A great exercise for burning calories is rope skipping. Skipping provides a good aerobic workout and you will be amazed to know that jumping rope helps you burn up to 800 calories an hour.

Benefits of Rope Jumping …

• Simple to learn
• It is cheap, portable, and burns more calories than you think
• Improves strength and endurance
• Strengthens bones and improves coordination and agility
• Keeps you fit and healthy
• It comes in handy when you are travelling and can’t go to gym

How To Skip For Best Results …

1. Get the right length: Stand in the middle of the rope, and bring the handles up to your chest and check if the length of the rope is right. Ideally, it should reach just below your shoulders.

2. Don’t leap too high: You are not aiming for high-jump record, so skip just a couple of inches off the floor. This will allow you to jump easier, faster and lose many more calories.

3. Change positions: You should not jump up and down on the same spot. Keep moving from left to center, center to right, and back to tone your inner and outer thighs. This way you can get good muscle tone and lose weight at the same time.

Once you learn how to jump properly with good coordination, you can skip for longer periods. Start with 20-minutes of skipping initially and slowly increase it to 1 hour with practise. Because skipping is an energetic exercise, you can burn lots of calories even in a 20 minute session of skipping.

How To Prevent Injury …

• Your shoes and jumping surface are important. Choose proper exercising shoes and a flat surface for skipping.
• Check with your doctor if you have any doubts regarding your ability to withstand the impact of high aerobic intensity of rope-jumping.
• As with all exercises, warming up, stretching and cooling down are necessary.

Also read: Workout At Office and Exercises To Do During Pregnancy .