It all started with one small change: I booked a boxing class for a small group of mom friends and me. That one small change motivated our group to get in shape and soon we were boxing or doing cardio boxing classes two or three times a week. It still wasn’t enough for me. I was so easily winded. The 2 minute jump rope warm up that we occasionally did felt like an eternity. But there was one obstacle …
It started a few years ago when I was doing Zumba once a week. Zumba, for the uninitiated, is dance aerobics based on Latin, Hip Hop and Pop rhythms. One of the moves was a kind of jumping jack. And this is the dilemma. If you’ve delivered kids the old-fashioned way (i.e. NOT Cesarean), then jumping up and down can cause embarrassing incontinence. In the presence of other mom friends, we could all laugh, but still, not a very fun revelation!
So you can see how jump rope for a 40-something mom can be particularly challenging! Gone are those days of elementary school recess when skipping rope with friends was a song and a dance. Remember how we used to jump rope … for fun?! And so effortlessly! Youth is wasted on the young.
My Jump Rope Challenge
The challenge of jumping rope for me is how others might view scaling mountains. 15 minutes four times a week was my goal. My boxing trainer said that 5 minutes of jump rope is the equivalent of running 1 mile.
First things first:
1) The right jump rope.
I felt a little like Goldilocks. The first jumprope was rawhide and too heavy. The second jump rope did not have a spinning toggle so it kept tangling up. For a mere $10, I found the perfect jump rope. Plastic with a 45 degree spinning thingy to prevent tangles.
2) The right length.
The theory goes is that you step in the middle of the jump rope with one foot and line up the handles so the top hits the bottom of your arm pit. That is supposed to be the ideal length but I prefer mine 6 inches longer than that. My blue plastic jump rope comes with a catch that makes it easily adjustable.
3) Empty bladder.
For the embarrassing condition I mentioned earlier.
4) Use a timer.
I can not jump rope continuously for 15 minutes. I can not jump rope continuously for even 2 minutes. But little by little, with much starting and stopping and few choice words, I can jump rope for the alloted 15 minute time.
This is a video of when I first started jumping rope about 4 months ago. As you can see, I’m not very good.
Jump roping is a skill that must be learned through lots and lots of practice. Here I am again about 4 months later. I’m not much better, this is true (as my kids like to point out), but little by little, I’m hoping.
Do not worry if it is too hard when you first start or if you tire quickly. When you get better, Johnny from Expert Boxing has some jump rope tricks to try.
And that’s it. My one small change to start boxing to my second one small change to jump rope for one hour a week. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.
How about you? Will you join me in making one small change for a healthier lifestyle? Pledge your change and enter to win the grand prize of $2000 from Puritan’s Pride! Join Puritan’s Pride on Twitter and Pinterest (#OneSmallChange) to talk about your small change and how it’s going.
Small changes in your life can improve your well-being. Puritan’s Pride wants to help. Pledge today, enter the sweepstakes to win $2,000 and prizes to help you stick to it.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puritan’s Pride. The opinions and text are all mine.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
