Jump Rope exercise is an effective cardiovascular exercise that conditions and strengthens arms, legs, and upper body muscles. Jump Rope exercise is just the thing to complement any gym training exercise. The training involves every part of the body and is a great way to burn calories and get in shape. They are a perfect embodiment of CrossFit core principles of intensity, functionality, and variety.

The Jump rope exercise requires a good quality branded rope. Equipped with a branded rope the jump rope trainer jumps a specified number of times over the rope. Beginners generally start out with a simple rope skipping exercise that they must learn to master keeping perfect balance and grip on the branded rope. Once they become at ease with simple rope skipping, they move on to the advanced variation of the exercise.

1. Criss-cross

Criss-cross is similar to basic skipping with a little variation. During the jump, the left hand goes to the right side of the body and the right hand to the left side with the arms crossing in front of the body. This allows extra endurance and muscle training of the arms and back.

2. Side Swing

In side-swing, the skipper performs a jump or criss-cross right after he swings the rope to the side of the body. This also helps in arm and back muscle training.

3. Alternate foot jump (speed step)

In this variation of the rope skipping exercise, the trainer jumps using alternate feet. This rope skipping technique is suitable for speed events that require double the number of jumps per minute as compared to the above methods.

4. Front-Back Cross

This is similar to criss-cross rope jumping exercise with the variation that the trainer crosses one arm behind his back for extra endurance during the training session.

5. Double Under

Double Under is a variation of the rope skipping exercise that boosts the effectiveness of the training program. The person using a quality branded rope leaps higher than usual and takes two swings under the rope before touching the ground. With increased proficiency, the CrossFit athlete sometimes swings the rope three, four, or even five times under his legs. The motion is called triples, quadruples, and quintuples respectively.

6. Double Dutch

Another variation of the rope training exercise is the Double Dutch. In this type of skipping, two or more users jump simultaneously over two long branded ropes that are turned in opposite directions. This rope skipping variation aids in hand eye coordination during the strength building exercise.

For more information checkout Jump Ropes and Skipping Ropes.