I remember the first time I was handed a jump rope as a child. Having the unlimited energy of a kid, I didn’t even realize it was exercise. I was jumping up and down and it was a great time. Imagine my surprise as an adult when I realized the thing I had considered a childhood toy is a fantastic piece of exercise equipment. In fact, jumping rope is a versatile, convenient way to meet fitness goals and burn fat.

According to Kristin Heumann, a kinesiology professor and jump rope group exercise instructor, the metabolic response to jump rope is outstanding.

“Jump rope has one of the highest metabolic equivalent rates. When you’re at rest, you have a resting metabolic rate of 3.5. When you’re doing an exercise like walking, you might have a metabolic rate of three, which means you’re doing three times that amount,” Heumann said. “Jump rope has a metabolic equivalent of anywhere from eight and above, so you’re getting a lot of work done in a relatively short amount of time.”

Heumann says a big reason for high metabolic equivalent rate is the fact that both upper and lower body are being worked at the same time. In that respect, she says it is a lot like cross-country skiing without the snow. The total body activity rewards you with a greater amount of calories burned.

The boost to your metabolism alone is a pretty good reason to incorporate jump rope in your fitness program. However, that is not the lone benefit of jump rope. There is also the convenience factor. All you need to perform the exercise is a rope and a little bit of room.

“You can do it in a hotel room, you can do it in a gym in a small little corner,” Heumann said. On sunny days, you can go to a park and enjoy the beauty of nature while getting in some great exercise.

Another great benefit of jump rope is the ease with which intensity can be adjusted. Weights lifting is a great way to exercise, but the ability to increase load requires additional weights. That is why the gym is full of weight racks. Jump ropes don’t need extra equipment regulate difficulty.

“There’s lots of ways that you can incorporate jump rope to being a lighter intensity, moderate activity to being a more vigorous intensity activity depending on the speed you’re jumping, the types of tricks you’re doing doing and all that kind of stuff,” Heumann said.

This point in time is where an infomercial would have a pitch man yelling, “but wait, there’s more.” Yet another benefit of jump rope is the positive impact it can have on bone health.

“If you’re trying to improve your bone mineral density, it’s one of the best ways of doing that because it’s constant impact,” Heumann said. “Anything where you have a slight phase where both feet come off the ground, you’re going to have a higher impact on your bones, so you’re going to have more bone loading.”

The great news is that if you are interested in jumping rope as part of your workout at Colorado Mesa University, it doesn’t even need to cost you anything. Hamilton Recreation Center has the jump rope class you can take with Heumann. If you want to jump on your own, jump ropes can also be checked out from the desks by exercise areas.

Of course, jump ropes are fairly inexpensive, so it’s not a bad idea to purchase your own. Then you can have a handy piece of exercise equipment that can go anywhere with you.

Regardless of how you jump or where you jump, your exercise routine is missing something if you’re not jumping. You just may find some of the old childlike enthusiasm while you burn calories and build bone density.