Adding rope jumping to any workout is a great idea to boosting results on many different levels. But, if you don’t have a clue of which is the right option for you in terms of jump ropes, we have some information that you may want to know. By the way, you will also need good shoes for jumping rope.
On a very basic level, we can say that there are two main types of jump ropes: the speed rope and the weighted jump rope. These may look similar but respond to different types of users and needs.
Today, we are going to talk about each type and the scenarios in which they perform best. The speed rope-jump rope difference is something we must have very clear before investing in a piece of equipment, no matter if it’s highly affordable, which is the case here.
What is a Speed Rope?
The speed rope is the most classic example of jump rope. Of course, they are so common that people simply call them jump ropes and ignore any possible categories for this kind of equipment.
The main characteristic here is that the speed rope is made of lightweight materials. The handles, wire cable, and any other elements present in the rope must be light and function properly at high speeds.
What we want with a speed rope is to spinning it as fast as possible, without putting additional tension of the shoulders, forearms, wrists, and hands. This allows people to train for longer periods of time without discomfort, pain, or lesions.
What is a Weighted Jump Rope?
Now, the weighted jump rope is the same accessory but with added weight. The handles in these jump ropes are made of heavier materials and include weights that create extra resistance during the workout. Also, the wire cable in weighted jump ropes is thicker, also with the same objective of adding weight.
As expected, the weighted jump rope makes more difficult to execute jump after jump, requiring a bigger effort from the person. The ones who choose this rope cannot perform the same tricks and movements than people making speed rope’s workouts. Instead, they need to keep with basic skipping.
Best Jumping Rope of Weight Loss
We see how world-class athletes like boxers choose the jump rope to maintain optimum body fat. This exercise has the power to take the body to the very limit, burning insane amounts of calories in every single session. But, when it comes to the speed rope-jump rope difference, which is better for losing weight?
With the speed rope, we can perform single-leg skips, sprints, and crossovers, which are variations that demand a lot more than the basic jump. These movements require massive cardiovascular effort, which boosts metabolism and burns plenty of calories. And because we are not adding weight to create extra resistance, we can jump more time.
On the other hand, weighted jump ropes make more difficult to train for extended periods. This means that we cannot achieve the same level of cardiovascular effort in our workouts. So, if the main goal is to burn fat at a fast pace, the best chance we have is by using a speed rope.
Best Jumping Rope for Building Muscle
It doesn’t matter the chosen exercise, we need to face resistance if our mission is to build some muscle. In the case of jumping the rope, there isn’t a lot of people thinking about this exercise for gaining muscle mass. Nevertheless, it is possible.
As expected, the speed rope is basically useless here. It’s true that we can obtain important muscle toning by doing high-speed rope jumping, adding a few challenging skip variations. But, in the short term, we will hit aplateau.
Here, the weighted jump rope is our best alternative for building muscle. By using heavyweight ropes, we are forcing our muscle to make an additional effort, just like when we are lifting weights. We’ll need to perform fewer jumps but the impact in thebody will be more significant.
Best for Increasing Stamina
If you have been in the gym, you probably noticed how big people with a lot of muscle get tired quickly, at least in most of the cases. Lifting heavy weights and building a lot of muscle doesn’t mean that you will increase your stamina. Someone thinner and weighing a lot less than you could easily enjoy a higher endurance when jogging, running, and even jumping the rope.
Long-lasting stamina is achieved through high-intensity cardio. The speed rope is perfect for doing so. If we take this jump rope and do intense workouts, focusing on the number of skips over the resistance created by the rope itself, we can significantly improve our stamina in little time.
This represents a really tough and demanding cardio exercise, so the benefits are abundant, even in the short term. What we cannot simply recommend is trying to increase stamina with the weighted jump rope.
Best Jumping Rope for Beginners
Many people can affirm that they have memories of them as children jumping the rope. This simple and straightforward physical activity is present all around the world, in most countries and without being the cultural differences relevant.
What does this fact mean? That rope jumping is really friendly, no matter the physical conditions, age or gender. Nevertheless, not all the jump ropes are appropriate for all types of users.
The weighted jump rope is more challenging. Then, it’s only an option for people with considerable experience doing rope jumping. Beginners must use speed ropes in order to earn not only experience but fair levels of stamina and reflexes.
The Bottom Line
Jumping the rope isn’t only an exciting activity that can add a lot of fun to every workout but also highly benefiting in almost every single aspect. You can boost your fitness results by doing serious rope jumping several times a week, something that will take your little time.
Now the speed rope-jump rope difference is clear, you can make a smart decision regarding the way to workout. Analyze your own physical conditions and consider what option suits you best.
