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Hi, I'm David Weck, and today I'm going to teach you one of the best dynamic exercises you can do, Jumping Rope on the BOSU Elite. Now, it's not about instability, it's about resistance.
The dome of the BOSU Elite is extremely firm, and it gives us this powerful elastic recoil that both strengthens and coordinates your base of support to move better on the ground. It's also fantastic conditioning, and I'm going to teach you exactly what to do to get started. It's an incredible exercise, so you can incorporate it into your training.
The very first thing you do is establish that you can jump rope on the ground [Balance Training]. It's the very first thing you do. The next thing you do is jump and stick the landing. You want to absorb the landing with a jump and a stick. And you're going to find that the balance demands by simply standing on the BOSU Elite are not that great because the dome is so firm. Instead, you're going to feel that resistance on your feet that's strengthening them and coordinating them.
Next step, is you repeat jumps. What you do is commit all of your weight to that dome's surface. You want to commit the weight so you get a nice bounce out of it. You're going to feel that powerful bounce that's giving you that recoil to give you that strength in the base and you're coordinating the center and control of the base. The shape of the dome creates directional forces that puts this vertical displacement that teaches you better ground mechanics. Land on the 4th and 5th metatarsals, roll powerfully through the big toe, and you get it all just by learning to jump rope on top of the BOSU Ball.
Next step, is one jump. You simply do one jump, step off, let that sink in. You want to establish that successful pattern. Then, put in two jumps. Very very simple. Two jumps, step off. Let it sink in. Repeat that as many times as necessary until you feel comfortable with 5-10 jumps. It may take you a little while, but it doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as you acquire the skill.
Now, you'll do this jumping here, like this, as a warm up. It's a fantastic warm up when you're training. Give it about 90 seconds of jumping rope. You can keep your head level, and just do the hip flexors. You can really feel that powerful core control, it looks like 'this'. I'm going to keep the head level, almost like a skier, very powerful hitting the surface. It's a lot less impact on the joints, and metabolically, keep the head level, big time challenge.
Now you can also incorporate running. So you do one foot patterning on the dome. And like I said, it's not about the instability. You're going to get this consistent push back and recoil from that BOSU dome. So if you just stick with those basic steps, you will be able to do this, and the benefits are incredible.
To start out, just keep your feet in neutral on the top of the dome. And as you get better and better at this movement, start to move your feet back on the dome. We have what's called a Power Zone and a Power Line that when you're behind that line, you create more dorsiflexion in the feet. This helps take the slack out of the system, and give you even more power on the ground.
Now, the best way to incorporate this training, is to go slow at first, master the skills, until you can do the repeats, and it is one of the best warm up activities you can possibly do. The BOSU Elite was specifically built for this form of ballistic training. You're going to find that by incorporating the rope, it's something that you will actually enjoy doing as you master the challenge. Your timing, your rhythm, and your total body control will just continue to improve and improve. It's going to set you up for better movement, better balance, better force transfer, through the ground.
So, that's Jumping Rope on the BOSU Elite. Give it a try and let us know how you feel.
