Jump Rope Guide

A simple guide for learning jump rope (and freestyle).

Basics and FAQ

Why jump rope?

Check out these articles from Buyjumpropes.net and Crossrope.

How do I size the rope?

Use this to determine the initial rope size to buy. Some ropes aren’t resizable (Crossrope for example). You want the rope to be as short as possibe. The idea of a short rope is that you can spin it with less effort and with greater speed. Another significant benefit is being forced to have proper form. As improper form causes the rope to shorten and lose efficiency, among other things (see below). It’s hard to say exactly how short you should make it. You can start off with the middle of the handle reaching your armpits. And later as your form improves, try to make the rope as short as possible.

As for how to actually change the length of a resizable rope:

When cutting nylon rope (which is what is used in beaded ropes), follow this method to stop the rope from fraying. Or you can get something like this.

What is the correct jumping form?

  1. Turn the rope using just slight flicks of the wrist. Forearms, and shoulders shouldn’t be moving much at all.
  2. Keep your elbows and forearms near your body.
  3. Keep chest up, eyes looking forward. Do not slouch.
  4. Jump just high enough to clear the rope, while landing on the balls of your feet.
  5. Your body should be relaxed, shoulders down, and neck loose. A surefire way to know if you’re not doing this, is if you’re experiencing neck or shoulder pain.

Take a video of yourself, and watch it back to check your form. Here’s a video from Nate KG explaining the correct form.

Is joint wear a concern? / I’m experiencing joint pain

To minimize joint fatigue and wear, make sure you are jumping on a forgiving surface (see below), and jumping with proper form (see above). If you have had prior injuries, then check with your doctor. If you do multiples (when the rope revolves more than once per jump), it’s very important that you jump on a forgiving surface. Also, jumping using two feet (compared to jogging/alternating feet) should reduce knee and ankle strain.

What surface should I jump on?

There are 4 things to consider when picking a surface to jump on: the impact on your joints when jumping, the wear that it’ll have on your rope, and whether it would cause the rope to bounce or catch.

Here are some examples:

How do I learn tricks / Why should I learn tricks?

Check out the freestyle guide below.

How can I listen to music while jumping?

Other than just using a speaker, the most lightweight, reliable, and cost-effective setup I find, is this: get a pair of wrap-around earphones (like the Sony MDR-AS210/B), thread it through your shirt, connect it to a Bluetooth receiver (like the Anker Soundsync) and keep it in a zippered pocket (so it doesn’t bounce out, if that’s a problem).

Freestyle Guide

What is freestyle?

Freestyle jump rope refers to doing tricks with a jump rope. It could be anything from simple side swings, double under, and crosses, to more advanced tricks (for example).

Why should I learn freestyle?

Learning freestyle will add difficulty and flow to your workouts. It’s a good idea to at least learn to do side swings, crosses, and double unders. If you’re looking to make your routine more interesting and fun, freestyle will do just that.

What do I need to be able to learn freestyle?

If you’re just interested in learning basic tricks like side swings, crosses, and double unders, then you typically won’t need much other than whatever rope you’re using. If you want to learn advanced skills, depending on what you want to learn, you’ll need more specialized equipment. Specifically, you will want a jump rope suitable for freestyle (check the buying guide below). A forgiving surface to jump on, such as a hardwood floor, or thick gymnastics mat (also good for power moves), so you don’t wear your joints out, which can be especially be a concern with freestyle, depending on your body weight and joint strength.

How can I learn freestyle?

A great way to learn is simply to start going through the Tricktionary. Take videos of yourself doing the trick and try to match the Tricktionary’s form. When learning power moves it’s a good idea to get a gymnastics mat or something similar. Check out the resources section below for other freestyle resources besides for the Tricktionary.

I’m getting whipped by the rope, is that normal?

Yes, getting whipped is par for the course with freestyle, some tricks are more susceptible to it than others. It will quickly stop happening as you get better at the trick. Wearing long-sleeve shirt, and long pants, when learning a new trick may help.

Buying Guide

We’re only covering BuyJumpRopes.net, FlightCrew, and Crossrope ropes since it seems to me they’re generally the best. Things to note when buying beaded ropes are the, handle length and initial rope size. Here’s a video explaining the differences between handle types that you may find.

Freestyle / Beginner

Beaded ropes

Beaded ropes are the recommended ropes for beginners since they offer a lot of control and feedback. These ropes are great for doing advanced tricks as well, and many competitive jumpers use beaded ropes in competitions. It isn’t heavy typically, which means it isn’t super fast. You can also have fun customizing the colors of the beads (side note: if you leave the rope out in the sun, the color of the beads will fade).

You can stick with 1” beads and 5” handles until you figure out your preferences. As for the initial rope length to purchase (before sizing manually), follow this guide.

PVC/Licorice ropes

Licorice ropes are fast freestyle ropes, therefore they are less suitable for beginners. If you’re interested in doing multiples (when the rope revolves more than once per jump) with ease, this is what you want (not that you can’t do multiples with a beaded rope). Generally, they are usually paired with long 8” handles but you can also use them with short handles though that seems to be less common nowadays for some reason. Long handles allow you to get more reach on tricks, but can make other tricks (for example releases) more difficult.

Weighted Ropes

Weighed ropes are used when you want to get an arm and upper-body workout. They are not ideal for tricks, but you can still do simple tricks like side swings, crosses, and double unders.

List of Stores

List of Resources

Basic

Freestyle

Freestyle IG Accounts to Follow

Podcasts

Other