Jump Rope to Lose Weight (30-day Plan + Jump Rope Calorie Calculator)

Jumping rope is an easy, fun, and effective way to lose weight. With this tailored 30-day weight loss plan and our exclusive jump rope calorie calculator, you’re able to reach your target weight in less time and with half the hassle.

Losing weight can seem like a never-ending struggle. You lose a few pounds and drop a waist size, then before you know it, you’re back at your previous weight!

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

I’ve dealt with this my entire adult life. It’s a roller coaster of emotion, new (and ineffective) fitness programs, and meal prep. The lack of results combined with all the effort you’ve put forth can leave you feeling defeated.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though, nor should it.

It wasn’t until I picked up a jump rope that I was able to finally hit my weight loss goals. And not only reach my target weight, but keep the weight off, which is probably the most difficult thing to do!

After years of trial and error, I had finally figured it out. I was elated!

I felt like I had discovered something so elusive, something so coveted, that it was my duty to share it with the world. Which is what brought me here.

In this article I’ve outlined a 30-day jump rope weight loss plan, the same plan I used to hit my weight loss goals and the same plan I follow to this day. It outlines everything from my daily jump rope routine to my diet and eating schedule.

I’ve also included a link to our exclusive Jump Rope Calories Calculator, which can help you determine exactly how many calories you’re burning and ensure you’re on track to hit your goals.

Life is complicated and stressful enough. My hope is this information can take some of that stress of your plate and give you a workout regimen you can feel good about.

So, without further ado (and fluff), let’s jump into it!

Jump Rope Calories Burned Calculator

One of the first things you’ll want to calculate when looking to lose weight is how many calories you’re burning. This is key to creating an effective weight loss plan.

You’ll want to identify how many calories you burn naturally (without exercise), also referred to as your daily caloric needs. And identify how many calories you burn from exercise.

These sum of these two numbers is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

There are a variety of calculators online that can help you figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Here is a link to one of my favorites.

Once you’ve identified that, write it down.

Next, you’ll want to figure out how many calories you burn when jumping rope. Our exclusive jump rope calculator is the perfect tool to help you do that.

This calculator is simple and easy to use.

Start by entering your weight (in pounds or kilograms). Then, enter how many minutes you jumped rope for. And, finally, select the pace or intensity at which you jumped rope (light, moderate, or hard). Then click “Go”.

This is how many calories you burned in a given jump rope workout. Write this number down, as well.

Make sure to keep both these numbers handy. Later, when we’re going over diet and eating schedule, we’ll want to reference these numbers.

30-Day Jump Rope Weight Loss Plan

There are two main components when it comes to weight loss.

The first is your exercise regimen. What combination of exercises are you going to perform, for how long, to burn as many calories as possible? In this case, that exercise is jumping rope.

The second component, or variable, is diet. What foods, and how much of those foods, are you going to consume to keep your calories as low as possible?

Weight loss, at its core, is quite simple. Calories in versus calories out.

You take the number of calories you burn (calories out) and subtract if from the total number of calories you consumed (calories in). The difference of these two numbers is the number of calories you lost… or gained, depending on which number is greater.

So, the goal with our exercise regimen is to burn as many calories as possible, with ideally the least amount of effort.

With our diet, the goal is to consume enough calories to fuel our day and our workout without overeating and creating a surplus of calories (weight gain).

I’ve outlined both in the following text.

This plan has helped me lose over 20lbs and keep that weight off for nearly 12 months. It’s literally changed my life.

Let’s start by taking a look at the exercise component of this plan.

30-Day Jump Rope Schedule

The great thing about jumping rope is how efficient it is at burning calories.

There are very few exercises that burn calories as efficiently as jumping rope. Running is the only other form of cardio that burns as many calories as jumping rope. And, majority of the other popular cardiovascular exercises, like swimming and cycling, don’t come close.

This is one of the main reasons why I’ve made jumping rope the key component to my weight loss plan.

So, we know what kind of exercise we’re going to perform. Now we just need to determine how long we need to jump rope each day/week.

To make things a bit easier, I’ve broken this plan into a weekly schedule.

I’ve outlined what you’ll need to do each day, for 7 days. You’ll repeat this 7-day schedule for a total of 4 weeks. At the end of those 4 weeks, you should see significant improvement on the scale and in your overall outlook of your weight loss plan.

Weekly Exercise Plan

In regard to exercise, we’re going to be doing a combination of body weight exercises and jumping rope. Each day will consist of roughly a 30-minute workout, with one day at the end of the week to rest.

The goal with each of these workouts is to burn as many calories as possible which will fuel our weight loss.

Make sure to keep your pace and intensity high. We want to be operating at around 70% – 85% of our max heart rate. This is known as the “fat burning zone”.

To determine your max heart rate, look at the following chart.

Depending on your age will determine your target heart rate.

I’ve outlined each of the 7 days below and the exercises and reps associated with that day. Each day is going to be slightly different, however many of the exercises can be swapped out for other exercise you prefer.

Let’s jump into it!

Day 1

The first day of this 30-day jump rope weight loss plan is going to focus on the lower-body. We’ll be doing a combination of body weight exercises that target the legs and jumping rope.

The workout is broken up into 4 rounds. Between each round you’ll have an opportunity to rest for 60-90 seconds. Try to keep the rest to a minimum.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 3 minutes jump rope (basic jump)
• Squat jumps (15 reps)
• Jumping lunges (8 reps each leg)
• Box jumps (12 reps)
• Burpees (10 reps)
• Side lunges (8 reps each leg)
• Rest (60-90 seconds)

Day 2

For the second day we’re going to focus on the abs. We’ll be doing a combination of ab exercises and jumping rope. If you need to increase or decrease the reps to make it more, or less, challenging, feel free. Make sure to push yourself though.

Like the first workout, this workout is broken into 4 rounds. Between each round you’ll have the opportunity to rest, if needed, for 60-90 seconds.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 3 minutes jump rope (basic jump)
• Bicycle crunches (16 reps)
• Plank (45 seconds)
• Mountain climbers (40 reps)
• Flutter kicks (30 reps)
• Side planks (30 seconds each side)
• Rest (60-90 seconds)

Day 3

The third day’s workout is going to focus on the upper body. We’ll be performing a combination of upper-body exercises and jumping rope. If you’d like, feel free to incorporate weights with this workout to increase the difficulty.

Additionally, we’ll be doing slightly more advanced jump rope moves (double-unders). If you’re not comfortable with these, feel free to the basic jump.

This workout will be broken up into 5 rounds, with a 60-90 second rest between each round.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 90 seconds jump rope (double-under)
• Push-ups (10 reps)
• Body-weight dips (15 reps)
• Pull-ups (10 reps)
• Burpees (10 reps)
• Bicycle crunches (16 reps)
• Rest (60-90 seconds)

Day 4

For Day 4, the workout is comprised of mostly cardio. We’ll be jumping rope more and incorporating a few high-energy exercises like burpees and jumping jacks. The goal here is to keep your heart rate up throughout the entire workout.

Like the previous day’s work out, we’ll be doing some slightly more advanced jump rope movements. Depending on your skill level, you may want to just stick to the basic jump.

The workout is broken up into 3 rounds, with a 3-minute rest between rounds.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 3 minutes jump rope (boxer step)
• 3 minutes jump rope (crossovers)
• 90 seconds jump rope (double-unders)
• Burpees (10 reps)
• Jumping jacks (30 reps)
• Rest (3 minutes)

Day 5

For the next workout, we’re going to do a similar workout to day 1. This workout will be focused almost entirely on the lower body, with a couple ab exercises. If you’re looking for more of a challenge, go ahead and incorporate some weights with the lower body exercises.

This workout is broken up into 5 rounds, with a 60-90 second rest between each round.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 3 minutes jump rope (basic jump)
• 2 minutes jump rope (high knees)
• Jump squats (12 reps)
• Jumping lunges (8 reps each leg)
• Box jumps (12 reps)
• Bicycle crunches (20 reps)
• Flutter kicks (20 reps)
• Rest (60-90 seconds)

Day 6

The last workout for the week (day 7 is a rest day), is going to be a combination of jumping rope, ab exercises and some upper body exercises. Try to keep your pace and energy high through the workout, we want to finish the week strong.

If you’re finding any of these exercises to be too easy, or too difficult, feel free to change the number of reps for any given exercises.

This workout is broken up into 5 rounds, with a 60-90 second break between each round.

1 Round (Exercises & Reps):

• 90 seconds jump rope (double-under)
• 90 seconds jump rope (boxer step)
• Push-ups (10 reps)
• Body-weight dips (15 reps)
• Burpees (10 reps)
• Mountain climbers (40 reps)
• Side planks (30 seconds each side)
• Rest (60-90 seconds)

Day 7

While there isn’t a workout for day 7, making sure to take time to rest and recover is equally important as any other day of the week. You want to allow your body some downtime which will enable you to come into the following week with all the energy you started the week with.

Some things I like to do on my rest days are relax, obviously, but also make some time to do some light stretching. I find my muscles often become sore and tight by the end of the week.

You would be fine performing just about any stretch, however if you’re looking for some inspiration, here are some of my favorite stretches for my rest days.

Stretches:

• Cat-Cow Stretch
• Wall Calf Stretch
• Glute Bridge
• Standing Quad Stretch
• Cobra
• Butterfly Stretch

Additionally, try to eat healthy and nutritious foods on your day off. Just because you’re not working out doesn’t mean you should binge on junk food.

If you feel like a treat, look at our list of 30 Healthy Junk Foods.

30-Day Diet and Eating Schedule

The second major component to any successful weight loss plan is diet. What food are you eating, and more importantly, how much of that food are you eating.

The number of calories you consume daily will either make or break your weight loss goals.

While the number of calories you eat is the most important factor, it’s also important to consider the quality of the foods you’re eating. Eating nutritious, whole foods will not only help with the weight loss but help fuel your workouts.

In this section, I’ve outlined everything I eat on a daily basis. This includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also the snacks I keep at the house. All of these are incredibly important if you want to hit your goals.

I’ve included the foods, but not the portions, as the portions will depend on your age and weight. Use the TDEE calculator (linked at the top of the page) to determine how many calories that is for you.

Like the workouts, I’ve broken down my diet into 7 days. Once you complete these 7 days, repeat the same diet and eating schedule for 3 more weeks.

You should see incredible results if you can follow this plan for a full 30 days.

Weekly Diet Plan

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Day 7

On day 7, which is usually Sunday for me, I’ll choose one meal and eat whatever I feel like. This is what’s referred to as a cheat meal.

I believe that cheat meals are incredibly important to a sustainable weight loss plan. Without making time to enjoy some of your favorite foods, weight loss is extremely boring and difficult to sustain

By taking one meal a week and eating whatever you want, you’ll more likely to stay on track the other 6 days of the week. And it gives you something to look forward to.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, peanut butter, banana, cup of black coffee

Lunch: CHEAT MEAL

Snack: Protein shake

Dinner: Chicken breast, broccoli, snap peas, brown rice, with hummus or hot sauce

Eating Schedule

In addition to the foods I eat, when I eat has had a huge impact on my ability to lose weight.

Intermittent fast (maybe you’ve heard of it) is something I’ve practiced for years. It’s essentially a window where you’re allowed to eat each day. My window is usually 10am to 6pm (an 8-hour window).

That means that from 10 in the morning, until 6 in the evening, I’m allowed to eat. During the remaining 16 hours, I fast. This means only water, tea, or coffee outside of my eating window.

While intermittent fasting isn’t a “silver bullet”, it can do wonders for your ability to stay satiated and eat less.

By cutting the amount of time you’re allowed to eat down to 8 or 10 hours, naturally you’ll eat less food. Additionally, once your body adjusts, you won’t feel nearly as hungry during the rest of the day.

I won’t go into too much detail here on intermittent fasting, however if you’re curious, look at our article on The Rules of Intermittent Fasting.

It’s highly worth the read!

Related Questions

Can I jump rope everyday to lose weight?

Given how many calories it burns, jumping rope everyday is a great way to lose weight.

On average, jumping rope burns 700 calories per hour, which is more than cycling, rowing, and swimming. To lose weight successfully, however, you need to achieve a calorie deficit. Jumping rope everyday can help with that, but your diet is the most important factor.

Another thing to consider is your ability, physically, to sustain jumping rope everyday.

Jumping rope is not for everyone.

If you’re dealing with certain pre-existing injuries or you’re out of shape, jumping rope may not be the best exercise. It’s also important to allow your body enough time to rest and recover before exercising again.

While I’m a big advocate of jumping rope everyday, I will typically jump rope 5 days out of every week and allow myself 2 days to rest and perform other forms of exercise. It’s important to listen to your body and not overdo it. The last you want to do is injure yourself.

Here is some additional info for anyone considering jumping rope everyday. Can I Jump Rope Everyday?

How much do you have to jump rope to lose weight?

How much you have to jump rope to lose weight depends on a few variables. The number of calories you consume and the number of calories you expend are the two most important factors in determining how much you have to jump rope to lose weight.

We actually have an entire article that breaks down the science behind how long you have to jump rope to hit your weight loss goals.

How Long You Have to Jump Rope to Lose Weight

To summarize, in order to lose weight, you need to create consistent calorie deficits. This means at the end of each day, the number of calories you consume needs to be less than the number of calories you expend.

This is what’s referred to as a calorie deficit.

For example, if you eat 2000 calories in a single day and burn 2500 calories, you would effectively be in a 500-calorie deficit. Achieving a 500-calorie deficit per day would ensure you lose around 1lb each week.

When it comes to weight loss, it’s important to be patient and set realistic weight loss goals. Losing weight to quickly is rarely sustainable and can be dangerous.

What is 10 minutes of jumping rope equivalent to?

10 minutes of jumping rope is roughly equivalent to running for 10 minutes, cycling in a studio for 11 minutes, rowing for 13 minutes, swimming for 14 minutes, playing tennis for 20 minutes, and walking for 25 minutes.

This is assuming you’re performing all of the activities at a similar pace and with a similar intensity.

The effort at which you perform an exercise will directly impact how effective that exercise is at burning calories. Jumping rope for 10 minutes at an intense pace won’t be equivalent to running for 10 minutes at a leisurely pace.

So, make sure to take that into account when estimating how many calories you’re burning.

Jump Rope vs Other Exercises

Your weight will also come into play when determining how many calories a given exercise burns. For example, a 200lb man running for 10 minutes is going to burn more calories than a 150lb woman jumping rope for 10 minutes.

Bottom line, jumping rope and running are two of the most effective forms of cardio.