Jump rope?

[greenemami]

I am looking for a good form of cardio that I can easily do during nap time or while the kids are awake. I would love to start running/walking, but can't afford a double stroller and ds won't sit in a stroller for all that long anyway. I have tried walking with ds in the sling, but walking with a 3-year-old involves lots of stops and starts and doesn't really get the heart pumping, lol.

So, I am thinking about starting to jump rope-does anyone do this? Is there a program out that there will kind of guide me along? I tried it a little today and it is a little harder than I remember!

I would appreciate any guidance-it is definitely proving harder to get the weight off the second time around here

Oh, I also do a little bit of yoga and might try doing a yoga or pilates video on alternating days with dd-just looking for some more cardio. I have tried some Baron Baptiste "power yoga" and liked that, but want to get away from doing a video every day. Thanks!

[tri31]

I know what you mean. I have to fit my exercise into free minutes during the day. Sometimes both kids are asleep at the same time, but not often. I like to jump rope, but I do it in intervals. I have a 50 minute walking cd intended for indoor or outdoor walking. I'll put it on, off and on through out the day. Or, I turn on some music. I'm always hula hooping, or jumping rope, and doing push-ups, squats in addition. Your best effort is something to be proud of. Personally, I like to spend as much time as possible outside in the yard away from the kitchen. That's working for me. Best wishes.

[e.naomisandoval]

Check out http://fityummymummy.com/ for great ideas with an invisible jump rope. I think she has some youtube videos? I got on her mailing list and I like her style of workout but it's kinda funny how she does jump rope. She, like many of the trainers I love, uses high intensity interval training. So she jumps with her invisible jump rope for however long it is - 30 seconds? 45? and then marches in place for the rest interval period. HIIT is wonderful for fat reduction, far more effective than long slow cardio. She's got lots of other wonderful body weight stuff that's perfect for busy moms whose kids are napping. It was tricky to get signed up for her mailing list but worth figuring it out.

[jamie79]

My crossfit trainer just told me this morning that he read that 10 minutes of continuous jump rope is equal to 35 minutes of jogging. So, there ya go

[rootzdawta]

I love jumping rope! I've been doing it for some months now. There are some DVDs called RopeSport which I borrow from the library. They have a beginners DVD (which teaches just basic jumping and different types of jumps) and then they have more advanced ones. They are okay but I feel they don't have enough continuous jumping. Most of the time when I jump rope I use this Spark People video on YouTube. I don't follow it to the tee though: I jump for about 45 seconds and do a 15 second recovery or I jump for 60 seconds and do a 15 second recovery. But I've worked up to that . . . it was perfect for when I was starting. It's 10 minutes long so I'd do it twice. Coach Nicole now has a DVD for sale but I haven't viewed it. For a more intense jump rope workout, there's one by Michael Olajide which you can find on Kathy Smith's Cardio Knockout and Aero Jump/Sculpt. Both are longer workouts though.

[greenemami]

awesome, thanks everyone! i will be checking out all those resources and appreciate all the info!