Jumping rope is the kind of thing that most people have seen boxers do in the movies, but haven’t ever really tried themselves as a workout. It can be a lot of fun, and it works out most of the body all at once.
Most boxers jump rope three times each week for five to ten minutes each time. Beginners should jump rope twice a week while they build up the endurance to do so more often. This helps to prevent injury or undue strain while developing the proper technique.
But why do boxers jump rope, and how does it help them keep in shape? Let’s take a look at all the benefits of jumping rope during a workout, and why it doesn’t need to be done every day.
Do Boxers Need to Jump Rope?
Jumping rope is critical for boxers, as it promotes growth in several important areas: coordination, agility, explosiveness, and endurance.
Coordination
Jumping rope requires a boxer to be able to quickly perform several actions in tandem. They need to flip the rope over their body, keep track of where it is at any given time, and then jump over it when it gets to the right spot. Doing all of this together at the correct rhythm can be a challenge at first, especially when done for several consecutive minutes.
Agility
Jumping rope helps train the body to move quickly within a small space, a skill that is critical for fast positioning and dodging in the ring. Because there are many different additional moves that boxers can add to a jump rope workout, they can continue to increase their agility using this workout by continuing to add more complexity to their jump rope sessions.
Explosiveness
Strength isn’t usually associated with jumping rope, but the quick wrist and leg movements repeated during this exercise are actually perfect for training the body for quick bursts of power, especially if boxers make use of power strokes, where they swing the rope under their feet twice in the same jump.
Endurance
Since jumping rope is cardio, it helps both with the long-term endurance needed to go the distance in a fight without getting winded, and the concentration needed to keep up with an opponent for several minutes at a time. This is because, unlike other types of cardio, jumping rope requires that boxers be able to focus for the duration of the workout on the task at hand.
While boxers don’t necessarily need to jump rope to be good, it’s extremely useful for them to do so. The closest comparison to jumping rope in terms of cardio is running, which doesn’t provide practice in the kinds of movements that boxers do in the ring to see success.
However, just because running isn’t as efficient as jumping rope doesn’t mean that it can’t be good training for people who just don’t like jumping rope as long as they are able to get that practice in movement somewhere else.
How to Jump Rope Like a Boxer for Beginners?
Do Boxers Jump Rope Every Day?
Like with all exercises, jumping rope is best done on an alternating schedule to avoid the potential damage that daily repetition can do to the body. Boxers usually jump rope three times each week, as doing so more often increases the risk of injury to the feet or legs from repeated impact with the ground.
Just like with any workout that involves jumping or running, jumping rope every day at the intensity required for it to be a good workout can quickly cause cumulative damage to the body that can put a boxer out of commission for a while.
Boxers new to the exercise should jump rope once or twice each week while they get used to the rhythm of the workout and build up endurance.
How Long Do Boxers Usually Jump Rope?
There are two ways that jumping rope is usually used: As a warmup for a more intense workout, or as a cardio workout in and of itself. When used as a warmup, boxers usually do ten to twenty minutes of continuous light jumping. During a jump rope warmup, a boxer may also incorporate various kinds of jumps to keep themselves on their toes.
When used as cardio, boxers usually split jump rope sessions into two or three reps that total about thirty minutes of jumping, with two minutes of rest between each rep. This is usually more intense and strenuous than the ten to twenty-minute warmup would be. Some boxers who have built up significant endurance may even jump continuously for the full thirty minutes!
Beginners at this kind of exercise should keep this workout at five to ten minutes while they get used to the motions required. This will help them to learn the proper technique at a slower pace while also building up the endurance needed for longer sessions. It also helps to mitigate the risk of injury, which is more likely to happen if someone feels overexerted.
What is The Best Jump Rope for Boxers
While the brand of rope doesn’t matter a ton, the material certainly does. Plastic ropes move quickly through the air and don’t hurt too bad to mess up with, making them ideal for training purposes. Cotton and other organic ropes tend to be slow and heavy, while metal ropes move quickly and hurt pretty badly to get hit with.
This makes lightweight plastic ropes ideal for most boxers, and as these can be quite cheap they’re also the best budget option. Since plastic ropes don’t cost much, it’s pretty much always worth it to spring for a better tool when making the purchase as it would be a shame to let the uncomfortable feel of a cheap rope be the reason that a boxer doesn’t do their jumps.
Because of this, shoot for the ten to forty dollar price range of plastic jump ropes, ideally, those designed for workouts and not as children’s toys. The Ellenium Speed Jump Rope is a great budget option that comes with an adjustable cord that lets users ensure that it is the proper length for their height.