Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down With CrossRope

Switching between the different cables is super easy.

I always knew jump-roping was a good activity. I mean, hello, do it for a few minutes and your heart will be a pumpin’. But it wasn’t until I started doing more CrossFit-style workouts that I got the full gist of the jump rope. The heart-beating-out-of-your-chest gist.

And with the number of double unders (one jump, two passes of the jump rope) we do during any given workout (one day the goal was to do 500—I got to 258, and then missed, hit a blood vessel in my hand and called it a day, freak-show hand and all), I am always interested in really good quality jump ropes that are durable and work well with me so that I don’t injure myself when I miss a step. And note: Jump roping is a pretty benign thing to do. I just happen to be a klutz.

And that’s where CrossRope comes into play! The company hit us up a few months back with details on its first-ever interchangeable weighted jump rope that features seven different cable types to accommodate any workout routine. So for my double unders and CrossFit-style timed workouts, I can use a lighter, quicker rope. For other days when I’m just jumping as a cardio workout or want to work on my upper-body strength, a heavier cable fits the bill. Man or woman, CrossFitter or cardio hound, boxer or homemaker can use this.

The handles are a bit longer than my current jump rope du jour (that company is great, by the way), but since I have shorter arms and longer legs, I kind of liked it and found jumping with my hands in the right spot to be a bit easier, especially with those double unders. I also liked that you can easily unhinge the handles from one cable to another—this was seriously SO simple and easy to do. And the cables and handles seem to be really good quality. I’ve only been using them for a few weeks, but they’re showing no signs of wear. I will admit that the heavier cables are quite intimidating—even one of the coaches at the gym was like WHOA—but as someone who’s never jumped with a weighted cable, I can certainly feel the different in my arms and forearms and grip. WHOA is right.

The Swift Set I tried (shown above, two cables) goes for $49.99 and seems like a really good deal to me. If you’re serious enough about jump roping to be looking into buying a custom rope that you can change the cables on easily, you can’t go wrong with this. It’s quality and convenience in one! And I, for one, can’t wait to practice on the heavier cable so that jumping with the lighter one feels easy!

Who likes jumping? Anyone else trying to improve their double unders or general jumpiness? —Jenn