10-Minute Cardio Fun Workout

So.. would you like to improve your stamina, but you’re not sure where to start?

Try out this quick and easy (I promise!) 10-minute rope skipping mini workout.

Rope skipping is my absolute favourite way of cardio training.

Why do I love it?

Because it WORKS.
It’s super easy (ok.. quite easy, and it gets easier and easier after a few sessions :))
It’s extremely efficient. It takes the least amount of time for the results that you get.

Check it out here:

PS: I’ve built in a quick warm up (you can do a few extra moves if you like) into this mini session, as well as different types of leg stretches during the skipping breaks, so you will feel energized and even refreshed(!) afterwards.

So why skipping rope?

I discovered how effective (and pain free! IF you don’t accidentally whip yourself with the rope – this is why I wear sneakers for skipping) it is after trying it out in between two Martial Arts training classes.

The difference in stamina was really astounding. Suddenly we felt like the martial arts warm ups (often including running laps in the dojang, interspersed with push ups, burpees, high jumps, kneeling kicks and so on)

We only did one 15-minute session, with quite long stretching breaks/rests included (we only have space for one person to jump in our living room, so we decided to use the waiting time smartly)

And that. was. it.

Why did it work?

Because when you jump, even if just for 25 skips (or 10 if you jump really high) – especially as a beginner – and then ‘walk it off’ right affter, your heart rate will continue to GO UP for at least another minute, before you start to recover.

This means that – according to the principles of a book I love, the One Minute Workout, you don’t even NEED to jump 100 times when you start (unless you’re already super fit.. but you can simply jump longer as your stamina grows) you just kick start that heart rate, then you walk around, breathe and relax for a bit.

Then you add on another minute or so of active stretching (check out the 10-Minute Beginner Cardio Session for a few stretching ideas) so you’ll feel fully re-energized for the next round, thereby doubling your workout’s effectiveness.

Now this also means that the work out might not FEEL like you ‘work yourself OUT’ – and that’s the genius of it.

You don’t need to feel like you’re dying when you train to actually improve your fitness.

You can totally work smarter, not harder.

It just feels a bit counter intuitive to most of us (doesn’t it?), as we’ve been conditioned to think ‘more is more’ when it comes to training your fitness.

So how will you know whether it works?

You test it.

Try how you feel if you run or walk uphill.

Then you do the jump rope session (this can be on a different day than the pre-test)

Joy of Movement

Adventures in movement in all it’s forms