How do you learn to skip with a rope again?

Skipping is one of those things you could do effortlessly at eight and suddenly find surprisingly complicated at forty. The rope catches your ankles, your arms flail, and the cat leaves the room. The good news is that the skill comes back quickly once you stop jumping like a kangaroo.

Choose the right rope

• Length: stand on the middle of the rope with one foot and pull the handles up. For most beginners, the handles reaching somewhere around the armpits is a good starting point. Too long and it drags; too short and it catches your feet.
• Type: a simple PVC or beaded rope is great for learning. Beaded ropes turn a little slower and you can hear the rhythm, which helps. Very thin, very fast speed ropes are for later.
• Adjustable ropes let you shorten them as you get smoother.

Set yourself up

• Surface: a wooden floor, a rubber gym mat or a smooth, flat path. Avoid uneven ground or very hard concrete for long sessions.
• Space: clear room overhead and around you. Ceiling lights have been known to suffer.
• Shoes: supportive trainers rather than bare feet or flip-flops.

The technique

1. Stand tall, feet together or slightly apart, looking ahead rather than down.
2. Elbows in. Keep them close to your sides, hands a little in front of your hips.
3. Turn from the wrists. Small circles from the wrists, not big circles from the shoulders.
4. Small jumps. Jump just high enough for the rope to slip under, a couple of centimetres, landing lightly on the balls of your feet with soft knees.
5. One jump per turn. The classic beginner error is a double bounce, which is fine while learning but tires you out.
6. Find the rhythm. Count aloud, hum, or skip to music with a steady beat.

If the rope keeps catching your feet

• Practise without the rope. Hold both handles in one hand and swing the rope at your side while you jump in rhythm. It sounds silly and works beautifully.
• Jump over a single turn. Swing the rope over, stop it, jump, repeat. Then join them up.
• Slow down. Most snags come from rushing.
• Check the length. If the rope catches constantly at the front, the rope may be too short.

Short sets are the trick

Skipping is more intense than it looks. Start with sets of a few seconds to a minute, then rest for the same time or longer. Something like:

• skip for 20 to 30 seconds,
• rest for 30 seconds,
• repeat a handful of times.

As you get smoother, lengthen the skipping periods and shorten the rests. Stop when your form gets ragged. Ten minutes of mixed skipping and rest is a satisfying session, and three minutes is a perfectly good warm-up before something else.

Footwork, once the basics feel easy

• Alternate feet, like jogging on the spot.
• Side to side, small hops left and right.
• Forward and back, small hops in a line.
• Heel taps, touching one heel forward each turn.
• Criss-cross, crossing your arms at the front: a great party trick.
• Double unders, the rope passing twice under one jump: for when you feel bold.

Where skipping fits

A skipping rope weighs almost nothing and fits in any bag, so it is ideal for travel and hotel rooms; see our guide to moving when you travel. It is also a lovely warm-up, a playground bonding exercise with children, and a reliable way to feel about nine years old.