Train Like Ali – 8 Reasons Why You Should Be Jumping Rope

Here’s a fun fact: Muhammed Ali never touched a single weight.  Can you believe that?  One of history’s most explosive athletes never touched the squat rack…never maxed out his bench press…..and never even slipped in “curls for the girls.”  Some of us probably haven’t picked up a Jump Rope since we were forced to participate in “Jump Rope for Heart” during fourth grade.  If you’re not supplementing a jump rope routine into your workouts, you’re making a big mistake.

For about 20 minutes, everyday, Cassius Clay trained on the jump rope.  If you’re looking to break up the monotony of your weekly routine, here are 8 reasons why you should give a jump rope a whirl.

8 Reasons Why You Need to Start Jumping Rope

1) It’s not boring-  Jumping rope is like throwing a party-for-one at the gym.  If you’re a runner, putting in a lot of miles can quickly become a huge drag.  Try supplementing a jump rope routine into your workouts twice per week.  Less than 10 minutes on the rope ultimately equates to about 20 minutes spent jogging.  You can also pop in your headphones and jump to the beat of your favorite jam.  (Try this tune for a five minute warm up (NSFW) – Kendrick Lamar)

“Sweetness” Walter Payton swore by his jump rope routine

2) Convenience-  You can store one of the greatest pieces of exercise equipment ever created in your briefcase or gym bag.  You can jump rope anywhere- your driveway, your basement, the garage, or maybe even next to that hot girl at the gym (better make sure you don’t suck at it though).  You can even take it with you on vacation.

“Hey, look at that guy jumping rope. I bet he has nice calves. Wonder if he’d go out with me?”

3) Fat Burning Pyromania-  Jumping rope is like cardio on steroids.  If you’re looking to get your heart rate up and shed calories in a hurry, it only takes about ten minutes with a jump rope.  According to research, jumping rope for ten minutes is equivalent to performing these exercises:

• Playing tennis for 90 minutes
• Jogging for 30 minutes at a moderate pace
• Swimming 720 yards in 30 minutes
• Cycling 2 miles in 6 minutes
• Playing racquetball for 20 minutes

4) CHEAPNESS–  You can find a durable, gets-the-job-done, jump rope at Wal-Mart for $2.57.  That’s right, you can completely change your body for less than cost of that Pumpkin Spice Latte you had to buy your girl at Starbucks.

5) It will turn you into Reggie Bush- Ok, maybe not, but jumping rope provides a full body workout that improves agility, speed, quickness, and muscle tone.  Jumping rope also engages your abdominal muscles, and aids in bone density development.  If you’re looking to become a more explosive athlete, the jump rope works your fast-twitch muscle fibers, and trains your nervous system to better control the muscles related to balance, coordination, and agility.  Hell, after a few weeks you might even be juking defenders for touchdowns, or doing push ups with Kim Kardashian on your back.

Reggie Bush jumps rope, too. I Swear.

6) Low Impact-  Compared to running, jumping rope significantly lessens the impact on your joints.  The impact of each jump is absorbed by both legs.

7) It quickly warms your body-  There is nothing worse than trudging through a boring warm up at the gym.  If you’re getting old, and it’s taking you more time to get your body warm, look no further than the jump rope.  A 5 minute warm up with a rope loosens your arms and legs, raises your heart rate, and burns nearly 100 calories.  Most importantly, your body becomes warm, your circulation starts to flow, and you’re ready to start beating on your muscles.

8) It will make you a better dancer- The rhythmic nature associated with jumping rope trains your muscles to react much more rapidly.  Basically, your muscles will be trained to react quicker to what your brain is asking them to do.  It’s highly unlikely that your jump rope routine will turn you into Chris Brown, but you can count on feeling more in tune with your body on the dance floor.

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” – Muhammed Ali, the greatest that ever dun-it

23 Million Motivated / Beyonce’s So Successful She Forgets To Eat

If you’re one of the nearly 23 million people that have watched the Youtube fireball “How Bad Do You Want It,” I’m hoping you came away from the video feeling equally as awkward as I did. Half of me wanted to run to the nearest beach and hit some agility drills, while the other half was left scratching my head. Regardless, this video has apparently been dope enough to attract the masses, and I want to talk about it…

Here’s a more in-depth look at the motivational video that’s getting the kids hyped these days (even if it is to go fire up some Madden on XBox):

1) Who is this beast? This 6 ft. 210lbs lump of muscle is Giovanni Ruffin. He is currently an NFL Free Agent, and a former running back at East Carolina University. He’s used his Youtube fame to start a t-shirt business called “Take No Days Off.” Follow him on Twitter- https://twitter.com/Giavanni_Ruffin

2) “Got on a suit, shoulda wore shorts?”– I don’t get it. What’s the difference. Did he show up in a business suit? A swim suit? Can’t you hang at the beach with shorts? Idk…

3) Where’s this music coming from? The music comes straight from the “Friday Night Lights” Soundtrack. Song one is called “Home,” and then it (albeit awkwardly) transitions to “Your Hand In Mine.” Personally, I don’t think this video would have 1M views without the music

5) So the dude tried to drown him? When the older kids used to do that to me at the pool they got a quick shot to the balls.

4) Who’s giving the speech? Eric Thomas (AKA The Hip Hop Preacher). The guy who is giving the speech is named Eric Thomas. Eric dropped out of high school and was homeless for 2 years. He went on to get his G.E.D. and later a bachelor’s which took him 12 years! He then completed a Master’s and is now working on his Ph.D. In 2005 he formed The Advantage, an Michigan State University organization designed to help students achieve their goals. His words are powerful!

5) Sand Workouts– Sand workouts are an excellent supplement to flat land speed/agility workouts. The soft sand absorbs 100% of the force applied into it, and throws back a small percentage of the force to you.

6) There’s no way Beyonce starved herself for 3 days. No way she’s maintaining those Jadeveon Clowney thighs by forgetting to sleep and eat.

7) Uphill Backpedal- Speaking of Beyonce’s thighs, backpedaling uphill fires your hamstrings and serves as an excellent speed workout. Pace is less important than maintaining good form and balance. Give it a try sometime, you’ll feel it.

8) 50 Cent sounds tough, he acts like he got shot in the face or something…

9) If I fire up this video with Pre-Workout in my system, I feel like I could kick a bowling ball through the uprights from 55 yards out.

10) While the logic in this video is awkwardly flawed, it serves as a powerful reminder about the sacrifice it takes to be successful.

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”