Find Your Inner Rocky Balboa
It seems as if every summer I look at pictures of attractive beach-goers and internet stars and think, “Why don’t I look like that?”
There’s no secret that boxers and combat athletes are some of the most physically fit people you’ll ever see in your life. In order to succeed at their sport, they have to keep fat off their body while conditioning their muscles to move explosively, absorb punches, and keep going to the next round. And when it comes to boxing bodies, almost no one is envied more than Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movie franchise.
What if I told you that you could start building a body like Rocky with nothing more than a jump rope and a few minutes per day? It’s true! An hour of skipping rope can burn 1,000 calories, and it’s definitely a lot more fun than running for an hour on a treadmill. But I’m here to tell you that you don’t even need a full 60 minutes to see the fat melt off your body in no time. In fact, all you need is six minutes. Check out the rope circuit below and impress your friends at the next pool party.
THE WORKOUT:
+ 1st minute: boxer skip
+ 2nd minute: heel taps
+ 3rd minute: boxer skip
+ 4th minute: double under
+ 5th minute: boxer skip
+ 6th minute: sprint / kick-out
+ Rest for 2 minutes
+ Repeat 2-4x
BREAK DOWN:
The first thing you’ll notice is that the boxer skip comprises half the workout. Simply hop like you would normally, but alternate putting more weight on one foot and then the other. Staying light on your feet is essential for any athlete, especially boxers, and that’s exactly what this movement will help you do.
Heel taps continue improving your strength and stabilization with unilateral movement. This is similar to the boxer skip, but you’re going to extend your leg and touch your heel in front of you quickly before shuffling to the next leg.
Consider the first three minutes a warm-up. If you’re not tired already, you will be in the next minute. For the double under, jump as high as you can and swing the rope under you twice each time your feet leave the ground. When you get a good push through the balls of your feet, double unders will shape up your calves more effectively than just about anything else.
A workout isn’t finished until you know that you’ve given it everything you have. During the final minute, your objective is to skip as quickly as you can. For a truly Rocky-inspired movement, skip on each leg twice in a row while kicking out with the inactive leg.
If you do manage to repeat the circuit four times, then congratulations! You’ve burned upwards of 500 calories and accomplished more in 30 minutes than many people do in two hours.
To get your body shredded this summer, you don’t need to spend hours in the gym on the elliptical machine. Get out a jump rope and push yourself as hard as you can. It won’t take long – and who knows, you might just even enjoy doing it.
