Jump rope exercises are becoming popular these days, but they are fun, simple, and effective to burn fat and building muscles beyond the popularity. You can jump a rope for only five minutes and get the same or more significant result as you would if you did a cardio exercise. A jump rope exercise suffices for the entire body but does it work out the abs?
If you wonder how to use a jump rope exercise to build rock-solid abs, this article answers your question. It also gives you insights into modifying your jump rope exercise to suit your fitness needs.
Key Takeaway
A jump rope exercise can work out your abs if combined with the right techniques and other abs-specific exercises. If your goal is to build abs, then a jump rope exercise should certainly be on your list. However, please don’t rely on it alone as it won’t work out your abs directly. Instead, you have to combine it with other abs workouts.
What Muscle Does the Jump Rope Exercise Work Out?
The jump rope exercise counts as a full-body workout even though it focuses on specific body parts. A jump rope exercise focuses on the different muscles in the following areas;
- Calves
- Quads
- Glutes
- Arms
- Shoulders and back
- Core
The abs (abdominal muscles) are a part of your core. Therefore, a jumping rope exercise targets your core, but how effective is it in working out your abs? Read on.
How A Jump-Rope Exercise Affects Your Abs
Since your core is one of the muscles a jump-rope exercise targets, how does it help build the abs?
The truth is a jump-rope exercise doesn’t specifically activate muscle building in your core. Yes, your abs are active during the exercise, but no muscle building occurs. Instead, what a jump rope exercise does for you is reveal your abs by burning fat in your core. You can add extra resistance into the training by incorporating something like a TRX weighted vest into the situation. This extra weight will make the movements harder to complete but burn even more fat in the core.
How is this possible?
It is possible if you combine a jump-rope exercise with abs-specific exercises like crunches, planks, high-knees, etc.
These abs-specific exercises build your abs, while the jump rope exercise reveals your abs by burning fat.
If a jump-rope exercise can build abs, can it tone them?
Absolutely.
Jump-rope exercises improve muscle tone in the body, especially in the arms and legs. This is because jumping rope is an intense form of cardio exercises and the arms and legs are most active. They may be parts that enjoy the most toning from a jump rope exercise, but your core is not left out.
Remember that a jump-rope exercise targets your core and reveals your abs. But, at the same time, it tones them.
How to Incorporate A Jump-Rope Exercise into Your Abs Workout Routine?
Interval workouts are the solution.
Now, you know a jump-rope exercise cannot do the entire job and is a complementary exercise in building abs. So, the next thing on your mind is how to mix it up to get the most of it.
You can achieve this with an interval workout.
An interval workout means adding a jump-rope exercise to your abs-specific exercises at intervals. Let’s break it down.
Assuming your usual workout takes about 15 minutes without a jump-rope exercise, adding it at intervals will give you about 20 minutes in total. This interval workout will not only build your abs but make you see faster results.
Here’s a basic example.
Before you begin the workout, do some light stretches. Then start with a 60-second plank switch to jumping ropes (with light intensity to avoid burnout) for a minute or two. Next, switch to another exercise for another minute or more (maybe crutches or mountain-climbers) and switch back to jumping rope. Repeat them if you must but ensure there’s a jump-rope action in between.
Benefits of A Jump Rope Exercise
Beyond contributing to the building of your abs, jump rope exercises are of great benefit to your overall health and fitness. Below are some of these benefits;
- It works wonders for your fitness journey as it effectively burns calories and builds strength and endurance.
- It corrects your posture.
- Also, it provides fast results.
- It helps you improve your physical and mental coordination.
- It is not a rigid workout, and you can be creative with it and have as much fun as you want. You’ll still get your desired results.
Conclusion
Different exercises work out the abs, and a jump rope exercise is on the list since it targets the core alongside other muscles. However, you can’t depend on a jump rope exercise alone. You have to combine it with other workouts that are abs-specific.