The Jump Rope And Its Impact

Rope Skipping has been around for ages and has been used by some of the greatest boxers and wrestlers ever from Olympic gold medalists to the pros. I love to play around with the jump rope every now and then and would use a ropeless or cordless jump rope indoors so I don't hit the ceiling or anything and it's one of the most portable pieces of equipment you can use. I'm not the most coordinated and just do a couple basic exercises but I know how much of an impact it can be on conditioning and saving time and money. 

Now it's no question some of the best athletes around skip rope and have taught some incredible workouts. However; there are some people out there who claim that they're course is the best in in existence like this one Jump Rope Mania but I hate to break it to you, it really isn't. Learning from this dude is not the way to go and quite frankly, this course should not cost you $150 for a fucking book or close to $55 for Kindle, like seriously why buy a book that costs you an arm and a leg (maybe a few other organs too), it's ridiculous man. If you want to learn the best of the best when it comes to Rope Skipping, go to a guy who's not only an Olympic Wrestler but one of the most underrated as well and that's Anthony "Buddy" Lee. In his book, he shows you over 100 exercises with a jump rope from very basic to some of the most incredible jaw dropping exercises you'll ever witness and this book is around $15. There's also another book Jump Rope Training by Lee for under $20 on Kindle that has better quality training than some Fitness hack that rips off guys like Matt Furey.

Building a foundation for conditioning and stamina is very important and one of the key aspects is to learn from those that have not only been through the ringer but know the true secrets to those that came before them. Lee was not just an Olympian but was one of the best College Wrestlers of his time and was a Marine that could mop the floor with just about anybody. One of the best teachers when it comes to conditioning training with minimal equipment and making fitness fun and exciting while kicking your ass. 

Mike Tyson, Karl Gotch, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Mohammad Ali, Dan Gable and many others are legends of their respective field and all did rope skipping. Talk about an all star lineup. Learn from people like them, you don't even have to do the crazy advanced stuff, just get good the best you can with the basics and you can't go wrong. Jon Hinds' father Bobby was a hell of a skipper in his time and could do 68 jumps in 10 seconds which was a record at the time, that's pure badassery. 

Be versatile and when it comes to minimal equipment, you can't beat a good Jump/Speed Rope. Stay strong, get conditioned and keep being amazingly awesome.

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Train During Minor Setbacks

    A lot of people take time off from training due to certain setbacks like a small injury, out of the blue car trip for whatever reason, kids get sick, cooking for a party and/or doing projects you need to get done. It's not easy getting the time in especially if you're a parent or someone who's on call for a job like a doctor or some who's time is spent a lot at work but if you want to get something done in your training you don't make excuses, you make compromises. You modify what you want to get done whether you have a few minutes or an hour to kill use it wisely. I recently came back from visiting friends and family in California and was running around being with my buds (mostly my best friend) and relaxing during certain times but always made time to train even if it was a few minutes. In Tahoe it was fun being able to train outdoors going swimming, climbing/jumping/crawling on the rocks and doing a little DDP Yoga while I had time to myself. For you it might be different but there's always a way to get something done even if it's just getting a few push-ups here and there or doing isometrics throughout the day. Make it work for you.

 
    Make a habit of training no matter what. Most look for an excuse and some may be understandable but for the most part you have 24hrs in a day, you can't spare 5 min. worth of exercise? Hell what can you do in that amount of time; 1 min. of Jump Rope, 1 min. of squats, 6 different Isometrics for 10 seconds each that's 3 min. so far, bear crawl for 30 seconds than do jumping jacks for 30 seconds and finish off with a 1 min. plank (with palms touching not forearms) and there you have 5 min. Adjust to what you want to do. Exercise can relieve stress and help you think clearer plus you're jump starting your heart rate which can burn fat, help build muscle and gain stamina. You do not need to do an hour of cardio and weights to get in shape who the hell has time for that? Unless you're a pro athlete, weightlifter, bodybuilder or fitness model your time is precious so make the best of it.

 
    Sometimes training in crunch time can be tough and you may have some doubts and you feel like you're not doing enough. I know a few people who bust their ass for what they do and the time they have to exercise is a very small window of opportunity but they make the time even if it means spreading out the exercises throughout the day. Don't bring yourself down when there's a simple solution. Do what you can and go on with your life. You have a choice to make the time or not to put in the effort and yes it's a small sacrifice but you have the power to do it.

 
    Enjoy what you can do, don't dread on about that you can only do this but you want to do something else but it takes longer make the time for what you need to do. Like I said you have choices no matter how big or small they are, if an opportunity arises than get your ass going. Give yourself a chance to train during certain setbacks because you put in what you get out of it. It's tough for a lot of people like on-call doctors, college students, factory workers, laborers, business men and women, contractors, architects and others so use the time that is open to get a little something done that will help your body and mind get stronger, fitter and less stressed.

 
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