Different types of skipping ropes - which should you use?
Depending on the level of fitness and your personal goals, there are different types of skipping ropes that will help you achieve this:
BASIC SKIPPING ROPE
Hence the name, these are the most standard and cheapest form of ropes. They will allow you to learn the basics of skipping as the weight is not too heavy or too light. I would personally always have a pair of these no matter what your fitness goals and levels are. You'd typically find these made our PVC material.
SPEED ROPE
Designed to skip at high speeds for high intensity interval training (HIIT). Those who are looking to improve technique and really increase the speed of their cardio (to sprints) would benefit from this. Due to it's lightweight nature, and wired material, it takes a lot of skill to keep the loops to continue. MMA fighters and boxers use this a lot to work on footwork and conditional their bodies.
WEIGHTED
If you're looking to pack on some size and muscle onto your shoulders and arms, this is the rope for you. Although it may take extra energy to keep the rope moving, it actually takes less technique to keep it going. Therefore beginners who are also looking to pack on some muscle will benefit from these skipping ropes.
BEADED
Less conventional but the beaded skipping ropes are good for new learners as they are tangle free and makes a rhythmic noise to keep your timing right when learning to skip. Also because of the material and weight distribution of these skipping ropes, it is good for all flooring conditions. The segmented beads also makes it super fun to do some wild freestyling tricks with it.
CONCLUSION
If you are new to skipping, we would highly recommend starting on the basic skipping rope. As it's the most balanced rope and will pretty much cover all needs to start with. Also, the basic rope is the cheapest, therefore from an financial standpoint this is the least riskiest investment.
Once you are familiar with the technique and comfortable with skipping for longer periods (especially without stopping), you can then decide which of the following ropes you should progress to in order to further cater your fitness goals and needs.
As always at FitnessHaus, we sell most of these skipping ropes, therefore click on a link below to head to our product pages:
Basic rope - https://www.fitnesshaus.co.uk/products/classic-nylon-skipping-rope
Speed rope - https://www.fitnesshaus.co.uk/products/skipping-skill-rope
Beaded rope - https://www.fitnesshaus.co.uk/products/beaded-skipping-rope