What Muscles Do You Work When Skipping Rope? Which Body Parts Get the Most Benefit?

Jumping rope for fitness and strength building

What muscles are we training when jumping rope?

Depending on the sport you practice, certain areas of the body will be solicited more than others, but what about when you jump rope? Will skipping rope help you tone and refine your figure? Below you’ll find a list of the muscles and muscle groups strengthened and sculpted with jumping rope!

Jumping rope strengthens the upper limbs (shoulders, arms and forearms)

• Shoulder muscles: These are the muscles that connect the arm to the rest of the body. They include the rotator cuff muscles (subscapularis, infraspinatus, petit rond, supraspinatus), trapezius, deltoid, grand dental and angular. These muscles enable arm and shoulder mobility (rotation, elevation).
• Biceps: These muscles, located on the front of the arm, are surrounded by two joints (scapulohumeral, elbow). The biceps comprise two muscles (long biceps and short biceps) that help flex and rotate the arms.

Jumping rope strengthens trunk and pelvis muscles (chest, stomach and back)

• Abdominals: These are made up of several layers of muscle (rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse), whose function is to flex and rotate the trunk.
• Back muscles: The back groups together muscles such as the trapezius, dorsalis major, rhomboid, infraspinatus and round. These muscles play a wide variety of roles. From the dorsal to the lumbar, they ensure arm and shoulder mobility, postural support and protection of the spine.

Jumping rope sculpts the lower limbs (glutes, thighs and calves)

• Quadriceps: Located at the front of the thigh, the quadriceps is made up of 4 muscles (vastus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius). These muscles facilitate flexion of the thigh over the hip, as well as extension of the leg over the thigh.
• Hamstring muscles: Located on the back of the thigh, there are four hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semitendinosus). They ensure leg flexion and thigh extension.
• Calf muscles: also known as the sural triceps, the calf muscles comprise 3 muscle fascicles, including the soleus and gastrocnemius. These muscles help extend the foot down the leg

IN SUMMARY:

Jumping rope strengthens virtually every muscle in the body. Of course, the lower body is the main focus, with intense training of the calves, thighs and glutes. The more or less sustained jumps require you to keep your stomach tucked in and your back straight, which naturally helps to work the abdominal and lumbar muscles. Arm movements jumping rope also strengthen the biceps and shoulders, but to a lesser extent.