Fast and Furious Fitness

All,

Rope skipping is something I haven’t written about much. I’m not sure why I’ve been ignoring this simple tool (that can get you fit at the highest levels) for a while now, but, I recently started adding it back into my routine, and boy am I seeing results. I’ll attempt to explain some of the benefits of rope skipping in this post; look for future posts on this as well.

We all know (or at least, those that read this blog regularly ;)) what a wrestler’s workout routine primarily consists off, and how the exercises therein can benefit you (and make no mistake, they will benefit you if done correctly), but what about a boxer’s routine? A typical boxer’s routine consists of roadwork (running), sparring practice, practice on the bag, medicine ball etc - most of which is required for the boxer’s “trade”, but skipping rope and pushups are a staple in any boxer’s training. As for results, well, look at any boxer’s phyisque, and you’ll see for yourself. Boxers may not always be as solidly built overall as wrestlers, but when it comes to pure strength, speed, and stamina, they’re certainly no laggards there either. In fact, I’m yet to see an overweight boxer, or one whose core is not conditioned superbly. And a lot of that conditioning comes through one exercises (along with it’s variants): Rope skipping.

Sure, boxers train for hours on end, but the basic exercises they do are the same as YOU can do. And the good thing is, you don’t have to train for hours to get some of the same results they do. Sure, you may not look like a heavyweight boxer by just skipping, but the benefits of this exercise willl ensure overall gain in almost any activity/exercise you pursue.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the main benefits of skipping rope: -

- Solid cardiovascular strength/endurance workout (in one exercise), and major benefits for the heart/lungs in less than 1/2 the time it would take you by doing other forms of “cardio”.
- Perfect way to tone and build muscle in your legs, calves and butt (as well as your entire core). This is different from doing squats, which build strength and bulk in the legs, but don’t “shape” the legs quite as well as jumping does. To explain things better, let me give you an example from my own training: I haven’t been doing any squats for over TWO months now (thats right, over two months); but have been skipping regularly (I average around 500 skips per day), and my thigh measurement has gone up by a couple of inches. However, the “bulk” around my thighs is not so prominent any longer; instead, the muscles have become even leaner and “tighter”, if that makes sense. So if shapely and strong is what your looking for, this is the perfect exercise for you!
- A pretty decent forearm workout (especially if you use weighted ropes; I’ll get into this in the future).
- Can be a warmup, or an entire workout, depending on what you do, and the intensity.

. . . And much, much, more, but that should be enough for starters.

So, as you can see, skipping rope is another perfect example of a “fast and furious” routine that will get you in the best shape of your life. Like anything else you do need to work into slowly (don’t even attempt 500 skips at one go, or even one entire workout if you’ve never skipped before), but once you do get into the exercise, you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t been incorporating it into your routine before.

Well, that should be it for today. I’ll be writing about my own workouts with the rope shortly. In the meanwhile, stay safe, train hard - and as always - get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

After the squat, and it’s variations, the next exercise that should be in everyone’s routine is the pushup. This one exercise alone will strengthen your entire body from head to toe, and is well worth the time and effort invested in performing the exercise - which, if done correctly, is not a lot of time at all. I get a 100 odd pushups in about 10 minutes or so, and that ain’t a long time to train.

1. Pushups train the ENTIRE body - when done in all it’s variations, pushups train the forearms, fingers, arms, wrists, shoulders, traps, entire back and - gasp - even your legs (thighs, hips, buttocks, and calves). Your feet get work as well, so this is literally an “entire body” exercise.

2. The “pushing” movement involved while doing pushups builds strength throughout the ENTIRE body. Pushups, when done correctly give you a solid cardiovascular workout as well. Try doing a 100 pushups (or, however many sets it takes you to get there) in GOOD form in 10 minutes or less. It ain’t easy. And the deep breathing involved while doing pushups makes you get stronger throughout your entire body.

3. Pushups can be done by virtually anyone, and require NO equipment except your body. And due to the fact that your entire body participates in this exercise, it is often easier to do for trainees that are just starting out, or trainees that are slightly overweight.

You may not be able to do too many pullups - but, the pushups is something just about anyone can work up to.

And NO, pushups are not the “easy” exercise they are made out to be. They DO have major strength benefits. You’d think this would be obvious; the Marines do a huge number of these on a regular basis, and last time I checked, a Marine was pretty damn strong. Likewise for boxers and wrestlers - pushups done in high repititions along with squats and bridging form the basis of their workouts as well.

Pushups give you REAL, FUNCTIONAL strength that just cannot be gotten from other pushing exercises involving weights. And that’s something you can’t beat.

Here is a 10-12 minute workout that’s guaranteed to get the lungs pumping, and the entire body working as a whole: -

- 25 regular pushups
- 20 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 Reverse pushups
- 10 Arms extended pushups
- 15 regular pushups
- 10-15 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 reverse pushups
- 10 arms extended pushups
- 10 fingertip pushups

(Information on how to do the exercises can be found on the site - see “information section” for same)

So, about 110 - 130 odd pushups, in about 12 minutes or so. I cannot also emphasize enough the importance of FORM and BREATHING; do either of these incorrectly, and you might as well not do the routine.

And for those of you that are wondering - yes, I’ve used this routine. Used it in today’s workout, as a matter of fact. . .

And if you can do that without breaking too much of a sweat (though I’ll be honest - I don’t know too many people that can), then no problem. Let me know, and I’ll put together a routine for you that’ll have you puffing in on time - and, it will involve nothing other than pushups.

Bottom line - train your pushups hard, and without fail! The rewards you reap in terms of physical strength, conditioning and fitness will be well worth it.

Rahul