David Newman | Rx Smart Gear CEO
A jumping rope workout can be one of the most effective forms of exercise you ever come across.
While it seems like a simple and easy activity, jump rope workouts do a fantastic job of burning calories and improving your fitness. If you’re looking for an interesting new form of cardio, this could be it.
Of course, you’ll have plenty of questions buzzing around in your head before you begin. The main one is simple: how long should you jump rope for a good workout?
It’s an important question to ask, as the duration of your workout will have an impact on many things. The natural assumption is that the longer, the better, but this isn’t always the case. Jump rope for too long and you could put yourself at risk of injuries.
What’s more, certain individuals will be able to jump rope for longer than others—and may need to before they see any results. Yes, this can make the whole thing very confusing, but we’re here to clear everything up.
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We’ll help you figure out
how long your jump rope workouts should be, and all you need to do is answer the following questions:
- What is the aim of your jump rope workouts?
- How experienced are you at jumping rope?
- Where would you say your current fitness level lies?
What is the aim of your jump rope workouts?
The beauty of jump rope workouts is that they can be used for various fitness goals. A lot of people will jump rope for weight loss and to burn fat while others do it to improve their overall cardiovascular fitness. It’s also possible to jump rope with the aim of building muscle.
Picking a goal is crucial as it determines how long your workouts should be:
A good idea is to add a HIIT element so you can maintain a high level of intensity. Jump for 30 seconds as fast as you can, then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this for a few rounds until you’ve had a 10-minute workout. Any longer than this and the intensity starts to drop off and you won’t burn as many calories.
In essence, you should aim to jump rope for anywhere between 20-60 minutes, maintaining the same level of intensity. Start by aiming for a 20-minute workout and gradually build it up week over week until you can manage a whole hour. This shows you’re making progress and your general cardio level is increasing.
You can follow a similar style to the HIIT workouts mentioned earlier but with one main difference. Here, you need heavy jump ropes to provide more resistance. It forces your arms and muscles to work harder with every rotation, building more muscle.
When you know the aim of your workout, you have a good idea of how long it should last to see the desired benefits.
How experienced are you at jumping rope?
Your fitness goals are clearly important, but they alone won’t determine how long you should jump rope.
Take your experience level into account as well! If you are a jump rope beginner, your workouts will not last as long as someone who’s way more experienced.
Why?
Because experienced jump ropers have nailed the technique down, making the whole thing a lot easier. They have one less thing to focus on and they’ve also built up a better level of strength and endurance. Therefore, they can enjoy longer workouts before they start getting tired or their form fails.
As a beginner, your workouts will be harder because you need to practice your form and get into the rhythm of jumping rope. We’ve actually got a whole guide to the best jump rope workouts for beginners that shows you some excellent things to try.
If we were to provide a general rule, jump rope workouts should start shorter and get longer as you gain more experience.
Where would you say your current fitness level lies?
Lastly, your existing fitness level also has an impact on your jump rope workouts.
You could be extremely fit, but you may still be a jump rope novice. In this scenario, you should still begin with shorter workouts, but you may be able to progress a lot faster. When you nail the right jump rope technique, you will be able to increase the duration and intensity of your workouts a lot quicker than someone with a very low fitness level.
In fact, if you are just starting your fitness journey and don’t consider yourself very fit, then your jump rope workouts should be short with moderate intensity. Don’t overdo it, as you can cause injuries or put your health at risk. Slowly build your fitness up and make progress each week by either extending the duration of the workout or its intensity.
As always, be sure to consult with a medical professional before engaging in any fitness activity for the first time. Get a proper health check to see if you can jump rope or if it’s not safe to do so.
Conclusion: How long should you jump rope for a good workout?
After considering the three questions above, you should have a better idea of how long your jump rope workouts should last. To make things even easier, we’ve come up with a few general guidelines you can follow:
Jump Rope Workouts For Fat Loss
- Beginners: 15 seconds on, 45 seconds off. Repeat for 5 minutes.
- Intermediates: 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Repeat for anywhere between 5-7 minutes.
- Advanced: 45 seconds on, 15 seconds off. Repeat for anywhere between 5-10 minutes.
Jump Rope Workouts For Cardio
- Beginners: 10-20 minutes of steady jumping.
- Intermediates: 20-40 minutes of steady jumping.
- Advanced: 30-60+ minutes of steady jumping.
Here, you can pick a heavy rope and go through any of the workouts for fat loss. Either increase the duration of the working sets or move up to a heavier rope to make progress.
With regards to frequency per week, it’s usually fine to enjoy jump rope workouts anywhere from 1-4 times. Beginners should start on the lower end of that scale while advanced jumpers can increase their weekly frequency.
Hopefully, this clears everything up and you now know how long to jump rope for. It’s a really cool way to work out - and we’ve got a neat guide here that’ll teach you how to avoid injuries while jumping rope. It’s a good read for beginners as it helps you refine your technique!
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