Why your knees will LOVE jump roping
Hello Jump Ropers!
Last week we talked a little about the benefits of jumping rope, but in discussing with some friends, I again got the common ‘I can’t because my knees are bad’ excuse. Wanna know a secret? My beat up knees are precisely why I got into jump roping some time ago.
The years are starting to pile up. In the early 80’s I had a bad injury on my right knee from wiping out on a dirt bike. In the late 80’s I busted my right knee again, this time playing college rugby. And in the late 90’s I messed up again on a dirt bike and busted… you guessed it - my right knee, along with my collarbone and three ribs.
I sometimes joke that my knee is dead inside, and that’s why it doesn’t hurt, but it’s not good. Fast forward several years and some buddies that were into marathons and triathlons insisted I should join and at least finish a marathon. I had done a couple half-marathons, and they were not exactly pleasant, but I was confident that I could do a full marathon, just for bragging rights. After weeks of training and building up some good running mileage, my right knee started complaining.
I visited a doctor, and after looking at an MRI of my knee, he gave me the choice of either replacing the knee, or quit long distance running and racquetball, which I occasionally enjoyed. Cycling, swimming and jumping roping were good for my knees, so I was given the thumb up.
There you go! Jump rope. Something you can do anywhere and get an excellent workout, safely! And that means, without hurting your knees!
Jumping rope does NOT stress your knees because your heels do not touch the ground, so there is no shock transmitted through the knee. In fact, if you watch people from ancient cultures running barefoot, you can see that their heels do not contact the ground. They literally run barefoot, on their tippy toes, which is how nature intended us to run. And that is how you jump rope. Watch this interesting video!
What’s next?
This week, let’s get into the next step in learning to jump rope. You now start jumping by transforming the side swing to a Figure 8 (side swing on both sides), and throw in some jump and transition back to side-swing, shown here!
These moves are still simple, but extremely important to practice because now you can go exercise for half an hour. You won’t be jumping for the full half an hour, but you can do side-swing to jump to figure 8 and back to side-swing. After some time, you may want to try string a few jumps in a row and go back to side-swing.
Shoot for 15 or 20 minutes of practice and you’ll soon be ready for more. And if you still haven’t purchased a good jump rope, click here!
Jump on!