The short answer
Jump rope or Brisk walking?
Walk most days, and add rope two or three times a week if your knees, feet and pelvic floor are happy with jumping. Minute for minute, skipping burns 1.7 to 2.5 times a brisk walk. Over a week walking usually comes out ahead, because you can do so much more of it: a 45 minute walk outburns 15 minutes of steady skipping at any body weight. Neither takes fat off the belly first. Your waist follows the balance of the whole week.
Side by side
| Question | Jump rope | Brisk walking |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Skipping a turning rope with small two-footed bounces, one turn of the rope per jump. | Walking at a pace where talking takes some effort, outdoors or on a treadmill. |
| Equipment | A rope, clear floor and head room | Shoes |
| Energy cost (2024 Compendium) | 8.3 METs under 100 skips a minute; 11.8 at 100 to 120 (codes 15552, 15551) | 3.8 METs at 4.5 to 5.5 km/h (2.8 to 3.4 mph); 4.8 at 5.6 to 6.3 km/h (codes 17190, 17200) |
| Per minute at 70 kg (154 lb) | About 10.2 to 14.5 kcal | About 4.7 to 5.9 kcal |
| Per minute at 90 kg (198 lb) | About 13.1 to 18.6 kcal | About 6.0 to 7.6 kcal |
| How long a beginner keeps going | Often under a minute at a time | 30 minutes or more from the first week |
| Impact | A small landing on the balls of both feet every jump | Heel to toe, with one foot always on the ground |
| Space and kit | A rope, a few metres of clear floor and head room for the arc | Nothing, or a treadmill when it is dark or wet |
| Best used for | Short, hard intervals inside 10 to 20 minutes | Daily volume, recovery days and long easy sessions |
Choose the jump rope when
- You have 15 minutes, not 45, and want them to count.
- You travel and want cardio that fits in a bag.
- You already walk most days and want two harder sessions on top.
- Your calves, Achilles and knees are fine with jumping, and you have no leaking when you jump.
Choose the brisk walking when
- You are new to exercise or carrying a lot of extra weight, and want a habit with very little to go wrong.
- Jumping brings on knee, shin, Achilles or pelvic floor symptoms.
- You want to move every day, including the day after hard training.
- You want to talk, listen to something, or walk with someone.
Using both in one week
Walking is the base and the rope tops it up. A fat-loss week could be 30 to 45 minutes of walking on five or six days, plus two rope sessions of 10 to 15 minutes. Put those on days without heavy leg training, straight after a walk so you are already warm, and keep them two days apart so the calves and Achilles get a rest. The walk stays on rope days too. Over a month, the minutes you can repeat are what add up.
A five-week rope ramp, after a 5 minute walk
- Week 1: 10 rounds of 20 seconds skipping, 40 seconds rest. Low bounces, any rhythm.
- Week 2: 10 rounds of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.
- Week 3: 8 rounds of 45 seconds on, 30 seconds off.
- Week 4: 6 rounds of 1 minute on, 30 seconds off.
- Week 5 onward: 3 blocks of 3 minutes with 1 minute of easy walking between. Add a minute per block only when your calves feel fine the next day.
- If your calves or shins are still sore two days later, repeat that week.
The numbers
- 10 min of slow skipping, 70 kg
- About 102 kcal8.3 METs (code 15552) x 3.5 x 70 / 200 = 10.2 kcal a minute, x 10. At 90 kg: 131 kcal.
- The same 10 minutes in steps
- About 2,800 stepsWalking at 100 steps a minute is about 3 METs (CADENCE-Adults). 8.3 / 3 = 2.77, so 10 minutes of rope matches 27.7 minutes, about 2,800 steps, at any body weight.
- 45 min brisk walk against 15 min of skipping
- 216 against 177 MET-minutes4.8 x 45 against 11.8 x 15. At 70 kg that is about 265 against 217 kcal.
- Abdominal exercise and belly fat
- No change in 6 weeksSeven abdominal exercises, 5 days a week, did not reduce abdominal fat or waist size (Vispute 2011).
Mistakes that cost the most
- Jumping high and landing hard. A couple of centimetres (an inch) clears the rope, and every bit above that is extra landing for your shins and knees.
- Skipping for 10 minutes straight on day one. Calves and Achilles need time to get used to the bouncing, so build up over weeks.
- Picking rope because it burns more per minute, then managing five minutes. Five minutes of skipping at 100 to 120 a minute (59 MET-minutes) is less than a 15 minute brisk walk (72).
- Expecting either one to slim the waist first. Fat comes off where your body decides, not where you work.
Questions people ask
Jump rope or walking for belly fat?
Neither targets the belly. In a six-week trial, even seven abdominal exercises done five days a week did not reduce belly fat or waist size. Fat comes off the whole body when you burn more than you eat, so pick the one that adds most to your week. For most beginners that is walking, with a little rope on the side.
Is jump rope or walking better for weight loss?
Per minute, rope: 8.3 to 11.8 METs against 3.8 to 4.8 for walking. Per week, whichever you do more of. A 45 minute brisk walk (216 MET-minutes) beats 15 minutes of steady skipping (177), and most beginners can walk for 45 minutes long before they can skip for 15.
Jump rope or incline walking?
Incline walking closes most of the gap. Walking at 6 to 10% grade is 7.0 METs in the Compendium, against 8.3 for slow skipping, and you can keep it up for 30 minutes or more with no landings. Rope wins when you have no treadmill, no hill and 15 minutes.
How many steps is 10 minutes of jump rope?
About 2,800 steps of moderate walking. Slow skipping is 8.3 METs and walking at 100 steps a minute is about 3, so 10 minutes of rope equals 27.7 minutes of walking, whatever you weigh. It is a rough match, since Compendium values are group averages and nobody measured you.
Sources
- 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activitiesJournal of Sport and Health Science, 2024
- 2024 Adult CompendiumCompendium of Physical Activities (pacompendium.com), 2024
- Corrected METS, AdultsCompendium of Physical Activities (pacompendium.com)
- Walking cadence (steps/min) and intensity in 21-40 year olds: CADENCE-adultsInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2019
- The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fatJournal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011
- Prevalence of urinary incontinence in female CrossFit athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysisInternational Urogynecology Journal, 2023
Figures on this page come from the studies above or from the arithmetic shown. Read how claims are reviewed and updated in How the guides are written.