- How long is the rope?! It doesn’t matter if you’re taller than the Jolly Green Giant or shorter than a Keebler Elf, your form will determine your rope length. The tighter you can keep your arms to your body while you’re jumping, the shorter your cable can be. That means elbows in close and even pushed back just a tiny bit so that your hands sit level with your hips, with your palms facing forward. A good starting point is to stand on the middle of your rope with one foot and pull the handles up towards your chest. They should reach just about mid-chest height. If the rope doesn’t hit the ground while you’re jumping, try bringing your arms in. If that doesn’t solve the problem, then we might need to go a little longer.
- Those are legs, not a dolphin tail: You want your nicely toned legs to be close together, but not stuck like glue, and definitely not piking (kicking) in front of you while you jump. This causes a bend at the waist, which isn’t very efficient and lends to a lot of moving around while jumping. Think about landing softly (and quietly) on the balls of your feet, which will help you rebound into your next jump! And, when you do, bring your heels back towards your rear just a little bit to fight off that pike position we mentioned.
- The height of your jump should be nice and comfortable. Don’t worry about trying to jump higher than LeBron, but rather time the height of your jump to how fast you’re spinning your beautiful jump rope. The faster the spin on the rope, the lower the jump needed and vice versa.
- Now that you’ve got the basics down, be sure to sign up to MOVE and join the RPM network for our 10K jump rope challenge – 10,000 jumps during the month of Movember. RPM staff, brand ambassadors, friends and other jump rope enthusiasts will each be attempting to complete 10,000 jump rope repetitions between Movember 1 and Movemeber 30. Anyone with a jump rope is invited and encouraged to join the revolution to raise awareness for men’s health.
10,000 jumps is no small task, but neither is achieving the Movember Foundation’s goal of helping all men live happier, healthier, and longer lives. If you’re a CrossFit aficionado, like most of us at RPM, challenge yourself with 10,000 double unders. Otherwise, 10,000 single bounce reps will still get the calves burning and the sweat dripping, all in the name of men’s health. Partition the reps each day however you’d like, and don’t forget to log your progress here. The more you jump, the more awareness you raise!
