This is a follow up article to ‘5 Steps to Jump Rope Like a Pro‘. The first 5 got you started jumping rope on the right foot, these 5 will take you from being able to do the skills, to looking like a pro while you do them.

Variety is the spice of life

Or so the saying goes anyway. Work on a variety of skills. You can do footwork, crosses, multiple unders, rope releases, swings, wraps and a plethora of other skills. Don’t just work on only one type of trick, take time to learn a little from each category. To the uninitiated, most skills in the same category look the same. If you want to look like a pro, you need to know more than 2 tricks. You don’t need to know the most difficult ones, just be able to do 3-4 from each section and do them really well.

Be a Smoothie

If you really want to look like a pro, practice each skill until they are as smooth as glass. A true pro will make everything they do look easy. There’s no secret way around this beyond mere practice. You have to spend time working the skills until you feel very comfortable doing them. Confidence is king when you perform. If you feel confident, the trick will look better and you’ll impress people much faster. Make the easy tricks look easy and the hard tricks look even easier.

Watch Yourself

Watch yourself in a mirrored room as you perform each skill. Do them over and over again and pay attention to your body motion as you do them. The areas to watch are: your feet, knees, hips, hands, shoulders and head. What are they all doing? How do they make you look when you’re doing them? Some people look goofy unintentionally due to certain postures or habits they take into jumping. Some are ok to have, but others need to be cleaned up. Work on correcting any abnormality you see and don’t forget the importance of smiling (just don’t over cheese it, a little can go a long way).

Be a Changeling

Constantly change the types of jumps you do. You don’t have to always be on both feet at the same time. Jump from one foot to the other (speed step), take a double bounce (2 hops for every turn of the rope), shuffle, skip, swing the rope on the side, whatever. Repetition is boring to watch! Outside of looking good, you’re trying to get a workout. The best workouts come when you’re constantly changing what you’re doing. Speed up, slow down, lift your knees, tap your heels, cross your legs, make it interesting. Plus, you’ll find that you’ll miss less if you change what you’re doing. (Quick side note: side swings are a great breather because you don’t have to jump while you’re doing them). Every 30 seconds should see some sort of change, go on, be the ultimate changeling.

Get into it

Jump like you own the rope. Rope skipping is a blast, so have fun. Remember, you’re getting a great workout, up to 1,000 calories an hour!

It’s going to take some practice, but if you stick with it, you’ll be jumping rope like a pro in no time!