Coach Chris talking jump ropes!

WHAT LENGTH JUMP ROPE DO I NEED?

 We are constantly getting questions about jump rope length. Having the correct length of a jump rope is detrimental to being good on a jump rope. For most athletes in any gym, the normal length of jump ropes most companies sell will be a good starting point. Most of the “speed” or “cable” ropes that are sold are adjustable. I am 6’3” and the average length rope is long enough for me to have some adjustment, so don’t be worried that yours won’t be long enough. There are a lot places online to find jump ropes. I prefer Jumpnrope.com, but that’s just me. Rogue also sells a couple. I’m not going to list every speed rope available, but you probably get the idea. Find the rope for you and purchase it.

 Now that you have your jump rope it is time to set the length. Take your new jump rope out of the packaging. There should be a small collar that has a screw in it to adjust length. This goes on the end of the cable after the handle, if it isn’t already on there. You will need a small screw driver to adjust it. Start by standing in the middle of the rope with a handle in each hand. You want the end of the handle to be just touching inside of your armpit. Tighten the collar. Test out some single unders to see if your rope is the length you need it. From here you can start fine tuning. Keep testing as you adjust. Make sure that when you get ready for the next step that the rope is hitting the ground under your feet. If it’s hitting the ground in front of your feet you won’t be as efficient as you could be, so make sure you get the length right.

 Now that you have the rope adjusted to where you need it all you have to do is cut it to length. You will need a pair of wire cutters to complete this. I will however advise you, especially if you aren’t proficient on a jump rope, to leave yourself a small amount of cable at the end in case you need to adjust later. As you get better you can fine tune until it is perfect. The next time you need to get a new cable, all you need to do is use the old one as a reference, and make the new one the same length.

 That should be all you need to know to get going with your own jump rope.

Good luck with your new investment and perfecting those double unders.

Chris Metzler