At the start of lockdown, I downloaded both The Nike Run Club app and adidas Training by Runtastic because I was about to become a trainer to tarmac enthusiast. An avid gym go-er prior to Covid-19, (who heavily used the cross trainer and not the treadmill - it’s better for your knees I swear) cardio went out the window for me when lockdown hit. Still continuing resistance training as much as humanly possible (with the assistance of bands and loops) I realised it was becoming harder and harder for me to maintain any kind of workout structure without the gym.
One of my biggest (and possibly only*) faults is the number of times I ask people's opinions on things when I know what I want to do. I’ll just canvass anyone who will listen and running became one of the things I would nag people about. “Will I be alright running outside?” “Where do I go?” “Do you think people will look at me?” "Will people laugh at me?" “Where do I put my phone?” “What if someone records me running, uploads it to YouTube and then I become a meme????”
About a month ago I bought a skipping rope on Amazon (you’re welcome) and made peace with the fact that I was never going to run. It just wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t handle the potential unknown upward incline and I didn’t have the right trainers anyway. Starting out jumping in our living room I steadily began to realise that a) it was stupid b) annoying for the people in the flat below and c) not like skipping when you’re a kid, at all. One day I decided to skip on our wooden floors without wearing any trainers (100% lazy 100% stupid) and I hurt my knee so badly that I couldn’t do anything for a week. I had frozen peas on it and I even consulted my entire family about the best physiotherapy approach to ease the pain (some more canvassing). I kept it elevated, iced and soothed on ibuprofen.
Anyway, after I recovered from the self-inflicted knee injury I planned to visit the local (now wrapped in hazard tape and no entry signs) outdoor gym to skip without abandon. With a few edges of exposed soft tarmac left to work with, I discovered I was able to jump rope much better than I could indoors (who would’ve thought?). I'd dodged the pressure of feeling like I had to be one of those morning people that shares their Nike tracked 6am run on Instagram (we get it) while successfully introducing cardio back into my own workout routine.
In summary, it’s not too bad out there.
How to begin your skipping journey:
1. There are loads of videos on YouTube covering everything from skipping challenges to giving really good advice on how to get started.
2. The surface you skip on makes a big difference. I don’t recommend wooden floors (ha), grass or concrete. Luckily the tarmac at our local outdoor gym is really springy which I think is better for my knees.
3. I stretch and do a light workout before walking to the park to skip. This warms my body up instead of just going straight into jumping rope.
4. I count 100 skips before taking a short 15/30 second break and starting up again. This helps focus the session and gives me something to work towards. Sometimes counting in blocks of 25 helps too. I try getting to 500 first. (I did 1,300 today and I think my calves are going to fall out the backs of my legs)
5. As you’ll be staring ahead at one spot probably for the entire duration of your workout, I think it’s helps to find something to focus on. I could see the top of an ice cream truck today and I stared at it for 30 minutes.
6. Anddddddd a slice of advice (that rhymes) which I never thought I'd be parting with is: if you ever find yourself in a situation where someone is trying to chat you up while you're skipping during a global pandemic (like me) stay true to yourself, you don't owe anyone anything.
Good luck out there, remember to maintain a two-metre distance from other skippers, athletes and people.
Buh-bye,
Lauren x
*I’m obviously joking, I am deeply flawed.
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