Jumping rope is an excellent exercise to improve your speed, agility, and burn a ton of calories, but sometimes it can get really, really BORING! I try to incorporate several different variations when I jump rope to make my cardio workouts much more fun and engaging.
Here’s a video demonstration of me doing some basic jump rope tricks, with more detailed descriptions below. If you need a primer on jumping rope and want to see a video of a guy doing CRAZY jump rope tricks (you have to see it to believe it), check out my article: Learn How to Jump Rope Like a Pro.
1) Basic One Hop
Good old fashioned, basic “one hop” where you jump once in between each revolution while keeping both feet together. This effectively works your both your calves and is the most common jump rope method. This isn’t a jump rope trick of course, but it’s helpful to have a baseline.
2) Alternating Jumps
Alternating jumps from one foot to the other helps extend the amount of time you can jump rope. It sounds counterintuitive, but hopping from one foot to the other while using the other foot for some support makes it far easier to jump rope for 5, even 10 minutes, or more continuously. This is often how boxers jump rope for 30 minutes straight.
3) One Foot Jumps
One great way to correct any muscle imbalances you may have in your calves, or to improve your athleticism is to hop on one leg for anywhere between 10 and 50 reps, whatever you can do. This also helps work your calves very intensely, because you are focusing on just one leg at a time.
4) Side Straddles
These are pretty challenging, because you have to time the revolutions correctly. Here’s the sequence:
a) Right after the rope passes in front of your feet, jump and split your legs apart
b) As your legs touch the floor in the side straddle, jump over the next revolution, while bringing your feet together again.
That’s it. Side Straddles emphasize the outer calves and you’re going to feel an intense burn after only 20, or 30 jumps.
5) Front Straddles
Front straddles are a bit easier than side straddles, and just requires that you alternate your legs forward and backwards. This also works your hamstrings and quads a bit more, because you have to control your legs.
6) Running in Place
This is a great way to increase the intensity of jumping rope. Each time you jump, the rope comes underneath one foot, then the other, and so on. Kick your knees up as high as possible to make the workout harder. How many reps can you do in 30 seconds?
7) Double Under
When you can complete all these 6 variations with ease, then you can go for the Double Under, where you swing the rope around 2x in one jump. I mistakenly referred to the Double Under as a “Double Hop” in the preceding video (my mistake).
The Double Under is the hardest of all the tricks I mentioned so far because you have to jump a lot higher to account for the extra time it takes to spin the jump rope around twice in one jump. You can try to do them consecutively like I do in the video (took me a while to work up to that!), but you can start out doing a Double Under every 10 reps. It helps increase the intensity of the workout along with your athleticism.
A couple common jump rope tricks I didn’t include are “The Skiier”, where you jump keeping both feet together from one side, to the other (do this before a ski vacation) and the “Arms Cross”, where you cross your arms in front of you as you are jumping rope.
The last part of this jump rope series I’ll share with you a few great jumping rope cardio workouts.
I will follow up soon with some jump rope cardio workouts so you can apply what you’ve learned so far. I hope you have fun trying all these different jump rope tricks and variations, which makes jumping rope a lot more, fun, challenging, and engaging!
The variety of jumps is impressive. Which ones are the most efficient? Also for how long?
@Hank – I think the Double Under is probably the most efficient because it’s the hardest. I like to do about 5-10 rounds of 30 consecutive double unders. I will be following up with some ideas for jump rope workouts.
I never knew there was a variety of jump rope techiques. It looked like an easy and fun way to burn calories. I know that men like to use a jump rope, but do women use a jump rope for working out?
Jumping rope is absolutely ok for women, you just need to make sure you wear the right support!
These are basic jump rope skills, I do around 60-70 dibble unders a day. Do you have anything more complex?
@Rhianna – I wouldn’t consider these variations basic Rhianna, but they are not impossible. 60-70 double under is a pretty light workout for a more advanced jump roper. I would recommend doing them consecutively for 30-50 double unders and do that 5+ times for a better, more advanced workout. In fact, see how many consecutive double unders you can do without stopping. That’s a tough challenge. If you really want to do some complex jumping rope, check out the video at the bottom of this page: https://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/06/learn-how-to-jump-rope-like-a-pro-7-tips/. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Marc
Recently i saw your various jump rope techniques. It’s awesome. How do i master the side straddles and front straddles? Some time when i’m jumping ropes i feel a sharp pain in the center of my back,right knee and the left calf mussle. Am i doing it wrong?
@Varunkrishna – Thanks for the comment. I think the only way to master the side and front straddles is to practice in a mirror and just keep on practicing. Over time, you’ll get the hang of it. You can even break the jump rope trick down into different parts and practice them. Regarding the injuries, unfortunately I can’t help you there. You should consult with a doctor, or physical therapist. My guess is you may have a postural issue, such as excess arching of your lower back (aka Lordosis).
Thank you mark. Is there any other variations in skipping??? Can you teach me some of it?
@Varunkrishna – I’m sure there are many other variations. I would suggest searching for “buddy lee” online and seeing all the tricks he does.
I started learning tricks after I could do 200 singles in a row. Now my record is 26 hundred.
For learning tricks I recommend using some faster paced music (I use hardstyle or hardtrance). You can jump to every bass beat and it makes it really fun.
I wouldn’t even consider it a workout! I use kicks, running man, reject dance moves so it’s for like a dance!
@CE – Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Hello … I am a young 17 year old girl, I’m 5.10 “, weight 152 lbs and my fat percentage is 28.
I started jumping rope but I’m having trouble because I am constantly hurting myself with the rope, or because I can not jump more than 10 minutes per day (at intervals of 30 seconds between sets). If I stay too long without jumping between sets I’ll get tired ,without strenght and end up quitting.
What can I do to jump rope more that 10 minutes a day, and lose weight significantly?
@Alexandra – I suggest check out our free Get Lean Guide to help you understand the true dynamics of losing fat, which is more dependent on nutrition than exercise, but both are important.
great SKILLS on show in the video marc…keep it up!! By the way…how much time it took you to master the various tricks?? Just so that i can get an idea bfore trying to master them!!
THANKS in advance!
@Kush – I’m not too sure, I’ve been jump roping for so long, and I would learn the tricks over time. My guess is if you practice, you should be able to do all of them in a couple months.
Hi. I have attempted double under many times. It seems that whenever I’m just about to get the second rotation, I land. Do you have any tips?
Hi Lisa,
Mastering double-unders really comes down to practice, but having the right type of jump rope also helps a lot. I really like the Rogue Fitness jump ropes: http://www.roguefitness.com/rx-custom-jump-ropes. These are a pretty big game-changer.
If you have a good jump rope, here are a few form tips to practice while working on double-unders:
1. Keep the rope swing in your wrists. The rest of your arm should stay pretty stable.
2. Initially, jump higher than you probably need to. Once you get a feel for what it takes to get the rope to swing under you twice, you can refine your jump technique.
3. Start with 1 double under, then add one from there.
Try out those strategies, and let us know how it goes!
-Kristin, BuiltLean Coach & Managing Editor
Is jumping the rope is really beneficial for reduce side fats