Let's Skip Rope...

Do you remember as kids when we used to jump rope?  We'd sing "Miss Mary Mack, all dressed in black," or "Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish."  We'd just jump happily as if we didn't have a care in the world!  Well Former Couch Potato friends... Trainer Jeremy has been pulling out the jump rope at the gym lately, and let me tell you, I ain't singing about bubble gum or ladies dressed in black!

If you can't afford a gym membership or have trouble finding the time to work out get yourself a jump rope and start jumping!  Jumping rope (at a pretty good speed) for 3 minutes is like doing 20 minutes of cardio on a treadmill... seriously people... it's tough!  Not only are you getting a good cardio workout but you're also working muscles.  Here is a good article about jump roping.

If you're at home and only have a short amount of time to squeeze in a workout do something like this for 15 to 30 minutes depending how much time you have...

• Jump Rope for 30 seconds straight (or go longer if you can) but make sure it's a speed that gets your heart rate moving.
• Go right from jump roping into push-ups.  Do as many as you can... but MAKE THEM COUNT!  Don't half-ass them... you're only shorting yourself if you do!
• Jump Rope for 45 seconds (or longer) and keep the speed!
• Drop the rope and do some crunches... fast pace to keep your heart rate up... but concentrate on your movements!  You don't want to hurt yourself!
• Jump Rope for 1 minute... by now you should be tired... it's going to be hard... your rope is going to get caught in your feet... it's ok... Just keep going! 

Keep switching between the push-ups and sit-ups or add some other moves like squats in, and try to add more time to the jump roping and you'll get an awesome workout in the comfort of your own home.  Keep at it my friends... You CAN do this!

BTW... Tomorrow is Weigh In Wednesday... fingers crossed!