Skipping challenge: 'I did 100 skips a day for 30 days'

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File under: a cardio challenge worth jumping on.

Here’s a question for you: when was the last time you tried skipping? Perhaps it was last week in the gym, maybe it was during one of the many *whispers it* lockdowns, or, like me, maybe it was when you were 10, in school and living your best life in the playground.

Reader, I’m now 30. But over the years, skipping has made a resurgence and when you delve into the never-ending list of skipping benefits, it‘s clear to see why. ‘It's one of the easiest, and cost-effective ways of increasing fitness levels,’ says personal trainer and seasoned skipping pro, Jolene Martin, who specialises in strength training and functional fitness. ‘It targets muscles in your chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves and all abdominals,’ Martin adds. Sounds good, no?

So, in my pursuit of wanting to learn a new skill (because it’s never too late), cash in on these full body #gains and give my cardiovascular fitness levels a boost, I decided to take on a skipping challenge. Plus, if it’s good enough for Gemma Atkinson, J Lo and Halle Berry…

I’ll be aiming to tick off 100 skips per day across a 30-day period (gulp!) either at home or in a gym to help keep things interesting.

Personally speaking, I generally exercise four to five mornings a week, although this can fluctuate depending on how my body is feeling. While completing my skipping challenge, I’ll be aiming to continue with my weekly 5k run, my once-a-week online Pilates class (I usually find a free Lottie Murphy flow) and my three strength training sessions at my local gym, but I will certainly drop a session or workout if it’s too much. With that in mind, here’s how an ideal week will look:

Remember that this is my own personal weekly workout routine. If you’re considering taking on a skipping or fitness challenge, do speak to a PT and tweak accordingly.

Skipping is a high-intensity workout that involves holding a piece of skipping rope on either side of your body, swinging it over your head and jumping over it. Sounds easy, I know. But this dynamic and explosive form of fitness is anything but.

Along with challenging your aerobic (used for cardio endurance), anaerobic (used for short, intense bursts of exercise, like HIIT) and cardiovascular system, skipping works all the muscles in your body. So you get a lot of bang for your jumps. And just like any other form of fitness, finding your form is key. To perfect your technique, Martin recommends:

This piece of kit might be small, but the benefits sure are mighty.

Side note: this is my own personal skipping journey and if you decide to take on a similar challenge, know that it will never be exactly the same as mine. And that’s ok. Either way, Martin recommends honing your practice. ‘Like anything new, start off slow, learn the movement and then build up slowly,’ she says. ‘Maybe start with trying to skip for 2 minutes without stopping and go from there.’Although, if you are someone who has high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma or have been diagnosed as clinically overweight, Martin advises: ‘A more non-weight bearing low impact and low intensity activity would be more suitable.’

And that’s an understatement. Completing 100 skips will leave you feeling like you’ve worked everything from your head to your toes because, well, you have. This was great because it helped me warm up before working out or running. But if there was one area where I felt fire like never before, it was in my gastrocnemius and soleus — the two muscles that make up your calves.

For at least the first week, my calves hated me, but after speaking with Martin, I found the solution to all my skipping-induced woes: ‘Make sure you stretch your calves after you’ve completed your 100 skips,’ she says. ‘If not, you might find it feels like you’ve been wearing high heels after a night out.’ Ouch!

We all know that a sports bra wins the award for the hardest working piece of fit kit. But a form-fitting sports bra really comes into its own when performing a high intensity form of fitness like skipping. So take this as your reminder…

Don’t just take my word for it: ‘One of the best things about skipping is the fact you can pack up a skipping rope and take it with you anywhere in the world,’ Martin explains. ‘It’s so lightweight and space-saving — you really have no excuses not to keep your training routine up.’

I saw this for myself first hand. Over the course of the 30 days, this little pink skipping rope of mine has racked up more steps than Covent Garden tube station has to offer. I’ve taken my skipping sidekick to Mexico, it’s ventured to three different gyms and it’s been to my local park. No matter the time, place or location, all you need is a rope, enough space to swing it and the motivation to skip.

Yes, seasoned skippers make this form of fitness look easy. But twisting a rope over your body, jumping at the right time, keeping a tally and aiming for 100 skips is as much of a mental workout as it is a physical one.

In my experience, skipping requires most, if not all, of your concentration while you’re putting your cardiovascular endurance front and centre. One hop, skip and a jump out of place and your skipping streak will quickly be derailed. Or worse: if your coordination slips like mine did at the start of this skipping challenge, you might just end up accidentally whipping your legs, arms or any other body part with your rope. I found out the hard way.

I find it easier and more enjoyable to exercise in the mornings as it sets me up for the day and gives me an endorphin hit no oat latte could ever. But at first, I was struggling to find my rhythm with the rope and catch my breath. To help, I decided to split my 100 skips out into 5 sets of 20.

By day five, I found I was able to reach around 40 skips in a row and just over a week in, I was racking up 60. It was day 15 when I was finally able to hit 100 skips consecutively and feel like I could keep going.

Yes really. Along with finally finding my skipping flow, over the course of 30 days I was also able to cut down the time it took me to accomplish 100 skips. Initially, racking up 100 jumps took me around 2 minutes to complete.

By the end of the challenge, I halved this PB to under 60 seconds. Plus, once I had mastered the basic skip, I started adding in a few alternate foot step skips.

Did I mention that this handy piece of portable kit costs less than an overpriced coffee? Standing at £3.99, in the ongoing cost of living crisis, this is music to my ears and bank balance.

It turns out a lot can change in 30 days. After a month of skipping on the trot, my hand-eye coordination has never been better. Want me to fire out 100 skips in one go? Sure. Sprinkle in some tricks? Consider my fancy footwork finessed. Need to tick off a short warm-up before running? Skipping has become my sidekick. Plus, as shown by my recovery rate (which I measure by how breathless I am, and for how long, after skipping) and my desire to want to tally up more skips even after I’ve ticked off my 100, my cardio fitness levels have been boosted.

Will I be completing 100 skips every day for the rest of time? I’d be lying if I said yes. But on the days I don’t fancy heading to the gym, need to find some headspace or I’m heading out on a run, I’ll be reaching for my skipping rope to hit every major muscle group in minutes, warm up my calves and get my endorphins pumping. Boxer skips, side swings and double unders…I’m coming for ya!

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