Simple, cheap, effective

If you don’t have a jump rope yet… go buy one. Head down to the local sporting goods store. A jump rope will cost you $10. If you are really cheap (nothing wrong with that), make your own. Simply tie a knot in both ends of a piece of rope.

There was a time when I was really into boxing.I would actually really like to get in the ring again but I can’t find a trainer that doesn’t want me to condition their way (which usually involves running miles and miles per day and overtraining). There are a couple habits (Some good and some questionable – reader Tim knows what I am talking about here lol) that I picked up from it that I still practice. One of the habits that I picked up that is truly awesome and good for life is jumping rope.

Benefits of jumping rope:
1. Its a cheap piece of workout equipment that takes up almost no space.
2. You can easily travel with it.
3. It is a full body workout. Works both upper and lower body.
4. It is a great workout. It burns mega calories!
5. It is a very athletic workout. It requires agility, timing, coordination and endurance.
6. It is an activity that is possible by both beginners and workout experts.
7. It is just plain fun.

What to do with your jump rope:
1. Try doing some tabata sets jumping rope (8 rounds 20 seconds jumping 10 seconds rest). Or try other forms of jump rope “sprints”.
2. Jump rope between set when you are working out.
3. Start or end your workout with a set of jump rope.

The SoG twist:
Being the quirky guy I am, I do have some advice on jump roping that may be slightly out of the norm. “Jump rope barefoot”. This may not sound bad to you but trust me… this is not for the weak of heart. When you mess up barefoot… it hurts and I mean it really hurts. This motivates you to get good fast. Jumping rope barefoot also strengthens feet muscles and the calves in ways you never knew existed. In my masochistic opinion, this is the only way to skip rope. If you can’t handle this though, don’t let it discourage you from jumping rope lol… just do it with shoes on.

These piglets have the eye of the tiger!

This little piggy did high knees.
This little piggy did none (but he did jumping jacks).
This little piggy did boxing.
This little piggy had fun (doing burpees).
And THIS little piggy did jump rope… all the way home.

This is a little Tabata workout I threw together the other day when I was looking to do a light little workout.Nothing light about it… I was pretty sore the next day! lol. This is a great beginner workout OR more advanced workout. I say either because the beauty of doing any Tabata type workout is that the more fit you are, the more difficult it is because you can rep out more reps. I think that this would be a great little workout on the road travelling.

The workout consists of 5 exercises done in 5 sets of 8 rounds of Tabata protocol (20 seconds balls to the wall then 10 seconds rest). The entire workout takes around 25 minutes.

If you want a great online timer to help you time your Tabata… I use this one.

1. 8 rounds Tabata high knees. Run in place as fast as you can bringing your knees up as high as you can.
2. Immediately into a 60 second front plank.
3. Immediately to 8 rounds Tabata jumping jacks. Hopefully self explanatory. Go as fast as you can!
4. Immediately into a 60 second left side plank.
5. 8 rounds Tabata punching bag. If travelling or no bag then shadow box!
6. Immediately into a 60 second right side plank.
7. 8 rounds Tabata burpees with pullup. If no access to pullup (traveling or don’t have a bar at home) then just do regular burpees. To do a burpee, stand up straight. Squat down and place your hands on the ground. Kick your legs out behind you. Do a pushup. Jump your feet back to your hands. Stand up. That is 1.
8. Immediately into a 60 second front plank
9. 8 rounds Tabata jump rope. If you don’t yet own one… go buy one. This is a great piece of workout equipment that is only around $10. Many of my future workouts are going to require a jump rope.
*10. If you have access to it, do 1 set heavy deadlifts & one set hanging power clean and presses.

This may be a little hard for the begginers but is great because you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Do not be discouraged if you can’t finish the workout. Keep building up until you can!

Stairs, Weight Vest, Jumprope - Check

Its important to stay creative in your workouts. There is almost always SOMETHING you can do. You don’t need a gym to get a good workout.

I was planning on doing some sprints today but it was freezing outside. Instead of giving up, I found a way to do a sprint type workout inside my house.

I threw on my weight vest and ran 25 sprints up my stairs! I ran up the stairs as fast and hard as I could (Safely of course) and walked back down as my rest.

Then I did 4 sets of 100 twirls with my jump rope

Finished it off with some planks. I alternated front to side to other side and back to front for 3 “sets”

All in all it was a great workout and I didn’t even have to leave the house!

Summary:

Weight Vest Stair Sprints – 25 with 30#’s

Jump Rope – 4 sets 100 twirls

Planks – Front 1 minute, left side 30 sec, right side 30 sec. Repeat 3 times.