Does Jump Rope Count as a HIIT Workout?
Hoooold on there big boss! We first have to explain what HIIT is. I am sure loads of you already know but, for those of you who don’t, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT workouts have gained a lot of popularity in the last years for how effective they are. They have been shown to help burn body fat because of the elevated heart rate associated to them. They can help with weight loss (although we already know why, right guys? Check out the other blog post on the topic of weight loss). HIIT can also help in improving your VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your muscles can take in while exercising - the more oxygen the better!). These three fundamental results are why HIIT is considered to be exercise royalty!
now, let’s break this down a little further and go over what a HIIT workout consists of:
High intensity: You need to be going hard and putting in the effort. The rule of thumb to going all out is maintaining 80-95% of your maximum heart rate. However, not everyone has a heart rate monitor so the best way to gauge this is to try maintaining a conversation while doing the workout. If you can speak during the workout, you aren’t going intense enough!
Intervals: The premise of HIIT is to go all out for a set amount of time or reps, rest a set amount of time and repeat. Simple enough to be honest. You can decide how long you want these sets to be with time or reps and you just need to stick to it. The aim is to push yourself hard without straining any muscles or getting injured, so test different combinations to see what your body is capable of!
Now that we know what HIIT actually is let’s get back to the main topic here:
Jump rope = HIIT?
The answer everyone hates… it depends!
It is true though. You can make your jump rope workout a HIIT workout or not. You can almost make any workout a HIIT workout. The important thing here is to note that what defines something as a HIIT workout is how you set it up. If you are going all out and your sets are structured to go hard for a specific time or number of reps followed by rest, then that is a HIIT workout.
Let’s use jump rope as an example then. If you intend to simply jump rope for as long as you can as if you were going for a jog, that is not HIIT (and I don’t recommend doing that!). However, if your workout consists of you doing jump rope very intensely for 1 minute, resting 20 seconds and repeating for 20 rounds, then that is a HIIT workout. You can even make the combination more interesting and push you some more. Check out this example workout below:
10 Rounds (15 secs rest in between exercises)
Jump Rope Regular (30 secs)
Jump Rope Run in Place (30 secs)
Jump Rope Double Unders (30 secs)
Jump Rope Criss Cross (30 secs)
Rest (15 Seconds)
I can guarantee that this workout is going to give you a run for your money! It is a 42 minute workout that will really test you and get you to your limit as long as you keep the intensity up!
What I want to get across with this is that any workout can be made into a HIIT workout if you set it up to be and jump rope is best done if it is set up as a HIIT workout. Most of the (to not say all) workouts that are posted on this website are HIIT workouts with loads of different combinations. We want to offer you workouts that will give you the best results in a short time. That way all you busy bees can be achieving your goals quickly and properly!
Go to the Workouts page to check out the workouts and get ready to put in the work!
Now get out there and
LIVE.BREATHE.JUMP!