People are always asking me for ways to spice up their workout routine and also things that they can do at home when they can’t get to the gym. My answer to them recently has been to go buy a jump rope!! The 20 minutes or so of cardio I occasionally do is always interval based but over the last couple months I have also been adding in some interval work in between sets when I am weight training. And most recently I’ve been using a jump rope. Why you might ask? Well I have had a lot of visitors recently (and not to mention was partaking in all of the summer time festivities) which means, eating out more often, drinking adult beverages quite frequently, less time spent in the gym and a much less structured eating routine healthy or not. But I am completely okay with change and LOVE when people come to visit me..all I do is adjust how I workout (when I actually make it to the gym) to counter what I’m doing (or should I say eating/drinking) outside the gym. And for me, that means working much harder and making sure my heart rate goes up and down the ENTIRE time so that I can burn more calories than I normally would…and also allows me to get away with not doing two seasons a day (cardio and a lift) because time won’t permit it…okay let’s be honest, I won’t permit it because I would rather be hanging out with my friends, toes in the sand and sipping on a cocktail!
So how to incorporate this fabulous “old fashioned” piece of equipment into your routine? There’s no right or wrong way, just do it! For me it honestly depends on how I feel and how much “over indulging” I have accomplished prior to my workout haha!! So sometimes I will jump in between exercises and other times when I’m feeling beastly, I will jump between sets during each exercise and then rest when I move to the next exercise. So for example:
Leg Day: Two Options
Squats: 4 x 20 reps
jump rope 1 min on 30 seconds off three times
Leg Press: 4x 20 reps
jump rope 1 min on 30 seconds off three times
RDL: 4 x 20 reps
jump rope 1 min on 30 seconds off three times
OR
Squats: 1 set x 20 reps
Jump rope 1 minute
1 set x 20 reps
Jump rope 1 minute
1 set x 20 reps
Jump rope 1 minute
1 set x 20 reps
Jump rope 1 minute
Leg press: 1 set x 20 reps
Jump rope 1 minute
Do that 4 times and then the same with RDL.
And when I say jump rope, I mean JUMP ROPE! Get after it!! Don’t double hop, don’t barely fling the rope around. Have light toe touches, fast jumps, and whip that rope around to get your heart rate flying! You will feel tired and fatigued but it’s OKAY!! If option two is too much stick to option one! If you can alternate between option 1 and 2 do that! Just get in there and work and watch the fat drip off! You can apply this to any workout you do, arms, back, glutes, it works with them all! And if you can’t make it into the gym just jump rope using intervals at home! It’s way better than not doing anything at all. You can do any variation of intervals (1 min on 1 min off, two minute on one minute off, 30 seconds on 30 seconds off, 45 sec on 15 off, like I said, there’s no right or wrong way!) If you need to purchase a good jump rope you can head over to Sports Research and use my code for a discount on a rope with code: juliana10! It’s the exact one that I use and I love it! You can cut it to fit your body…which I love because I am short and no one in my gym will want take (or be able to use) my jump rope! =) ;) hahaha! (disclaimer, if you can’t get a rope or you forget yours, you can still fake jumping rope and it will be a close alternative until you have one.)
Spice up your October with more than just pumpkin and add this “basic” piece of equipment into your workouts!! Happy jumping loves!! Until next time, dream believe and achieve!!
XO Juliana
