JUMPING WITH ROPE - BEST EXERCISE FOR YOUR FEET!

I recommend this exercise at all my clinics, presentations, private lessons and consultations. Why is it so useful for running, and especially for the development of running technique? What benefits can we get from such a simple exercise? How can you use it and incorporate into your training routine?

To illustrate some positive aspects of this drill, I would use boxing as an example, where jumping with rope had been very popular since the beginning of this sport. When was it “invented” and by whom is unknown, at least to me, but it became one of the most easily recognizable exercises related to training in boxing. What was so attractive and useful in this exercise for boxing?

The most obvious thing is that it teaches you to move right in the ring, and to be more exact, to make your feet more skillful in their interaction with the ground and thus let the boxer’s body move more efficiently. How important it is in boxing is very clear. A small mistake of being late or making a wrong move could be fatal. Therefore your feet should be trained to interact with the ground right and allow you to move the body weight in the necessary direction in a split second.

While this necessity was always obvious for boxing, it was never like this for running, so runners’ feet were usually neglected and underdeveloped. The consequences of it, were, certainly, not as fatal as in boxing, but lead to sloppy, awkward or, as one of my friends and colleagues put it, atrocious running. It is so, indeed.

Believe me, the fact that we couldn’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Yes, it is there, every day and in every training. Our feet just do not know what they are doing and we do not know what to do with them or how to use them. This is the problem.

From the Pose Method point of view, we are running forward by using our body weight or by simply falling (leaning) forward. It is critical where we are falling from or where is our body weight before it starts falling. No matter what kind of technique or style you are running with, the final point for falling will be the ball of foot. It is very easy to check.

According to this notion our actions are formed. Again, no matter if you are pushing off or pulling your foot from the ground, you’ll need to do it, when your body weight is on the ball of the foot. Therefore, it is important to know, or to be more exact, to feel it, when your body weight is on the ball of the foot. And the perception of this most important component of running, is usually absent.

This is when jumping with rope could come into the play and help us to develop the necessary perception of the body weight on the ball of the foot. Beside this, as a byproduct, it helps to develop specific strength of the feet, their agility of interacting with the ground, etc.

It is better to use this exercise together with running drills or with strength conditioning exercises. A standard amount of rope jumps in one set should be at least 30 and more, with variations on two feet or one foot, with alternating support from one foot to the other and certainly with changing rhythm and cadence of jumping. I am using all Pose drills with a jumping rope in order to reinforce the perception of Pose, Pull, and the body weight on the ball of the foot.

Using jumping rope drills barefoot or with some weights (belt, jacket, or ankle weights) is very good for developing strength of the feet and overall springiness of the body. If you use it for learning technique, then use a jumping rope at each session. When it comes to combination of strength and springiness, then it would be good to use it twice a week. There are almost no side effects from these jumps, just benefits, but do not overuse them, as well as anything else.

Dr. Romanov