Jumping rope is one of the simplest forms of exercise you can regularly perform to keep up your fitness and cardiovascular health. But, traditional jumping ropes are losing their popularity as stepping on a rope increases the risk of accidents. Instead, cordless jumping ropes are slowly taking their place.
Cordless jumping ropes give all the benefits of a traditional skipping rope, but it does not need you to step on a rope. Instead, it consists of two handles attached to two short ropes. The short ropes have a weighted ball attached at the end. So, when you swing the handles, the weighted balls move around to simulate the feeling of a skipping rope without having you step on a rope. They are as effective as the regular jump ropes, if not more.
This article will explore five benefits you can expect from cordless jump ropes.
What are the Benefits of Using a Cordless Jump Rope?
1. It helps improve your heart health
Jumping ropes is an excellent form of cardio workout. Evidence has shown that using a cordless jump rope can help lower heart rate, enhance cardiovascular function, and reduce cholesterol levels. Skipping ropes for 10 minutes a week has the same benefit to your cardiovascular fitness as jogging for 30 minutes for the same period. Medical experts have also stated that 30 minutes of any aerobic exercises (e.g., jump roping) 5 days a week can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Jumping ropes for as little as 5 minutes a day for 5 days a week for 4 weeks can reduce pulse rate by 13.7%. Another study shows that 12 weeks of jump rope training can help lower heart rates in pre-hypertensive teenage girls. The same study shows that it can also help reduce systolic blood pressure by 5% and lower triglyceride levels by 32.8%.
2. It helps enhance your stamina and endurance
Jumping rope is an effective form of workout to improve your stamina and overall endurance. Jumping ropes target the lower body, primarily the calf muscles. It also helps enhance the elasticity of the tendons. It is also an excellent exercise to improve speed. Jumping ropes can help increase leg strength in teens by 2.8%.
A study shows that 10 weeks of jumping ropes for 3 days/week can help boost running speed.
15 weeks of jumping ropes can increase vertical jumping height by 49%. Another study shows that 7 weeks of jump rope training can improve cardiovascular endurance.
3. It strengthens your bones and joints
The National Institutes of Health states that weight-bearing exercises like skipping ropes help improve bone strength and bone mass density. This form of exercise encourages your body to work against gravity, thus helping you enhance your musculoskeletal health. Evidence shows that using cordless jump ropes for three months can increase forearm bone density by 18.9%. Also, jumping ropes for 10 weeks can improve heel bone density by 5.8%.
4. It helps lose weight
Exercising with a cordless rope for about 30 minutes can help you burn up to 200-300 calories. Thus, cordless jump ropes are perfect for a quick workout session if you want to lose weight. Jumping rope is an aerobic exercise that provides cardiac conditioning. It means your breathing during the exercise will determine the amount of oxygen the muscles will take up to burn calories and move.
As your muscles contract while jumping ropes, their oxygen intake increases. This promotes a higher conversion of the stored energy (fat and glucose) in a short time. As a result, you burn more calories rapidly and lose weight faster. Evidence has shown that jumping ropes can be more effective than walking or other light-intensity workouts when it comes to weight loss.
5. It improves psychological health
The fast, modern lifestyle has increased the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression worldwide. Our sedentary lifestyle might be a risk factor for these psychological conditions. Research has found that working out regularly can help reduce mental burdens. A study has shown that 10 weeks of exercising, like skipping ropes, can help reduce the risk of depression by 25%. Experts have found that vigorous rope jumping exercise for 1.25 hours a week can significantly reduce stress.
Studies also indicate that aerobic exercises like skipping ropes can have neuroprotective values. This form of exercise requires coordination, rhythm, and strategy, which stimulates the brain’s cognitive functions. It also promotes the formation of new ganglia connections, that in turn, helps boost cognitive functions, focus, and spatial awareness.
Experts have found that jumping ropes can help improve motor coordination. For example, a study showed that kids with ADHD experienced a 3-19% improvement after undergoing training with jumping ropes. Another study showed that jumping ropes for 15 weeks could improve balance and agility by 23.9% and 8.9%, respectively.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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Are cordless jumping ropes worth it?
Yes, absolutely. Cordless jumping ropes offer the same benefits as regular jumping ropes. They can help improve muscle strength and density, enhance heart health, and boost stamina. They are also good for your psychological health. A cordless jumping rope is also beneficial if you want to lose weight fast.
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How to use cordless jumping ropes?
Using a cordless jumping rope is pretty simple. You just have to swing the handles attached to weighted ropes to simulate the feeling of swinging a full-sized rope. Then, you can jump along with it without having to step on an actual rope.
The Bottom Line:
Jumping ropes have countless benefits. Apart from improving cardiovascular health, stamina, and endurance, jumping ropes can also be beneficial for managing diabetes and psychological health. Cordless jumping ropes, the newly developed version of skipping ropes, provide the same benefits. Though they are a little more expensive than the traditional jumping ropes, they are portable, space-saving, and do not tangle as well. We hope this article has helped you understand the various benefits you can expect from jumping ropes.
