Running vs Jump Rope
When people are new to working out, they often ask themselves what’s the best way of working out: running or jumping rope? While they’re both great choices, one may be better than the other for you, depending on your fitness goals and workout constraints, like available space, equipment, and time.
Running vs Jumping Rope
Running was been part of our lives since we were toddlers. It’s one of the first things we naturally learn to do as children. Running is a great cardio workout, but it’s also often a source of sheer joy.
But jumping rope is also often a skill learned on the playground, and it’s an incredibly efficient cardio workout. Plus, it’s a favorite of boxers and competitive athletes. People love jumping rope because jump ropes are so light and portable, so you can do it anytime, anywhere.
Check which one is the best according to the following criteria:
Running vs Jump Rope: Accessibility and Affordability
Some fitness regimens call for a lot of expensive equipment, have a steep learning curve, or can only be done in certain places and times. An accessible workout should be flexible to fit into a busy schedule, not require a big investment in gear or equipment, and not require you to only train in a specific place. Both jumping rope and running are highly accessible, affordable workouts.
Running vs Jump Rope: Cardiovascular Health
Both jumping rope and running are excellent cardio workouts. Aerobic or cardio workouts are excellent for heart and lung health, helping strengthen your heart and improve your lung capacity. Cardio health is not only important for your overall health and longevity, but it’s critical for all kinds of athletic activities, helping you perform better no matter what you are doing.
Running vs Jump Rope: Chance of Injury
Most workouts carry some risk of injury, either from strain or over-exertion or from the stress of repeated impacts. Injuries can be prevented by having good form and not overexerting yourself. Both running and jumping rope are high-impact workouts, carrying the risk of shin splints and stress on the legs and feet. However, jumping rope has fewer chances of injury. While both activities are high impact, the correct form for the jumping rope is to bounce only 1 or 2 inches off the ground, keeping the weight and impact on the balls of your feet. While a person jumping rope can correct their form and pace to reduce the impact on the feet, a runner really can’t alter their form to keep impact off of their heels.
Running vs Jump Rope: Competitive Rewards
For some people, training equals winning. So, if you’re one of these people that train in order to enter a competition, the best option is definitely running. This because, although there are some jump rope competitions, they don’t have the same viability, prestige, or pride of running a marathon.
Running vs Jump Rope: Convenience
Some people travel often, have a busy schedule, or simply can’t go to the gym as often as they would like. They need a great workout that they can do anytime, anywhere, with virtually no obstacles. Based on this criterion, jumping rope is a better decision since it’s easier this type of workout in any place. Whether it’s a hotel room, the office, a small place, you can always count on jumping rope, contrary to running.
Running vs Jump Rope: Ease of Cross-Training or Adding Interval
Cross-training or interval training is an incredibly important part of any workout regimen. Intervals increase your overall fitness, add challenges and difficulty, and keep workouts from becoming boring and repetitive. They are also a great way to bust through plateaus and keep improving over time. Both running and jumping rope give ample opportunities to add increased intensity intervals by moderating your pace or increasing the difficulty.
Running vs Jump Rope: Efficiency of Workout
While some people want to run a marathon, some people don’t have that kind of time. They need workouts that they can do fast, with maximum effectiveness. Unless you are sprinting, jumping rope is a more time-efficient workout. In fact, a study shows that 10 minutes of jumping rope has as much cardio impact as jogging for 30 minutes.
Running vs Jump Rope: Endurance and Stamina
Some workouts aren’t about speed: they are about endurance. Endurance athletes know that over time, stamina challenges the mind as well as the body. While the primary factor in endurance is heart health, so both running and jumping rope will build stamina, but running is a better option. For those looking to train for long-distance or endurance events, there’s no substitute for doing long-distance, endurance workouts. It helps to train your mind as well as your body for the special conditions of distance athletics.
Running vs Jump Rope: Full Body Engagement
Some people want a workout that engages the whole body, rather than focusing on specific muscles. Full-body workouts also help to reduce the risk of injury as specific body parts bear the brunt of the impact and stress. Jumping rope involves the arms and shoulders, even without adding special techniques or intervals to engage the upper body. Besides, it can be very difficult for runners to cross-train other body parts without losing their running form. So, by this criteria, choose jumping rope.
Running vs Jump Rope: Improved Coordination
Some people want a workout that helps their bodywork as a well-oiled machine, with great balance, coordination, and control over their movements. Improved coordination is specifically why boxers use jump rope workouts. The body has to move in unison, with efficiency and grace. Running does help to build and improve coordination, but not nearly as effective as jumping rope.
Running vs Jump Rope: Improved Flexibility
For most people, the perfect workout would not only strengthen the muscles but make them more flexible as well, allowing you to easily access the full range of motion. Flexibility also helps to prevent strain and injury. While neither of these workouts is focused on flexibility, jumping rope has a lot of simple intervals that improve flexibility and range of motion while getting a cardio workout.
Running vs Jump Rope: Lateral and Asymmetrical Movement
Reaching across your body, carrying groceries, participating in sports, are all activities where the body is more engaged on one side than the other, often to an extreme degree. Jumping rope makes it convenient to incorporate asymmetrical or lateral elements, which improves overall fitness and agility. Serious runners, on the other hand, are trying to achieve perfect symmetry in their running form, to improve their efficiency.
Running vs Jump Rope: Muscle Tone and Condition
Getting great muscle tone is a very common workout goal. Again, as cardio exercises, neither running nor jumping rope is specifically intended to tone muscles. However, both activities engage and work a lot of major muscle groups, the muscles get toned along the way. While running is great for toning the muscles of the lower body, and the core muscles as well, jumping rope engages those muscles as well as the arms, shoulders, and chest. Because it exercises the whole body, Jumping rope is more efficient at toning and conditioning all the muscles at once.
