Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Corporate Fitness: FREE Workout Friday

Free Workout FridayPeople everywhere are always searching for the best, most modern training device that will produce great results in the least amount of time. It is likely that you’ve tried the latest craze, yet you’re still searching for something more. Ironically, you may already own one of the most inexpensive yet effective training devices: the jump rope.

Getting Fit with a Jump Rope

It sounds old-fashioned, and it is. However, the jump rope is making a comeback in gyms and fitness centers everywhere. What began as a schoolyard game has progressed to recreational use and is now evolving into competitive sports training for all levels. Whether used as a warm-up or training, there is room for jumping rope in every workout. Benefits include upper- and lower-body coordination, muscular endurance, balance, and agility.

Jumping rope tones muscles, improves cardiovascular fitness, and burns calories all at the same time. Jim Zielinski, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Illinois, endorses jump rope in the September 2011 issue of Training and Conditioning magazine. “The activity can achieve a “burn rate” of up to 1,000 calories per hour. That means jumping rope for 10 minutes is roughly equivalent, calorie-wise, to running an eight-minute mile.”

How to Start a Jump-Rope Workout

The best way to begin a jump-rope workout, like any new program, is with correct form. Grasp the handles and start by swinging the rope to your side without jumping. Next, without the rope, practice small jumping movements, barely lifting off the ground. Finally, put the two movements together. When done correctly, jumping rope while staying high on your toes can involve less pounding on knee and ankle joints than jogging.

H  Images jump rope resized 600There is never a better time to start than now. Pick up a jump rope and try this FREE workout.

Complete 5 rounds of the below exercises for a total of 15 minutes.

Basic Jump: 1 minute

Rest: 30 seconds

Alt. High Knees: 1 minute

Rest  30 seconds

Challenge: How long will it take you to complete 500 total jumps?! (Count to 500 and time yourself and record)

 

Topics: exercise at work exercise corporate fitness exercise at home Free Workout Friday cardio balance