Five 15-Minute Workouts

The Jump-Rope Workout

High-impact activities like this are extremely efficient calorie burners and bone builders. Exercises by Marty Winkler, founder of RopeSport, a company that develops jump-rope classes for gyms, health clubs, and schools. RopeSport has four videos available ($15 each, ropesport.com).
 
 

The Program

Warm-up
One minute of swinging the rope: Hold the handles in one hand and swing the rope in a figure-eight pattern.
 
 Workout
 

• Two minutes of two-footed jumping, then one minute of just swinging the rope.
• Two minutes of two-footed jumping, hopping forward and back; then one minute of swinging.
• Two minutes of running jumping, then one minute of swinging.
• Two minutes of two-footed jumping, then two minutes of swinging.
• Two minutes of two-footed jumping.
   

The Perfect Jump

What it does: Strengthens the calves, thighs, shoulders, back, abs, and arms.
 How to do it: Hold the handles at hip height. Bend your knees slightly and jump over the rope with both feet. Land on the balls of your feet, with a slight bend in your knees, and lower your heels briefly. Next, try the running jump: Lift one foot at a time, tucking the other foot up behind as you jump.