Logical Leaps

A while back I watched a shamelessly terrible television show once a week to which I would never admit. Even now I won't tell you what it was. I felt so guilty that the only way I could justify wasting chunks of my life that way was to do something useful during the commercials. I jumped rope and did lots of sit-ups. Though that counts as neither a 'home gym' or a workout, I at least cleared my conscious. I still apply that same 'Useful' rule to reruns of 'Alias' but not the ABBA documentary on PBS which seems to run every weekend (L-sits instead - there are no commercial breaks and I can't miss 'Waterloo').

Most of my clients like the flexibility of a workout at home though I hope it has nothing to do with junk TV and an equally junk-filled post-workout carb load in front of the tube. And though the concept of home workouts is admittedly convenient, most people don't want a PRO Club in the living room - especially if it comes with the carpet. We like exercise equipment but it clashes with the drapes, it doesn't make a good coffee table, and it will generally cause at least one argument with a spouse (results may vary).

Please consider the lowly jump rope, however, which may actually match the drapes and is one of the cheapest pieces of cardio equipment you could ever buy for a home workout. There are options: heavy ropes, speed ropes, beaded ropes, etc. I've been jumping with a 3-pound heavy rope and I assure you that 3 pounds will never feel heavier. You can choose ropes with handles that are weighted or weight distributed in the rope. I prefer the latter though not when I'm barefoot.

Your jump rope workouts may look something like this:

W/O1
Jump Rope - 50 Jumps
10 Push-ups
10 Rounds

W/O2
1 Minute Jump Rope
25 Overhead Squats - hold jump rope overhead using a snatch grip
25 Sit-ups
4 Rounds

W/O3
30 Seconds Jump Rope
20 squat jumps
15 Divebomber Push-ups
5 Rounds

W/O4
3 Minutes Jump Rope
10 Jump lunges per side
30 Knees to Chest per side
2 Minutes Jump Rope
20 Jump Lunges per side
20 Knees to Chest per side
1 Minute Jump Rope
30 Jump Lunges per side
10 Knees to Chest per side

Please note that downstairs neighbors will hate this additional to your workout repetoire. As you will soon find out, there will be no successful completion of workouts started after 10p.