One day one photo - 20: Getting in some skipping with an upgraded leather rope!

Skipping is my new activity. Well, not so new; I've been skipping on and off for over 30 years! It's just that I have a new rope, and that does make a difference. 

It is in full leather, making it significantly heavier than the PVC one I had been using over the last 10 years or so. This certainly makes me work harder, as I have to use my biceps a little bit more - as I found when I noticed a slight ache in arms afterwards.

I still do the same routine that I have always done - jumps, heel and toe, knee lifts, cross-legs, double jumps. These have tended to help me with running, giving me a spring in my step so that I run more efficiently, and I can run uphill more easily too. Also if I get the balance right, skipping helps to strengthen my ankles. 

The great thing about skipping is that I can get a good work-out after just 10 or 15 minutes' jumping. I don't need to travel anywhere to do it; I just need a small patch of dry ground that is reasonably forgiving on the knees and my 8ft length of rope. It beats any gym session. 

Given that my new rope is heavier than the previous one, it turns more easily even in windy conditions. So today I was able to get out and do a mini routine despite the brisk breeze. Of course I had to use slightly more force when cutting my various shapes, and that gave more of a workout for my core as well. I can't complain about exercising more muscles. At my age it is always good to engage even more of my body just to avoid that middle age spread!

As I finished my jumping in the playground in the park behind my house, the wind became stronger and the rain came down - very heavily, even torrential. Not even my new robust rope would have been able to handle the monsoon, so it was good timing that I stopped when I did.  

Photo of the day - 9: Skipping rope sessions and hula hooping

 

I always like to find a way of keeping my health and fitness regime interesting. One of the ways is by skipping and and doing hula hoop. I especially like skipping, which is something I have done since I was a teenager. It's the most efficient way of keeping fit as I don't have to do much of it before I am out of breath. It is also the exercise that has kept my legs in trim over my 50+ years! The hula hoop is also a very useful tool. It is great for the waistline and mid-riff in general. The thing about both of these activities is that they are fun, and for me when I do them they don't feel like real sport or exercise - just playing around really. Interestingly, many people have taken up these exercises too since lockdown. So I must be doing something right! While out skipping in my local park today I had a bit of an audience from some young kids, who were quite fascinated by what I was doing. It looked as though they would have abandoned their bikes to have a go at what I was doing! That actually makes me think I must be cool - that's weird! And I always thought it's we oldies that want to do what the young'uns are doing!

Daily photo - 20: Benefits of jumping with a skipping rope

You coule burn 1600 calories an hour with this bit of rope

Skipping is something that I have done on-off since I was a teenager. This activity has many benefits.

• Helps boost your immune system
• Balances your metabolism
• Improves tendons and ligaments around your calf muscles
• Good for mood and mental health
• Improves coordination and stamina
• A one-hour session can burn up to 1600 calories! (Bear in mind the average daily calorific intake is 2000 calories)

As a child my regular routine had been to come home from school and change straight from my uniform into my sports kit.

I would then run one mile on a country lane near my home and then once I had finished my run I would pick up my skipping rope and do 60 turns of the rope in the driveway. That was my routine every day without fail.

At that time I suffered from asthma, and I worked out that if I did this activity every day it would stave off my breathing difficulties. If I missed a day I would feel my chest tightening, so it was important to run and skip every day, so it was handy that I enjoyed doing it.

Sixty turns was the number I used because that was the standard set by the Brownies if you wanted to get your Agility badge. I then moved on to 100 skips and included turning the rope backwards. I would only do it for about 10 minutes, but I definitely got a rush of endorphins.

When I first moved to France I didn't have the money to join a gym so I just paid five Francs for a "corde à sauter" and that was my main way of keeping fit - 15 minutes' skipping in the courtyard every morning, much to the bemusement of the residents.

It made me pretty toned and fit, and I remember colleagues being rather surprised when I said that I never went to any gym and just did skipping. So it is something that I still like to do now, and fit it around other sporting activities.

These days I don't skip every day, and being older I avoid skipping first thing in the morning as I don't think high intensity is good on the heart first thing in the day.
My routine tends to be a one-mile warm-up, then a set that consists of 100 turns followed by 300m-jog, and repeat it four or five times.

I vary the steps, doing normal jumps, heel and toe steps, jumping from side to side, hops, high knee jumps, crossing legs, and if I'm feeling energetic peps - turning the rope double quick. After all these years I still haven't mastered crossed arms. The last time I tried it was in 1992 and I ended up in crutches after landing on my ankle. So I have a bit of a phobia to that one.

But that aside, I enjoy a good old skip. It's a great work-out, it puts a good spring in my step when running too so I run more efficiently than if I didn't skip. It keeps my legs in shape too, so I can't complain.

Apparently there is a British Rope Skipping Association where you can find out more about the benefits of skipping and skipping rope training.


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