question about jump rope workouts

I recently started trying a jump rope workout, and it sounds great. It burns calories fast and is less impact-heavy than jogging.

I'm supposed to jump rope for 2 minutes, cutting out the little hop between jumps, but I keep faltering/stepping on the rope/etc! Especially when I get tired! I'm worried that I'm not getting a good workout this way, so I started penalizing myself 10 seconds for every mess up until I was doing it for about 4 minutes and REALLY frustrated.

Does anyone else jump rope during workouts? How do you handle the little mess ups? Will it get better? Am I just really uncoordinated?

tia!
Here's a link to the workout on SELF.com:

Link

Sun. Apr 15, 4:47pm

I jump rope as part of my warm-up for martial arts classes. It's just a coordination glitch - don't punish yourself, you'll catch on soon enough. Also, make sure you've got plenty of space including ceiling clearance, because trying to restrict yourself to one very specific little area makes it even harder. Then, when you've got the basic skipping mastered, you can get all fancy by crossing your arms and stuff to relieve the boredom of basic jumping.

Sunday, April 15, 2007, 5:01 PM

I agree. I jumprope from 20-30 mins. Trick is jump only high enough to clear the rope-that's not high-then concentrate on getting your rythym. When tired, I do sidesteps while making crazy 8s w/the rope and then stepping back in. Stick w/it-it's a great w/o and goes by fast.

Sunday, April 15, 2007, 10:03 PM

I hate to sound rude, but did you make sure you have the right size rope? And did you get the beaded one recommended? They're better if you're beginning. But really, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have the right size- otherwise it will always be awkward.

I'm trying to skip more often- when I trip up I just keep going...

Sunday, April 15, 2007, 10:42 PM

i just recently started jump roping to because i heard it burns major calories....i just add the little jump in between but do it for longer than 2 minutes!!!

Monday, April 16, 2007, 8:38 AM

Have you ever seen or know anything about a jumpsnap? It is a ropeless jump rope but works in the same way?

Thursday, March 06, 2008, 12:54 PM

I have been jump roping and I have seen changes in many areas.

Thursday, March 06, 2008, 1:27 PM

I'm curious to the changes you've seen from jumping rope. Is this someting new you've added to your routine?

Friday, March 07, 2008, 3:54 AM

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