Jumping rope, or skipping rope, is a high energy cardiovascular activity in which someone swings a rope so that it revolves around their body, going over their head and under their feet. Now, many people have adopted the exercise so they can stay in shape without having to set aside hours to sweat it out at the gym. Jumping rope for just half an hour each day can help you burn fat while also strengthening many muscles in the body.

How Many Calories Does Jumping Rope Burn?

The intensity of the jumps and amount of energy exerted vary from person to person and greatly affect how many calories are burned. According to What's Cooking America, the formula of calculating calories burned for rope jumping is:

Total calories burned = calories burned per pound per minute × your weight (pound) × minutes of activity

The chart below gives approximate number of calories burned in a minute when jumping rope.

For example, if your weight is 140 pounds and you jump 70 times in a minute, the total calories burned will be calculated like this:

Calories burned per pound per minute (.074) × your weight (140 pounds) × minutes of activity (60 minutes) = 621.6 total calories burned per hour.

Also, Here is a calculator which will help you know how many calories jumping rope burns: http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/jumping_rope

Jumping Rope Benefits

For a long time many believed that jumping rope was meant for school children having fun at recess and athletes who wanted to ramp up their training. However, the benefits that come from jumping rope have changed the minds of many and helped them become motivated to do their own jump rope exercises.

• A jump rope workout can help you burn 700-1,000 calories in an hour, although many do not have the endurance to jump rope for an hour. You can learn different jump rope techniques so you can change your pace throughout the workout to help you last longer.
• Jumping rope also blasts the calves, tones your arms and shapes the abs. You can also strengthen your heart as this exercise works your heart at the same intensity as running, but without the high joint impact. Those who regularly jump rope gain more stamina, agility, better posture, balance, quicker reflexes, and much higher levels of overall coordination.
• When individuals participate in intense weight lifting workouts, there is nothing quite like jumping rope to both warm up their muscles and cool down at the end of the exercise.
• You can also jump rope at home and when you travel, as it is easy to carry a jump rope with you wherever you go. It is also one of the cheapest workout devices on the market.

Jumping Rope Techniques

Before you can start your jump rope workout you need to find the right rope for you. To pick out a jump rope that fits you stand with both feet on the center of the rope, grasp the handles and pull them up towards your chest. You want the tops of the handles to be six inches below your collarbone. This is the best fit for your height and will make jumping easier and will allow you to stay more fluid with your motions. A jump rope that is too short or too tall will either trip you or force you to jump too high. Once you have the right rope you can begin to try the following exercises.

• Basic Jump Rope. Keep your feet together with your elbows close at your sides. Hold the rope behind you with the middle touching the floor just behind your heels. Swing the rope and jump a few inches off the ground as the rope swings around to your front. Move your wrists and forearms, not your shoulders. Repeat this for as long as you can manage.
• Reverse Basic Jump Rope. This is the same as a basic jump except the direction changes. You will start with the rope at your front and swing it around to your back as you jump. This is more difficult as you do not see the rope coming and must coordinate your movements more efficiently.
• Alternate Foot Jump. You will swing the rope as you would in a basic jump, but this time as the rope comes around you will jump from one foot to the other. It’s like jogging in place and will help you to complete more jumps during a specific amount of time.
• Running Jump Rope. This is similar to an alternate foot jump except you will be moving forward as you jump rope. Basically you want to run while also skipping rope in a forward motion. Some practice so that they can perform this going backwards as well. It takes quite a bit of coordination and balance to complete, but is a great toning and fat burning exercise.
• Double Under Jump Rope. Double under jumps are quite difficult as you must jump higher and move the rope twice as fast as on a basic jump. As you jump you want to bring the rope under you twice before you land. When you jump again after landing you want to bring the rope under your feet twice more. This exercise builds agility and speed.