Through out this off season I will be posting some key exercises that you can do at home that will improve your performance on the mat. All of them will be easy to do at home and will provide benefits to your wrestling if done correctly and consistently. The first is the Jump Rope. It is a cheap piece of equipment that can be purchased for as little as $5.00. It is a great way to work on your coordination and foot speed and makes you lighter on your feet, all three of witch we need to get better at. It also is a great way to get the heart rate up and burn some calories. I would like to see more of you hitting the rope before a match to get warmed up properly. I have posted a little video below to show some examples of good jump roping and an article that I found useful as well. Get jumping.
Skill First, Then Conditioning
When first jumping rope, it is important that you become proficient with the rope before using it as a conditioning tool. If you have never jumped rope before, you can expect some initial frustration. You must first view your rope sessions as skill workouts. You need to develop skill with the rope, and then add it to your conditioning arsenal. If you try to use the rope for conditioning before developing skill with the rope, you are setting yourself up for failure and frustration.
Start with frequent, yet short jump rope sessions. For example, start with 20-second intervals on the rope. Just try to skip for 20 seconds without tripping on the rope. Keep the intervals brief, and stop before fatigue mounts. View these sessions as skill based workouts. You are learning a new skill (rope skipping). The body is much more capable of learning when it is fresh, not fatigued.
Perform these skill emphasis sessions regularly. Frequent practice is recommended. Eventually, you will move past 20 seconds, and begin working with 1, 2, and 3-minute rounds. Many boxers will skip rope for several rounds during each training session. 30 to 60 seconds of rest will separate each round.
For example:
6 x 3 minutes jump rope
Rest 60 seconds between rounds
Rope Skipping Styles
Jumping rope is as challenging as you make it. There are endless jumping patterns and styles. I’ve heard some trainers describe the jump rope as boring. Anyone who describes the rope as boring does not know how to jump rope. There is always a new skill that you can learn to keep the conditioning session enjoyable and challenging.
Running in place with the rope is one of the easiest rope skipping patterns to learn. You will remain stationary, lifting the knees high with each turn of the rope. You will essentially be running in place with high knees, with the addition of a fast spinning rope. This style of rope work is easy to learn, and excellent for conditioning.
Double unders are another popular skipping pattern. To perform a double under, you will make two turns of the rope for every one jump. Keep the feet together, jumping with both feet at the same time. This style of skipping is more difficult to learn. Do not attempt double unders until you become proficient with the running in place variation. Eventually, you can begin performing one or two double unders, at the conclusion of a running in place sequence. For example, spin the rope 10 times while running in place, and then finish with 1 or 2 double unders. Stop and repeat this sequence several times. The next step is to perform a double under without losing control of the rope. Rather than stopping after the double under, you will continue by transitioning back to running in place with the rope (without stopping). In time, you will develop the ability to perform several consecutive double unders.
To add to the coordination requirements of rope skipping, you can begin working with criss-cross patterns. You can perform a criss-cross while performing double unders or with the traditional running in place style of rope work. To perform a criss-cross, you will cross the arms at the elbows on the downward swing of the rope. Jump through the loop of the rope that is formed in front of your body. Uncross the arms on the next downward swing. Continue to criss-cross the rope in this alternating fashion.
The criss-cross offers one way to interrupt the monotony of continuous rope skipping. You can integrate a criss-cross to spice up the rope session. You will eventually develop the skill to quickly integrate criss-crosses with high-speed rope turning.
These jump rope styles are just three of countless variations. I encourage you to develop new jumping styles (ex. one leg double unders). Continue to challenge yourself with new rope skipping patterns. Do not limit yourself to the same style of rope work (ex. running in place). Mix it up to promote improvements in coordination and agility.
One way to incorporate variety is by traveling frontward, backward, and side-to-side. For example, run in place with the rope while traveling around the perimeter of a square. Move forward, sideways (right), backward, and then sideways (left), ending back at the starting point. By incorporating frontward, backward, and lateral movement, you will improve footwork and agility, while simultaneously improving endurance.
