How Much Time Should I Wait After I Eat Dinner to Jump Rope?

How long you should wait after eating to exercise is largely dependent on the size and type of your meal. If you just ate dinner, and it is the largest meal of your day, then you should wait longer than if you just ate a small snack. Jump-roping is an especially high-intensity exercise that increases your heart rate and jostles your insides around. It would be best to wait over an hour before jumping rope after dinner.

Exercising after eating can negatively affect your digestive system. The digestive process directs blood flow to your stomach to break down the food you just consumed. Exercising before the digestive system has a chance to begin working will hinder the process because exercise directs blood flow to the muscles that are working instead.

Going for a walk after dinner is not nearly as bad as grabbing your jump rope. It may even improve your digestion. Low intensity activities, such as walking, are fine after eating. Higher intensity activities such as swimming and rock climbing are not the best idea and may even prove dangerous. In addition to these, running, jumping rope, and cycling may cause cramping and pain in the abdominal area.

If you just ate a large meal, wait one to four hours before exercising, according to a June 1999 article on CNN.com. Doing so allows the digestive system to complete its process, yet still keeps you full enough so you are not fighting off feelings of hunger. If you only ate a small snack, such as an apple or an energy bar, waiting a half hour to an hour should suffice.

While you may think that exercising on an empty stomach is a better idea, doing this can leave you sluggish, drained of energy, and left without fuel for your workout. While you don't want to shovel in a full meal, having a snack an hour before your workout will give you enough carbohydrates to fuel your body without bogging down your digestive system with loads of work.