especially when targeting speed. whichever the case, there are many kinds of jump-ropes to fit every type of person. So, if you do not have a jump rope....Get one! This is a great training tool, easy to carry, and can be done almost anywhere!

Work hard, have fun and smile!