Does Skipping Help Lose Weight or Build Muscle?

As a kid, you might have hit the playground with a skipping rope in hand, anxious to practice a new skipping song or chant with your friends. As an adult, don't be afraid to take a step back and give this workout a shot once again. Skipping -- or jumping rope, as adults typically call it -- is a challenging, full-body workout that plays a role in both weight loss and muscle development.

  1. Burn Hundreds of Calories

    • Jumping rope is a cardio exercise that can burn several hundred calories in just a short duration. As such, this exercise is a valuable weapon in your war against fat. You'll likely have to slowly work up to jumping rope for more than just a few minutes at a time, but during lengthy stretches, this activity creates a significant burn. ExRx.net reports that a 165-pound person burns 305 calories in 30 minutes of slow jumping and 379 calories in 30 minutes of jumping at a fast rhythm.

    Jump to a Thinner Body

    • On its own, jumping rope won't necessarily result in weight loss. To lose weight, you must combine regular exercise with the consumption of a healthy diet. For example, if you jump rope for 30 minutes per day but consume a diet full of fat and sugar, it's likely that you'll gain weight, rather than lose it. If you want to use jumping rope as your chief source of exercise as you attempt to lose weight, you must also watch what you eat.

    A Total-Body Workout

    • Increasing your muscle mass leads to a strong, healthy body and one that burns calories faster. Jumping rope is an ideal muscle-strengthening exercise because each repetition involves virtually your entire body. Jumping rope works the muscles in your shoulders, arms, chest, core, back, butt and legs. Every time you perform this exercise, you strengthen these muscles. Jumping rope won't give you a bodybuilder's physique, but dedication to this workout can help you sculpt a body low in fat with tight, toned muscles.

    Time to Get Jumping

    • One of the perks of jumping rope is its versatility. You don't need to leave your home to perform this activity, and you can use it for a vigorous workout even in a short period of time. As you get comfortable with the basics of jumping rope, begin to alternate feet and attempt double unders -- one jump with two full revolutions of the rope -- to add variety to the workout. While jumping, keep your body straight and take small hops to minimize the impact to your joints.