Reclaim the SKIPPING ROPE

Haven’t skipped since you were in primary school? It’s popular with adults in competitive sports, such as boxing and Crossfit, but the best way to start is by leaning into childlike joy.

It worked for Sarah Louise, who started jumping rope during the pandemic and is now a pro, with more than 111,000 followers of her tutorials on Instagram, @skippingwithsarah. ‘Before the age of 30, exercise for me was non-existent, but I found skipping addictive,’ she says. ‘I’ll go out for five minutes of fresh air and end up making up a routine. Before I know it, I’ve been exercising for over half an hour. It helps me to stop thinking about whatever is stressing me out.’ There are brain benefits that come with the concentration skipping requires. One study found that skipping improves proprioception (awareness of where your body is in space) and co-ordination in women. It’s also brilliant for your body; a 2017 study found that those who jumped rope to dance music for 30 minutes strengthened their respiratory systems and lost more weight than the group who used stationary bikes.

Start bouncing

The first thing to nail is a basic bounce: getting the rope under your feet and over your head in one jump. The key? To minimise movement. ‘Keep your wrists tucked close to your hips and move the rope with small flicks of the wrists,’ says Sarah. The bounce should also be short and low, so keep your heels off the floor and stay light on your toes. Keep trying if you struggle the first time – practice makes perfect!

Add skills

Adding skills such as double unders (where the rope circles you twice during one bounce) or side swings (where you turn the rope to your side rather than overhead) will get your heart rate up and challenge your co-ordination. Find free tutorials on Youtube. For example, Jump Rope Mom’s channel is full of follow-along workout videos alongside short tips and tricks such as how to skip backwards or add footwork to your bounce. Sarah has developed courses on improving footwork and building stamina. Find them at skippingwithsarah.com, from £39.

Keep tempo

‘Bouncing to music is a great way to keep rhythm, as you can jump to the beat,’ recommends Sarah. Try a song around 140 beats per minute (BPM) and work up to 170 BPM. Spotify curates personalised BPM playlists based on your music tastes – search your desired speed in the app to find your perfect mix.

Go slow

‘Because skipping is so fun, it can be really easy to overdo it,’ warns Sarah. ‘That can lead to shin splints or calf and knee pain.’ She recommends starting with five minutes of jumping (resting for 30 seconds after every minute of work). Work up to half an hour of jumping over the course of a few weeks.

City Rep trainers, £59.95, Nike

Jump mat, £59.99, doperopes. co.uk

Beaded jump rope, £19.99, doperopes.co.uk