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20 MINUTES TO TONED

"Skipping rope annihilates more than 10 calories a minute while toning every inch of your body," says Michael Olajide Jr., owner of Aerospace gym in New York City, who created this pound-melting plan. Here, he splices jump rope intervals with strength moves to burn more than 200 calories in 20 minutes. That's a routine you won't be able to skip.


What you'll need A jump rope and a watch or clock with a second hand to time intervals

How to do it Alternate two minutes of jumping rope with one set of each of the strength moves in the order shown, starting and finishing with a jump rope set. Try to transition quickly between rope and strength intervals. Do the routine three times a week, every other day, to lose weight by leaps and bounds.

Find the right fit. Step on the center of the rope with both feet: The handles should reach your armpits. If you're shorter than 5 foot 7 inches, try an 8-foot rope; 5 foot 7 to 6 foot, a 9-foot length; taller than 6 foot, a 10-foot length. Hint: As you skip, the rope should just skim the floor.

Fine-tune your form. Always keep your arms bent with elbows at waist level, close to the body. Flick your wrists in small circles rather than swinging your arms in wide circles. Focus eyes forward, not down. Jump 1 inch off the ground, only high enough to let the rope pass under foot, and land on the balls of feet, knees soft.

Skirt this slipup. That extra little hop between jumps, which many people take, is an unneeded impact on knee and ankle joints and ruins rhythm. To avoid it, spin the rope faster (at least 80 turns per minute) so you have only time to take one jump per turn.

Cushion the blow. Jumping rope is half the impact of jogging. Still, wear cross-trainers with extra ankle support and padding at the ball of the foot for shock absorption. The best jumping surfaces: non-shag carpets, packed dirt, grass, thin mats and sprung floors such as those found on basketball courts.