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HIIT Jump Rope Workout For Quick Cardio Training

Jumping rope is a great effective cardio exercise for building endurance, improving coordination, and burning calories. The following quick HIIT workout for beginners can be done alone or added to a training circuit to get your heart pumping and endorphins flowing in just 12 minutes.

When it comes to jumping rope, a most commonly asked question for beginners is how long is long enough to get the best benefit? Jump rope is a high intensity workout that can potentially burn around 10 to 16 calories per minute. Therefore, a 10 minute workout could burn as many as 100 to 160 calories, which is quite impressive for a quick workout.

On the same line of thinking, if you have the endurance, jumping rope for 30 minutes a day could burn as many as 300 calories and increase your muscle tolerance and stamina. It is also a great toning exercise for existing muscles.

This HIIT-style workout will start with a quick, 3-minute warm-up, followed by two (2) 6-minute rounds of jump rope exercises and bodyweight training, ending with a cool down.

Warm-Up (3 minutes)

Jumping Jacks (30 seconds)

Jog in Place (30 seconds)

Lunges in Place (30 seconds)


  • From a standing position, take a big step forward with one leg
  • Bend your front knee forward (ensuring it doesn’t go past your toes)
  • Lift up on the ball of your back foot and drop down as far as you can go
  • Return to a standing position and repeat with your other leg

Forward Arm Circles/Backward Arm Circles (15 seconds each)


  • From a standing position, fully extend your arms out to your sides
  • Rotate your arms in small circles forward while keeping your arms straight the entire time
  • After 15 seconds, repeat, this time with backward circles

Torso Twists (30 seconds)


  • Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart
  • Rotate your upper body as far to the right as it will go
  • Slowly rotate back through center and to the left
  • Repeat for 30 seconds

Knee Circles (30 seconds)


  • From a standing position, keep your feet together and bend down slightly so that your hands are resting on your knees
  • Slowly rotate your knees in a circular motion, keeping your hands in contact with your knees the entire time
  • Halfway through, rotate your knees in the opposite direction

After completing these warm-up exercises, rest for 1 minute and get ready to launch into the main jump rope workout!

Jump Rope Workout (12 minutes)

Standard Jump Rope (1 minute)


  • From a standing position, hold the jump rope handles with each hand loosely down by your sides with the rope behind you
  • Swing the rope up and over your head, jumping right before the rope reaches your feet
  • Repeat

Burpees (30 seconds)


  • Start in a standing position
  • Drop down and do a push up
  • Jump back up to stand
  • Jump up in the air
  • Repeat

Rest (30 seconds)

Switch Feet Jump Rope (1 minute)


  • Start in the same position as a standard jump rope exercise
  • After swinging the rope over your head, jump up and over the rope with one leg
  • As the rope comes through on the next swing, jump up with your opposite leg
  • Repeat, alternating legs for 1 minute

Crunches (30 seconds)


  • Lay flat on your back with feet planted on the floor
  • Gently place your hands behind your ears
  • Lift your upper body off the ground with your core, placing an emphasis on lifting your head towards the ceiling in a straight line
  • Lower back down and repeat

Rest (30 seconds)

Side Step Jump Rope (1 minute)


  • Rather than staying in place when you do a standard jump rope jump, jump to the right, and then the left
  • Repeat back and forth for 1 minute
  • Rest (1 minute)
  • Repeat

Even the best jump rope workout needs an effective cool down, so here are a few movements that will help you gently wrap up your workout.

Cool Down Movements

Butterfly Stretch (30 seconds)


  • Sitting on the floor, bring the bottoms of your feet together so that your knees stick out to the sides and your legs form a diamond shape
  • Gently bend down forward, bringing your head towards your feet
  • Try to keep your back flat
  • Hold for 30 seconds and continue to breathe

One Leg In, One Leg Out (30 seconds)


  • Sitting on the floor, extend one of your legs out in front of you
  • Place the bottom of your opposite foot against the inner thigh of the extended leg
  • Bend down and reach towards the toes of your extended leg
  • Hold for 15 seconds and switch legs

Quad Pull (30 seconds)


  • Start in a standing position with your legs shoulder-width apart
  • Bend at your knee and grab your right shin behind you with your right hand
  • Draw your heel towards your glutes and hold for 15 seconds
  • Switch legs and repeat

Congratulations! You just wrapped up this beginner jump rope workout. Remember jump rope is an effective exercise to add onto any workout.

There’s no set amount of time you need to jump rope per day, but if you're a beginner, aiming for 10 minutes a day is a good benchmark. This will allow you to get your heart pumping and some of the benefits of cardio training.

Feel free to substitute any movements above with ones you are comfortable with, or throw on some gloves and do rounds of shadowboxing in between. Additionally, use a weighted jump rope for an added challenge.

For more effective jump rope workouts, visit the FightCamp blog or YouTube channel to see new workouts to add to your regimen.

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The Author: Trevor Mahoney is an avid fighter who has been training for the last 15 years of his life. He has experience in boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, and kenpo karate, which has developed into a passion for overall fitness. He is a regular contributor to Quizlet, BetterHumans, and various other online publications.

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