Does Skipping Help You Lose Weight on Your Thighs?

Saying goodbye to your excess thigh fat requires time and dedication, but it doesn't have to cost much money. A skipping rope, which you can buy for just a few dollars, provides enough workout equipment to play a role in fat loss.

Unfortunately, spot reducing body fat is a myth. While skipping rope won't solely burn your thigh fat, it can help you burn enough fat throughout your body that you begin to notice slimmer thighs.

Losing weight anywhere in your body, including from your thighs, isn't typically a result of exercise alone. To successfully lose weight, you'll have more chance of success if you improve your diet while you increase the amount that you exercise.

Skipping rope can play a role in the latter, but this exercise doesn't exclusively target your thigh fat. No such exercise exists, but consistent dedication to skipping rope as you improve your diet can lead to thigh fat loss.

Healthy weight loss occurs at a slow and steady rate. As such, don't expect to see slimmer thighs after just a handful of skipping workouts. A healthy rate of weight loss is one to two pounds per week. If you manage to lose this much weight, you'll lose it from several fatty areas throughout your body, which means it can be weeks before you're able to discern any difference in the size of your thighs.

Read more: A Fat-Blasting Jump Rope Workout You Can Travel With

Exercise for weight loss requires ample time each week. Expect to spend more than 300 minutes exercising if you work out at a moderate pace or 150 minutes if you prefer a vigorous workout — the recommendations for maintaining your weight — made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Skipping rope is unique in that you can perform it at a variety of levels of intensity. The issue with this workout, however, is that even if you perform it slowly, you're unlikely to be able to skip for 300 minutes per week. To meet this goal, combine regular skipping workouts with other forms of moderate aerobic exercise, such as jogging or bicycling.

Read more: How Much Should I Jump Rope a Day?

Skipping rope is an ideal exercise for a home-based workout routine because it requires minimal equipment and is suitable for small spaces. Although you can skip on a variety of surfaces, you'll experience less joint discomfort if you pick a padded area, such as a foam or rubber mat.

Other keys to minimizing the impact of the exercise are to wear comfortable shoes and jump no more than half an inch off the floor. Ensure that your rope is long enough to allow you to jump in an upright manner, and practice developing a steady rhythm before you attempt to increase your pace.