{"id":436723,"date":"2026-05-20T13:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/436723\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:32:15","slug":"i-impulse-bought-a-jump-rope-and-now-its-my-favorite-way-to-exercise-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/436723\/","title":{"rendered":"I impulse-bought a jump rope and now it\u2019s my favorite way to exercise\u2014here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all the impulsive purchases I\u2019ve ever made, picking up a jump rope at the convenience store has probably been the best for my health (and my bank balance).<\/p>\n

For just $2, I\u2019ve found a way to enjoy cardio that fits in my back pocket.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was partly a sense of nostalgia that made me take the jump rope to the checkout.<\/p>\n

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When I think back to my childhood self, I envy her seemingly boundless reserves of energy. I climbed, jumped, ran and played endlessly\u2014all without getting tired or experiencing stiffness the next day.<\/p>\n

There was also something else on my mind. A friend and walking buddy of mine has just had a hip replacement in her early 60s and\u2014although I\u2019m only 31\u2014it\u2019s got me seriously thinking about my bone health.<\/p>\n

Watching her recover from this major procedure has inspired me to work harder to protect my bones long before I hit menopause<\/a>, when hormonal changes start to affect bone health.<\/p>\n

And with research<\/a> showing that jump training can improve your bone mineral density, helping reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis later in life, it was just another reason to buy that jump rope.<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Jumping is also a high-intensity, weight-bearing exercise, like running or dancing, and puts your joints under controlled stress while strengthening the supporting muscles and tendons.<\/p>\n

Getting back from the store that day, I started jumping rope pretty much immediately, attempting to skip for 10-minutes straight every evening. Here\u2019s what happened after a week.<\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s a great cardio workout<\/p>\n

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\"Woman\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images \/ Cavan Images)<\/p>\n

I generally shy away from cardio. I find it boring and repetitive, especially when working out on cardio machines at the gym.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

The only exception to this rule is walking<\/a>, which I do regularly for the benefits to my mental and physical health. Plus, my dog would be upset if I gave it up.<\/p>\n

But that does mean I rarely attempt high-intensity exercise, and I was quickly reminded that jump rope gets intense quickly. I wasn\u2019t prepared for how much I would sweat, or how quickly I would develop a stitch, or how tomato-colored my face would be after 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Despite that, I enjoyed myself immensely.<\/p>\n

A piece of advice that comes up again and again when I speak to fitness professionals is that you should choose exercise that doesn\u2019t feel like a chore.<\/p>\n

Not only is jumping rope adding a new type of cardio to my routine, but it\u2019s also adding a sprinkle of childlike joy into my day so I\u2019ll keep coming back for more.<\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s sustainable<\/p>\n

I have an energy-limiting illness, so I have less energy to use each day than an average person.<\/p>\n

My illness means I have to be careful not to overexert myself and trigger a flare-up in my symptoms, or eat away at my depleted energy levels even further.<\/p>\n

Most traditional cardio is too exhausting for me and I have to be conscious of when I do it to avoid wiping out all my energy.<\/p>\n

I do my 10 minutes of jump rope in the evenings and habit stack <\/a>with my daily shower to most efficiently use the last of my energy reserves for the day.<\/p>\n

This has worked surprisingly well. I\u2019ve noticed that I sleep better, recover faster, and have enough energy to do another session the next day.<\/p>\n

3. It challenged muscles I wasn\u2019t expecting it to<\/p>\n

The day after my first session, I was surprised to feel aches in my shoulders and upper arms\u2014surely, they didn\u2019t do all that much?<\/p>\n

I also felt the post-workout ache particularly intensely in my core<\/a>, hamstrings <\/a>and glutes<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t enough to slow me down for my next session but it was certainly noticeable.<\/p>\n

I was curious to see if my experience was standard, so I did some reading.<\/p>\n

A 2025 study<\/a> took a small sample size and investigated improvements to muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance from jump rope training. They added in a single session, once a week and recorded progress over eight weeks.<\/p>\n

The results highlighted that not only are there significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness with regular jump rope training, but test subjects also showed an improvement in lower-body strength, and some in upper-body strength, too.<\/p>\n

I was surprised, but pleased that I\u2019d be getting stronger, as well as fitter.<\/p>\n

I also don\u2019t have to go anywhere to work out; my own backyard is the perfect location for jumping rope, even in the rain.<\/p>\n

As it\u2019s only 10 minutes, it\u2019s also a very small time commitment, and something to look forward to that I use to round off my day.<\/p>\n

4. It challenged my coordination skills<\/p>\n

I have a neurodevelopmental disorder called dyspraxia, which translates to poor coordination, impaired fine motor skills and general clumsiness.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had to work hard to improve my balance and dexterity, and I still struggle to achieve tasks others find easy\u2014like patting my head while rubbing my tummy.<\/p>\n

Even the simplest jump rope exercise was remarkably hard for me to get the hang of, which was extra frustrating when I knew I had been passable at it as a child.<\/p>\n

I used to be able to do all sorts of patterns with my feet and the rope, all while chanting. Now, I could only manage six jumps in a row before I\u2019d smack my feet, or get the rope caught in my hair.<\/p>\n

I adjusted the rope a few times to make it a more appropriate length for my height and persevered. By the end of my first session, I could manage about 20 jumps in a row.<\/p>\n

Now, a week later, it\u2019s rare I\u2019ll catch my feet at all.<\/p>\n

I found the tangible improvement hugely motivating, and I\u2019m keen to start learning different steps and techniques again.<\/p>\n

5. It wasn\u2019t as accessible as I expected<\/p>\n

All you need to jump rope is a jump rope. Not true in my case. I was jumping on a hard surface\u2014either asphalt or concrete\u2014which offers more rebound underfoot than grass, and more stability because it\u2019s not uneven like my lawn.<\/p>\n

It does, however, put quite a bit of stress on the joints because it offers zero shock absorption. Ideal alternatives would be to jump on a rubber flooring\u2014such as a running track\u2014or on a mat that\u2019s specifically designed for jumping rope, or wearing cushioned trainers, all of which can help absorb shock.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s a high-impact activity, those with breasts will need to wear a sports bra built for the task. I started, stopped after two jumps, and had to go and put one on\u2014learn from my mistake!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of all the impulsive purchases I\u2019ve ever made, picking up a jump rope at the convenience store has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[565,134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-436723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}