Here are some commonly found problems among jump rope beginners.
1. Length of the rope
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Regarding the length of the rope, if it is too long, you are less likely to have good control of it, therefore causing you to repeatedly whip yourself in the head, arms, ankles or wherever possible. So, the point is, what is the good length of your rope? First, step on the middle of the rope and then pull it straight. Excluding the handle, the rope should reach your armpits. This will be the ideal length.
Meanwhile, your jump rope should not be too short. Apparently, you will trip over it if it’s too short because we tend to kick our legs back due to the short length. This means that we will get tripped on the rope more easily. Therefore, your rope should not be too short as well!
2. The height you jump
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Sometimes, we may tend to jump higher in order to let the rope pass underneath. Some may try to bring their knees high up while some may tuck their feet behind. However, the higher you jump, the more time you need to get back to the ground. Then, if your rope has passed through for the first time, but you are not back on the ground and your arms are trying to do another loop, it is very likely that you trip over your rope. So, don’t jump too high!
3. Arm movement
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Excessive arm movement will lead to tripping on the rope too. Sometimes when we get excited, our arms go up, thus causing the rope to become shorter. Shorter rope means higher probability of getting tripped because we are not jumping high enough too. As a result, we may not only get tripped, but also whipped! So, try to lock and maintain the height of your elbows and their movements, be conscious not to let it flail while jumping rope.
Click to also see why do you keep whipping yourself?