Jump Up, Jump Down: 3 Ways Jumping Rope Can Improve Your Health

If you've been wanting to get to a better, fitter and healthier version of yourself, don't assume that you have to spend countless hours and hundreds of dollars on fad diets to get there. This simply is not true. Instead, all you need is a jump rope. A jump rope is the one thing that you need to lose weight, improve your bone health, and increase cognitive function. Read on to learn more about what jumping rope can do for you and your health:

1. It Can Help You Shed Unwanted Pounds.

When you are jumping rope, you are engaging in a full body exercise. Therefore, you are exerting a ton of effort while you are performing this particular type of exercise. In other words, when you compare jumping rope to many other forms of exercise that you could do be doing, you are actually burning more calories. In fact, Science Daily says that you will burn as many as 1300 calories per hour, depending on how strenuous your workout is. If you can manage to jump rope for about 10 minutes, you will manage to get the same workout in that you would get if you were to run an eight-minute mile. Not bad, huh? And a whole lot more fun with less risk of injury.

2. It Can Help Improve Bone Density.

Science Daily mentions that there is less risk of injury with jump roping as opposed to running because the activity is able to absorb the impact of each and every jump by both of the legs at the same time rather than one leg at a time. As a result of this, jumping rope can help to increase the density of your bones. Some Japanese studies have explored this theory in mice and have seen positive effects. After 24 weeks of jumping up and down 40 times a week, the mice saw a significant improvement in their bone density. This bone density gain was maintained by continuing to jump 20 to 30 times a week after that initial 24 weeks.

3. It Can Help Improve the Health of Your Brain.

Regular exercise of any kind is extremely good for optimal brain health. It's recommended to get between 120 and 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical exercise a week. However, some exercise is better than others when it comes to brain health. In fact, physical activities that are also mentally demanding are some of the best workouts that you can participate in, as they work different parts of your brain that physical-only activities are unable to stimulate, such as rhythm and coordination. An example would be choosing jumping rope, cycling or ballroom dancing over running.

Before you begin any form of physical activity that you are not typically accustomed to, check with your primary care physician to ensure that you are healthy enough to engage in it.

For a primary care physician, contact a doctor such as Rural Health Services Consortium Inc.


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