Well we started running back in November 2008 and there were times when it was just too cold and icy to run outside ,so I went to the local sports shop and
bought a 'speed rope' ,hoping I could still exercise when it had snowed. It was £10 which seemed pricey but was much cheaper and more convenient than a treadmill.
It was slow progress and even when I had mastered the three minutes simple jumping without stopping, I would still find myself tripping on the loops in the rope as it mangled during the routine.
My rope was supposedly able to rotate within ball bearings in the handle but often didnt seem to do so. It was frustrating ,especially as my skipping improved and I wanted to continuously skip rather than using the tangle as a breathing space.
Why spend £10 on another skipping rope?
I searched for comments in forums regarding the tangling of ropes and how to avoid it and time and again on UK forums, the name Taurus would pop up, so I searched
on Amazon UK and there it was.
Taurus Speed rope. I noticed it was also labelled as Henry Coopers training rope and Taurus ladies speed rope. Each one only differing by colour and so I chose the Henry cooper rope because that one was Blue,whilst the mens was red and the ladies pink. I cant imagine why the ladies ropes are almost always pink as I generally avoid that colour if there is a choice.
I found a short video clip of Henry Cooper using his rope online.
All were £10 not including delivery on Amazon. It seemed worth it if the tangle free reputation was true.
My rope arrived at my house in a few short days. I was suprised to see that it was labelled Mens speed rope even though it is Blue. This didnt worry me as it is the right colour and the ropes are the same in every other way but I felt that if I had been buying for a friend who boxed, I would have liked it to actually say 'Henry Coopers training rope' on the cardboard pack.
The Instructions are very simple to follow.
Resizing the rope is done by holding the handles in each hand while standing with both feet on the rope. The length is right when you have your forearms parallel to the floor with the rope taut. It is quite easy to cut the rope to length with scissors but I did mine in 1 inch increments for fear of cutting too much.
Each rope is 9 feet long and being 5 feet 4,I needed to cut about 14 inches off mine before it was short enough(I could possibly shorten ir further but it works well as it is) . It was very simple to screw in the connector for the end of the rope after each adjustment and took only moments to complete. There is a little end cap to fit on the end of the rope before screwing in the fitting, I think it might be to keep the screw thread central.
The connector is a screw eye type fitting, it revolves around a post on the handle and so only the rope actually turns, the ends of the handles are merely rotated in the air but because the rope is at right angles to the handle, it is a very comfortable action.
Skipping in progress..
The Taurus rope makes a very smooth arc as it goes over your head. It is wide enough for the trick jumps that make skipping less monotonous. I have practiced with it a fair bit and can do the cross armed jump which involves your arms crossing after an ordinary jump and the arc of the rope still clearing your head and body. With the old rope, it was possible a few times but the taurus rope having a larger arc, makes it easier.
There are many tricks you can do to liven up the routine and the ropes tangle free property makes them much more achievable.
Is it speedy?
The speed of the rope depends very much on how fast your turn the handles, how quickly you can jump and the weight of the rope itself. This rope is about the same weight as my previous speed rope. It makes a lovely swooshing sound like a ring masters whip as it swishes around. I can manage about 180 jumps a minute with it for short bursts of time but I think someone speedier could manage more. Generally I am jumping at around 120 jumps a minute though.
As with other speed ropes, this is a PVC type rope,I cannot say what the exact material is but it is a plastic material ,softish but whippy and jolly well hurts if you wack yourself around the leg by mistake.
The handles are wooden ,about 6 inches long and unvarnished which means your sweaty plams dont slip about as you exercise.
I hang my rope up between uses to keep it from getting kinked so I cant say how it would perform if you were to knot it or tie it. If I had to pack it for travel ,I would put it back in the packet as it is circular and has indentations for the handles so it is worth keeping the packaging for that purpose.
I think this rope would be suitable for anyone who wants to skip for fitness. It is well made, light and can be fast. The fact that it is so easily resizable makes it suitable for a wide range of people . There are plenty of video clips of rope jumping workouts online if you wish to see what sort of exercise you can accomlish with nothing but a skipping rope.
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