Skipping rope exercise workout achieve another HIT

And you thought skipping was for school kids - well think again! Martial Arts legend Bruce Lee was huge fan of skipping, with so many benefits like cardio gains and weight loss.

What are the benefits?

1. Ten minutes of skipping is the equivalent of running eight miles.

2. Just one hour of skipping will burn 1,300 calories.

3. The British Skipping Rope Association claims that ten minutes of skipping has the same benefits as a 45 minute run.

4. Skipping is a full body exercise using abdominals, legs and shoulders.

5. Skipping puts less pressure on your joints as opposed to running.

6.The only cost is buying a skipping rope.

7. Skipping improves heart and blood pressure.

8. Skipping improves flexibility.

9. It aids your co-ordination and balance.

Skipping Workout


Our Personal Trainer Viktoria at sport4plus.com says the best way is to start with skipping rope at waist height. Keeping your knees slightly bent, palms of your hands should be facing your body. Jump using the balls of your feet, (don't bounce) remember to keep your knees soft and torso upright.


Beginner Exericse

Swing the rope over your head jump at the same time as the rope passes under your feet, land on both feet again. Alternate - continue for one minute then rest for one minute.


Alternate Foot Jump

As before swing the rope over your head as you jump, then after some practice alternate each foot from right to left. Try to imagine your running on the spot, again rest for one minute and then skip the next.


High step skip

Almost the same as the Alternate Foot, however this time when you jump raise your knee at a 90 degree angle while skipping. Once again rest for one minute and skip the next.


Endurance Skip 

Try either the basic jump or the alternate foot jump for five minutes! If that's too long in the beginning then build up to it. Again try one minute on the next off, aim for five sets each time then gradually decrease the rest time to 30 seconds until you can achieve 600 jumps.


Take your fitness to the next level subscribe and find out how to HIT skipping exercises. 


Co-written with Sport4plus and Lillian Bauer a professional Physio who has completed 3 full marathons, 13 half marathons and several 10K and 5K's.

How do I choose the best Boxing/MMA/Kickboxing gloves?

Viktoria our personal trainer throws a straight right


Boxers have to be super fit to compete in professional boxing, in recent years private gyms have offered boxercise classes and more recently MMA classes (Mixed Marital Arts). Specifically though these classes have focused purely on fitness and not full contact fighting. Regardless of what stage your at whether your seasoned martial artist or simply keen to find out more, choosing the right glove is essential.


Viktoria at sport4plus.com recommends boxercise classes, as it's a huge boost your cardio training  especially if you want to lose weight. So depending on the how long it lasts and the intensity level you can expect to burn 400 to 600 calories per hour! Not bad huh!

Breaking it down

Before diving into a new class or getting brand gear to workout at home or in the park. It's worth understanding about the glove sizes and how to use them. Believe it or not there are 27 bones in a single hand and you want to protect them all! So remember to buy hand wraps to protect you hands from damage!

Generally gloves are broken down into the following categories:

8 oz: common for competitive boxers
10 oz: common for competitive boxers
12 oz: common for women and people with small hands
14 oz: common for average people who train
16 oz: common for people of all sizes
18 oz: commonly used for larger weight classes
20 oz: commonly used for larger weight classes


So ask yourself what you want to use the gloves for, sparring, bag work or perhaps joining a boxercise class or martial arts class. The most common you'll see in classes is Small 12 oz, Medium 14 oz and Large 16 oz.

Sparring Gloves 

If you train with a partner who's holding  the mitts, make sure they are well padding to protect your knuckles to prevent any damage.



Bag Gloves

Generally used for bag work, the lighter the glove the faster you can train! Fully padded and regular sized gloves have extra padding and can take the shock of each punch.


Boxing Mitts 2 Gloves 

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Fitness Mad Synthetic Leather Mitt 

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NSC Boxing Gloves 2 x 12 oz 

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Extra tip

After prolonged use Boxing gloves have a tendency to stink from sweat like any other fitness gear you own they have ti be cleaned regularly. After you box use some long socks filled with cedar chips and stuff them into you gloves to prevent any build up of bacteria.

Lastly if you want to learn how to properly use hand wraps sign up for our free training tips


Co-written with Sport4plus and Lillian Bauer a professional Physio who has completed 3 full marathons, 13 half marathons and several 10K and 5K's.

How do I choose the best dumbbell sets

Dumbbells are superb idea to add to your workout if you haven't already begun to use them. Also  aerobic and fitness classes incorporated them into there regular sessions. The advantage for using them is the vast range of exercises are you can use them for such as one arm shoulder press, squats, bicep curls, tricep extentions and many more. Plus free weights are better than weight machines as you able to work on secondary muscle groups that you can include in your weight program. Our Personal trainer at Sport4plus.com has explained in six easy steps when it comes to choosing the right dumbbell set. But don't forget to use proper form in order not to injury yourself, so think about how to properly lift and put down dumbbells. E.g keeping your back straight and bending you knees:

Step 1 you want to begin by writing a workout plan for yourself, or follow our  personal trainer who
suggests if your beginner start with just one dumbbell set of each exercise. Try for 12 reps in each set, then as you advance add another set each time.



Step 2 When picking up a dumbbell, check to find out if you can easily grip it in your hand. If the grip is too large for your own hand then it will simply increase your level of fatigue and make the exercise less effective. If your hand muscles struggle with the size of the grip, it will only take away your focus and you will get less benefit from the exercise.

Step 3 Find a dumbbell set that has a decent range, so the smallest dumbbell might have 2lb and the largest has 10lb with weights in between them. With that in mind you might start with 2lb and progress to 10lb.


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Step 4 If your new test the smallest weight in the set first, by doing one exercise with dumbbell. For example try a good exercise like a bicep curl. You should be able to complete the right number of reps with a dumbbell that won't throw your form. If the weight is difficult then the dumbbell is too large for your exercise, saying that if you find the weight too easy then it's too small.

Step 5 At this stage you might want to try a mid-range dumbbell, so for example do a tricep extention with a 5lb weight.

Step 6 Finally choose the right dumbbell set, think through if it's the set you can push with as you become stronger. Remember as you get stronger, include more sets into your workouts with the same weight. If your muscles don't feel fatigue after the workout start stepping up in weight.


If you want to develop your hand grip on dumbbells our marathon loving fitness enthusiast Lauren recommends using hand grips:

Fitness Mad Pro Power Grip 10 to 40 kg

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Co-written with Sport4plus and Lillian Bauer a professional Physio who has completed 3 full marathons, 13 half marathons and several 10K and 5K's.