Almost every year I see an article pop up on one of the news sites stating how the Victoria’s Secret models get in shape. I’m always curious if jump rope is involved in any of their workouts (and mentioned in the article). My assumption is that most of the models do some form of jump rope in their workouts from time to time. This year one of the Victoria’s Secret models by the name of Stella Maxwell made the following quote when talking about her workouts:

“I really like jump rope and headstands

I love jump rope because it’s a challenge to time yourself to see how long you can keep going. I love headstands because you get a natural high from being upside down. It’s a nice way to readjust your whole body.”

I don’t necessarily share her affinity for headstands, but it’s great to hear that she sees the awesome benefits to jump rope! A very simple test of your cardio ability is to time how long you can jump rope without stopping. Many people start with a top time of 30 seconds before getting winded. Over time you can see this number go up with some consistent practice and workouts.

A question I often get from people is how to jump rope longer than that initial number. Whether it’s 30 seconds or a minute, most people who use jump rope would like to go longer than that. A simple tip that I tell people is to break it up into jumping and non-jumping moves. If you can only jump for 30 seconds, that’s fine! We all start somewhere. Jump rope for 30 seconds then stand still and do some side swings or march in place. When you feel like you can jump again, do another 30 seconds. The goal for a good cardio workout is to keep your heart rate elevated for 20 minutes or longer.

I find that you should try to put yourself on a clock.

If you can do 30 seconds of jumping rope, try doing 30 seconds of marching in place then jump rope for 30 seconds longer. This way you are maximizing your jumping time and not giving yourself breaks that are too long.

I had to set myself this rule when I was breaking the Guinness World Records title for hopping a mile on one foot while jumping rope. I needed to take a break from time to time and if my leg was the judge on how long then I would probably still be standing there! Giving myself a count of 7 before I had to keep going made me keep the momentum up.

You may not start out being able to jump rope as long as one of the Victoria’s Secret models. That’s fine. They do it because it’s a great cardio workout and it really tones your muscles. Start out wherever you are and over time you will be able to jump rope longer and longer.