jumping rope | Boxing Life

Crossrope Fitness is quickly becoming one of the new and popular ways for fitness beginners and fitness junkies to take on a new workout challenge. This comes in the form of jumping rope to get fit, lose weight, learn a new skill and challenge yourself. In this review I will be giving you my very own experience of using Crossrope, along with what exactly you will get, my overall thoughts on the brand, if it is worth taking it up and the pros and cons. Who is Crossrope Fitness? First off, Crossrope Fitness are a fitness and workout company whose aim is to help their customers get fit, lose weight or challenge themselves by jumping rope. In their own words: “We re-invented the jump rope workout to give everyday heroes like you the freedom to pursue your fitness goals on your own terms.” Crossrope has done this by creating and designing a unique jump rope that makes it easy and effective for all fitness levels. This is done by Crossrope’s unique jump rope with key features as part of their design. This includes Weighted ropes (depending on your fitness goal)Interchangeable ropesHigh-performance handlesDurability to last. I will go into more detail further below regarding the Crossrope design features. 10 Benefits of jumping rope for health and fitness Before going into Crossrope itself, I think it’s important to let you know 10 unique benefits of jumping rope as part of your fitness plan to understand how it will actually help you in the long run. It gives you a full body workout - especially when you use weighted jump ropes!Lose weight - Jumping rope consistently can help you lose weight and get lean.A new skill - It gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill for your workout sessionIncreased calorie burning - Jumping rope for 1 hour has been proven to burn over 1000 calories (See graph below)Improved cardio - It is a brilliant cardio alternative workout to running or jogging.Workout from home - jumping rope can be a great exercise you can do inside for your home work out (Especially in the winter!)It’s really fun - Once you start getting use it you can learn different tricks jumping rope to keep things fresh and fun (Great while listening to music)Warm up or down - Jumping rope can be used as a warm up or warm down tool before or after you main exerciseCombine your workout - You can pair your jump rope training with other exercises to reach your fitness goals more quicklyMental Sharpness - jumping rope can in fact help the development of the left and right hemispheres of your brain which also enhances spatial awareness. So as you can see there are in fact quite a few benefits you can get by jumping rope and Crossrope can definitely help you have all the above. The Crossrope Design Now moving onto the Crossrope design itself. I myself as a boxer have usually used more basic polymer ropes or cable speed ropes in the past and had not invested in an expense pair like Crossrope before Having received and used this now I have to admit how impressed I have been with the overall quality and how much easier I have found my skipping rope exercises to be. Here are some images of the feature I got with my “Get Lean Bundle” below: Weighted and durable ropes Depending on the bundle or what extras you purchase, Crossrope supplies you with different weighted ropes for what type of workout you are wanting to do. This is great in terms of if you are wanting to do a light session, hard session or even use a lighter rope so you can go jump faster. These also come in various colours to help you identify which rope is heavier or lighter depending what type of workout you are planning on. The ropes themselves are made with a braided steel construction in the interior of the rope making them a highly unlikely taggle or get caught up like you do with cheaper regular jump rope. They also use a strong plastic coating on the outside which will help these ropes last you a long time. Interchangeable and high performance handles The next key design feature is in fact the interchangeable “fast clip system” which is unique to Crossrope brand themselves - this is a fantastic feature as you can quickly change your different jump ropes quickly if you are wanting to change your workout. In terms of the handles, they are bulkier personally than I’m used to, however these have been crafted brilliantly to make it easier than ever to do the tricks and speed I’m used to doing with standard handles. The reason I find the Crossrope handles so good is the rubber grip they have added which really helps you to hold on easier, especially if you have been sweating from your workout. They also have this ball bearing feature to spin with your hands while you jump each rope making you almost forget your holding them. Types of Crossrope You can buy the majority of the handles and weighted ropes separately on Crossrope’s website currently, but what I recommend for anyone starting out with the brand is that you consider their bundle kits which can give you a variety of different ropes and handles to try out. These bundles might also be better to go for first to decide what rope system is best for you going forward - you can also buy extra rope thanks to the very handy interchangeable system they have. Get Lean Bundle This was the bundle option I went for, this is because as part of my boxing training I’m looking to keep lean muscle all year round and thought this would be the best option for me. In this package you get the following: Slim Handles - new and improved1/4 LB Jump Rope - great for endurance + HIIT workouts1/2 LB Jump Rope - great for beginners + advanced cardioCarry Pouch - for easy rope storageFree access to Crossrope Lite App (More detail below) Find out more on Crossrope’s website here Get Fit Bundle This bundle is recommended to be the best value if you really plan on improving your jump game or to get fit by jumping rope. This is because it gives you both lighter ropes for cardio exercise and heavier ropes for the full body workouts. This definitely is the option to go for if you are really going to commit to the Crossrope program as you will be able to do more of the workout challenges properly on their app. In this package you get the following: Slim and Power Handles - new and improved1/4 LB and 1/2 LB Ropes - great for cardio and HIIT workouts1 LB and 2 LB Heavy Ropes - great for full-body workoutsFree access to Crossrope Lite Find out more on Crossrope’s website here Get Strong Bundle For this bundle, the name really gives this away, with the main aim of increasing strength, muscle and to help burn more calories quicker. This is more suited to those that are more advanced in jumping rope already or wanting to add power and want a good challenge in their overall workout. In this package you get the following: Power Handles - new and improved1 LB Heavy Rope - great for high intensity strength workouts2 LB Heavy Rope - great for full-body workoutsCarry Pouch - for easy rope storageFree access to Crossrope Lite Find out more on Crossrope’s website here Crossrope Extras Crossrope do also supply extra’s and one thing I do recommend you consider if you plan on training inside or outside is getting the Crossrope mat. You don’t want to damage your floor if you are planning on working out inside or damaging your rope over time if you will be doing it outside. See below: Crossrope MatCrossrope Jump BagCrossrope Speed ropesCrossrope Limited edition jump handles Cross Rope Sizing If you are unsure over what size of rope you should get, Crossrope have handily supplied a size guide before you purchase so you don’t get one that is too small or big. Check out the size guide below: ROPE SIZEUSER HEIGHTSmall (8’0”) (2.44m)4’9’’ - 5’4” (1.45m - 1.63m)Medium (8’6”) (2.59m)5’4.5’’ - 5’9’’ (1.64m - 1.75m)Large (9’0”) (2.74m)5’9.5" - 6’1.5’’ (1.76m - 1.87m)Extra Large (9’6”) (2.90m)6’2’’ - 6'9" (1.88m - 2.06m) Crossrope App Crossrope also has a brilliant training app which you can download on iOS or Android. It has a whole range of free workouts for you to try alongside your jump rope training. All you have to do is set up your profile, select what types of ropes you are using and then pick your challenge or workout. My favorite part of this app has to be jump rope challenges sections which really help to map out what you want to achieve. This involves not just jumping rope but other exercises as well to make sure you are getting the maximum out of your workout. Check out some screenshots I took below for a sneak peek: Free app version The free version gives you the majority of the workouts and challenges for you to take part in which makes it accessible to anyone wanting to take on Crossropes workouts. Premium version The premium option does however offer a few more benefits which I would only recommend to anyone who is really wanting to take this seriously to consider. When you are buying your Crossrope for the first time make sure to tick the box to enjoy 30 days of free using the premium app membership with your purchase to try out first to see if it is right for you. Premium will give you access to Crossrope’s full library of workouts + challenges, find and save your favorites with advanced filtering, count your jumps with Crossrope Count™ which is not available in the free version. Money Back Guarantee The other great thing about Crossrope is that they are currently offering a 60-day money back guarantee if you're not happy with what you get. So you really have nothing to lose if you discover that these ropes aren't for you or were expecting something else. It's a risk free product which I personally think you won’t be disappointed in. Pros and Cons of Crossrope Here is my final table of the pros and cons of Crossrope: PROSCONSThey created arguably best jump rope for all fitness levelsMore expensive than cheaper rope Customizable ropes depending on your fitness level and goalsPremium app features cost extraVery durable design that will last you whileHandles might be too bulky for some peopleHandy interchangeable handle/rope system like no other Access to Crossrope app to help you learn how to jump rope properly They make jumping rope fun Final thoughts I have to agree, jumping rope is a great workout tool having been doing it for years alongside my boxing training. Sometimes I’m discouraged to start jumping rope as it can be a repetitive exercise. However, I have to admit ever since trying out Crossrop it’s given me a new passion to try different things with my workouts. Especially with the app alongside the rope is a brilliant source of material to continuously improve my skill and fitness. Overall I have to give Crossrope a five star rating due the quality of the design, the customer experience and added app experience to help you push your boundaries. I’d highly recommend this to any beginner looking to learn to jump rope or git fit and even to more advanced skippers looking to challenge and push themselves further in their workouts! Boxing Life’s Rating: Learn more on Crossrope website here to start jumping! Hope you enjoyed this review! Let me know in the comments below if you are think of trying Crossrope. Make sure to check out some of these health and fitness programs reviews here or check out more of my diet and nutrition articles here. Thanks for reading! References https://www.crossrope.com/blogs/blog/benefits-of-jumping-the-unique-value-of-jump-rope-training-good-cardio/ https://www.crossrope.com/blogs/blog/10-bodyweight-exercises-to-pair-with-your-jump-rope-training/ https://help.crossrope.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025887714-Jump-Rope-Sizing