Ask Dr. Dumb: Should I Join the Jump Rope Craze?
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Friends, I am sure I don’t have to tell you this, but there is a jump rope craze sweeping the nation. In bold! I can say, without a trace of hyperbole, that this is, by far, the biggest craze to sweep any nation, ever. Bigger even than the Baby Fish Mouth craze of 1989.
Seriously, though, jumping rope is all anyone is talking about. If you don’t believe me, perhaps you’ll believe CNN:
What’s behind this craze? Is there a hashtag associated with it? And, most urgent of all, should you join? To answer these questions and more, we checked in with our go-to expert on ropes, jumping, and crazed behavior, Dr. Dumb.
Dumb Runner: Dr. Dumb, thank you for joining us to discuss this craze.
Dr. Dumb: You’re welcome. By the way, that noise you hear in the background is me jumping rope.
It sounds like you have joined this craze!
Absolutely. Jumping rope is terrific. It’s an efficient way to burn calories, and you can do it anywhere—while brushing your teeth, waiting in line at the supermarket, during elevator rides, you name it. I like to keep a jump rope in my car so I can hop out at red lights and squeeze in a quick workout.
Any other advantages?
Oh yes. After you’ve jumped rope, you can tell friends that you decided to skip your workout and then laugh and laugh. It never gets old.
If I don’t have a jump rope, could I get the same results simply by jumping in place for 10 minutes?
No. That would be silly. You need to jump in place using a rope.
Can I use just any rope?
Sure… if you’re lazy and looking for a terrible experience and not serious about Getting Fit.
What would you recommend?
I recommend what the influencers and trainers behind this craze recommend: Spending a lot of money for a special jump rope, such as the Rx Smart Gear EVO G2 Speed Rope ($150). In fact, buy two. Just in case.
Is there such a thing as a battery-powered “smart” jump rope that connects to a mobile app via Bluetooth and tracks things like jump count, calories burned, and time spent jumping?
Yes.
Did you discover this product via a glowing online “review” of jump ropes that uses affiliate links, meaning that the publisher of the review gets a percentage of any sales generated by said review?
Yes.
Apart from burning more calories than jogging, what advantages does jumping rope have over heading out for a run?
So many. For instance, when you’re jumping rope you don’t have time to be alone with your thoughts.
That’s an advantage?
According to the professional jump rope influencer quoted in that CNN article, yes. In her own words: "If you're going on a run, you think about other stuff in your life and problems. Whereas when I go out and jump rope, you just focus on that.”
I’ve always thought that part of running’s appeal is that it gives me uninterrupted time to think through stuff that’s been bothering me.
Well, you’re wrong. Think about that for a while.
Doctor, in doing research for this interview—
Wait. You do research for these things?
Well, I Google. Anyway, I found a video from the BBC about a “jump rope craze” but it was from December 2019. Is the current jump rope craze distinct from that one, or a continuation of it?
Great question. The current jump rope craze is totally different from the 2019 jump rope craze.
What’s the difference between them?
About two years.
Doctor, as always, it’s been a pleasure. I’m glad you didn’t skip our chat.
I don’t get it.
