How will a jump rope system help you become a better athlete?  How will it help you get in better shape?

Here’s how:

Adaptation (Nov 2012)
Ever heard of the phrase “Keep the body guessing”? Some of you may laugh, but there is definite merit to this concept. With a consistent exercise, as your body adapts, it needs a new and increased stimulus to maintain or achieve improved results. Most of us have experienced ‘plateaus’ or felt like a workout wasn’t as challenging as it used to be. With a single jump rope, you get used to it. You adapt in a negative way. You limit yourself. Ever wonder why another rope trips you up?
With a series of ropes, your body has constant challenges. Your muscles, your coordination and your timing are constantly put to the test. Once you get quick with speed, you challenge yourself to get quick with a heavy rope. Now, you are stronger, more powerful, more versatile.
You can do double unders with a speed rope. How do you get better? Just like any other exercise – add weight. Now, double unders with a heavier rope, and heavier. After time, you’ve taught your body how to adapt instantaneously in a positive way, because you can pick up any jump rope and crush it. We know. We’ve done it.

Power (Jun 2012)
Most people have a pretty good idea of what power means when it comes to fitness and athletic ability. We know the difference between a power athlete and an endurance athlete, for example. Let’s take a closer look.

‘Power’ defined- The rate at which work is done per unit of time, where work equals force times distance and force equals mass times acceleration.

So, basically, to become as powerful as possible, we want to more quickly accelerate an increasingly larger mass over an increased distance in a lesser amount of time.  When it comes to using CrossRope, you have the heavy jump rope options available to train to be able to move larger and larger cables at faster and faster rates. This will increase your upper body power capabilities. Traditional speed ropes can be utilized for speed, quickness and agility, but just cannot provide sufficient centrifugal resistance for maximum jump roping power development.

Plyometrics (Jun 2012)
Plyometrics has become a popular term to describe exercises derived from Soviet training techniques devised decades ago. What is so great about plyometrics? Properly done plyometric training will result in excellent increases in:
1. Vertical Jump
2. Sprint Speed
3. Quickness

‘Plyometrics’ defined – exercise involving repeated rapid stretching and contracting of muscles (as by jumping and rebounding) to increase muscle power. (Merriam Webster)

Properly performed plyometric exercises entail maximal effort where the body is rapidly stabilized in the downward knee bending movement (eccentric) and then exploded upward (concentric) with a maximum amount of force with minimum contact time on the ground. Due to the level of intensity, you would never gain complete benefit if your muscles are not warmed up enough or if they are fatigued. Additionally, since plyometric exercises train your central nervous system (CNS) to fire off faster reaction impulses, you should not feel muscle fatigue. (If you are, you’re doing too many) Beware of programs or workouts that have plyometric exercises with large numbers of sets or repetitions without adequate rest because you won’t get the maximum explosive benefit for your speed, quickness or jumping ability. There are a multitude of good plyometric exercises, but plyometric jump roping with CrossRope is a great one for the following reasons:

1. It forces minimal ground contact time. If your feet do not contact and explode off the ground quickly, the cable will not be able to pass underneath.
2. It forces quick stabilization and balance. When you make the rapid upper body movements in the air associated with revolving your jump rope, your body is required to use all of its stabilizing muscles during the eccentric landing movement in order to balance rapidly enough for another powerful concentric jumping movement.
3. It incorporates an additional upper body functional strength and quickness aspect due to the jump rope movement.

When performing plyometric jump roping, focus on maximum jump height, minimum ground contact time and good posture and balance. Perform no more than 5-15 jumps per set. This is a great opportunity to work on your double unders or triple unders, not just by increasing wrist speed, but jumping as high as possible with good form.

Check back in the months to come for updates and more overviews of training theories and how they pertain to CrossRope speed jump rope options, heavy jump rope options and everything in between.