When we think of a skipping rope, most of us are likely taken back in our memories to the school playground, singing chants, making up routines and taking turns to jump the rope.
But skipping isn’t just for kids. It has a lot of hidden health benefits and is a great way to get your heart pumping – and with the support of our fabulous corporate partner MACE, we’re trying to get people across Northern Ireland skipping along to their favourite song on Saturday 10th October for Skip to the Beat!
You can skip solo, skip with family, arrange a “Skip-off” with friends (from a safe distance of course) or why not relive your childhood days by attempting a fun skipping routine? The aim is to have as much fun as possible, while raising vital funds for our COVID-19 Recovery Service to help us keep caring through COVID.
Here are the top 5 benefits of grabbing your rope and jumping into Skip to the Beat this October:
1. It’s a Full Body Workout
Skipping is a great way to get your whole body moving. It’s a staple in the training routines of many professional athletes the world over for good reason. While you’re jumping rope, you’ll be working and toning your abdominal muscles to keep your body steady, your legs for jumping and your shoulders and arms to turn the rope. It also offers a whole host of surprising health benefits for every part of the body and mind, including improving fitness, stamina and co-ordination, as well as releasing feel-good endorphins that can boost your mood.
2. It’s Cheap and Cheerful
Gym memberships, personal trainers, and exercise classes or specialised equipment can become pricy. Skipping is a cheap and cheerful alternative – all you need is a rope, and yourself! And when you sign up to our Skip to the Beat challenge, you’ll get a rope included within your pack so you’ll be ready to get started with your jump routine right away.
3. It’s Social-Distancing Friendly
With lockdown restrictions constantly changing and affecting what we can do and where we can go, skipping is one activity we can still count on and that can bring everyone together. It’s great fun for all ages and abilities, it can be done just easily at home by yourself, or with friends and family while keeping a safe distance. Why not organise a “skip-off” to see who can keep skipping the longest? And, as a skipping rope is portable, whether you’re at home, in the garden, at the gym or a local park, you can hop to it and get your skip on!
4. It’s Key to a Healthy Heart
There are around 225,000 people living with heart and circulatory diseases in Northern Ireland, and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the number 1 cause of death in the world. We’re committed to supporting those living with heart conditions, and everyone in Northern Ireland, to keep healthy through COVID to help prevent heart illness, or care for their condition. One of the ways you can take care of your heart health is through regular exercise and physical activity that raises your heart rate. Skipping can help improve your heart rate and can even help to lower blood pressure. It’s also a good type of physical activity no matter your fitness level, as you can take it at a slower or faster pace to suit your ability.
5. It’s Great for Maintaining your Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is important in looking after our overall health, and is especially important to our heart and circulatory health. Skipping is a very effective workout for losing weight, and can burn as many as 20 calories every minute. Why not pop on a tune from our Skip to the Beat playlist and try to skip along until the end? For a three or four minute track, you could burn off the equivalent of a cheeky biscuit or bun.
Get skipping and join us and our corporate partners Mace NI for Skip to the Beat on Saturday 10th October, and skip to your favourite upbeat tune while raising funds and awareness for our COVID-19 Recovery Service, helping us to keep caring through COVID.
To sign up and get your pack including skipping rope click here.
