The ultimate goal : Leaner me. Definitions on shoulders. More prominent choc-bar abs. Sexy, round, butt. Sexy curves. Lean thigh.

Background image in courtesy of www.bodyrock.tv - Zuzana.

Zuzana is my inspiration. I want to achieve the exact same body like her.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Skipping is cool!

Seriously, and honestly speaking, I have logged into this blog, kinda forcing myself to just write about anything, anything at all for the sake of updating my blog. But I always got stuck at my dashboard. After 1 hour, not knowing and not having any inspiration to write, I log out.

Today is my 5th time.
And I'm still stuck.
Dunno why.

I just got back to KL last Wednesday. And I have stopped exercising for 2 weeks now. Back at hometown, I did cardio, skipping to be exact, once only, with my cousin. That was also my first time skipping 1000x. We did interval skipping and by the end of 1000x, which was about 30minutes later, I was drenched in sweats. It was a really good cardio workout, if you hate other types of cardio ie running. Try mix it with various types of skipping and you've got yourself a good conditioning workout!

Few things that I learn from skipping :-
  1. You need a good running shoes for absorbing the impact when you land on your feet. I did not invest in a good running shoes, but thank God for the constant workout, my calves are not sore, but yeah, I would highly recommend to invest in a good running shoes.
  2. Jump up slightly where the rope passes just right under your foot. This is to avoid creating the "heavy, thumping" sound when you land and also to reduce soreness on your legs the next day. (I land very heavily, which is really bad. I will try to land as soft as possible)
  3. When buy skipping rope, try go for the latex type rather than the fabric type as latex is lighter which actually allows you to do faster and explosive movement ie double unders.
Various Types of Skipping Techniques

Alternate leg jump
Jump under the rope with one leg at a time. First you jump with your left foot, then the next revolution you jump with your right foot. Always keep only one foot on the ground.

Double leg jump
Same as alternate leg jumps, except you jump with both feet simultaneously. This is good for balance and foot speed.

High Knees
Jump rope one leg at a time raising your knees as high as possible with each revolution of the rope. Go as fast as you can. If you really want a painful workout add some wrist weights to your jumping session. You’ll find ropes with weighted handles. Don’t buy those because the weight distribution is different and wearing wrist weights will transfer the effects of the jump rope to the right places with minimal strain as opposed to weighted handles.

Double leg high knees
Same premise as the high knee jumps, except you shoot off the ground with both feet leaving the ground at once, bring your knees to your chest. This one is a real killer!

Criss Cross
This is a tricky and advanced movement for the jump rope enthusiast. After the rope passes under your feet and is over your head, cross your elbows over each other at about the middle of your torso and jump through the rope as you would normally. The twist must be done quickly and accurately in order to make the jump. You really need to extend the elbows over each other to make the hole bigger for you to jump through.

Double Unders (This is my favourite. I learnt it from Pushmore. Gave me such a satisfaction when I finally master this move)
Any method of jumping you choose, make sure the rope swings under your feet two times before you land on the ground. These are very difficult and requires (and builds) A LOT of explosive power in the calves and quads. When attempting these, do not jump up as high as you can; you should only jump a little bit higher than you would on a normal jump and the swing the rope with your arms as fast as you possibly you can. If you can get 3 swings under, god bless you.

Run Skipping
You gotta get outside for this one. Pretty much you just start running while jumping the rope either with regular jumps, high knees, criss cross, etc. just keep running on a straight path while jumping rope. You can also utilize this method while running backwards, which is far more challenging.

Ali Shuffle 
Jump rope just like Muhammad Ali. Get in a stationary position, and jump rope while moving side-to-side, forward and back, criss cross side to side, any angles you can incorporate which move your upper body around but keep your feet in the same general jumping vicinity. These are awesome for balance and coordination, which of course are both essential in any sport.

So, wanna try skipping?

p.s. Manage to write a long post anyway. :)

2 comments:

  1. Funny. I used to be obsessed with skipping when I was much much younger. I just bought those old fashioned tali skipping with the wooden handles that come in assorted colours.

    I've always admired those who can do all those fancy skipping moves. Boxers are especially good at skipping. I just look like a clown when I skip nowadays.

    Maybe it's time I invest in a skipping rope and practice skipping again.

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  2. I can't really do fancy skipping also, like the criss cross. It's been a while since I did those. Honestly speaking, when I first skipped with my cousin, I got stuck for a bit, mainly because I need some coordination work between jumping and moving my arms. hehehe...

    Can try skipping, since u dislike running. :) You won't feel the time passes by so slow by skipping. That's what I feel.

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