Jump Roping for Runners
How does a traditional warmup compare with jump roping?
Attention avid runners who are game for something different: Consider adding jump roping to your weekly routine! Amateur endurance runners who traded a 5-minute warmup for jump roping (two to four times a week for a total of 10–20 minutes) improved their 3-kilometer time trial performance, jumping ability, reactive strength and arch stiffness.
The study was conducted over 10 weeks and included 96 participants assigned to a jump-rope group or a regular warmup group.
Jump rope–training participants showed significant improvements in all measured areas when compared with those who didn’t jump rope. Researchers think the time trial improvements resulted from gains in reactive strength and arch stiffness. The study is available in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (2022; 15 [7], 927–33).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
