Jump Rope Calorie Calculator

How many calories does jumping rope burn?

A 155 lb person burns about 138 calories in 10 minutes of jumping rope at 100 to 120 skips per minute. Thirty minutes at that pace burns about 415. A slow pace under 100 skips per minute burns about 97 calories in 10 minutes, and a fast pace of 120 to 160 skips burns about 144. Those figures come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which rates moderate rope jumping at 11.8 MET. That puts it among the most demanding activities you can do in a small space, level with running at about 7.5 mph.

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Jump rope calories by pace and body weight

Each value is a 10-minute total with the rope turning the whole time. Multiply by 3 for a 30-minute session.

Most people skip in rounds of 1 to 3 minutes, so add up only the time spent jumping.

Does skipping faster burn more?

Less than the table suggests. In a 1980 lab study, 30 men and women skipped at 125, 135, and 145 skips per minute while researchers measured their oxygen use. Energy use sat between 58.6 and 60.3 kJ per minute at every rate, about 14 kcal per minute, and the difference between rates was not significant. Intensity worked out to 11.7 to 12.5 MET.

A second study found the same pattern. Oxygen use did not rise with skip rate except at the highest rates, and skipping pushed women to about 92% of their maximal oxygen uptake and men to 76% to 88%. Rope jumping is hard work at almost any steady rhythm, so pick the pace you can hold without tripping.

The Compendium splits slow, moderate, and fast pacing because slow skipping usually includes more pauses and a lower bounce. If you skip steadily at 100 skips or more, the moderate and fast rows give close to the same answer.

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How the calculator works

Calories = MET × body weight in kg × hours.

A MET is the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of resting burn, which is about 1 kcal per kg per hour. Net calories subtract that resting burn to show what the session added.

Worked example: a 140 lb person (63.5 kg) does 8 rounds of 2 minutes at a moderate pace. Rope time is 16 minutes. Calories = 11.8 × 63.5 × 0.267 = about 200 kcal, and net calories are about 183 kcal. If the rope counter shows 1,760 jumps, each jump cost about 0.11 kcal.

Those 16 minutes are vigorous activity, so they count as 32 minutes toward the weekly target of 150 minutes of moderate activity.

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How to use this calculator

Choose the pace that matches your steady rhythm. If you count skips over 15 seconds and multiply by 4, you get skips per minute. Double unders have their own row because the rope passes twice per jump. Enter only the time the rope is turning. A 20-minute workout with 1 minute on and 1 minute off contains 10 minutes of skipping. Add a jump count if your rope or app tracks it and the calculator will show calories per jump.

Rope length changes how easy the rhythm feels. A common guide is to stand on the middle of the rope with both feet and bring the handles to the bottom of the chest.

What regular rope jumping does for fitness

In an 8-week trial, 59 young adults either did rope-skipping intervals (9 rounds of 2 minutes at 80% of maximum heart rate, 3 times a week) or 30 minutes of moderate continuous exercise 5 times a week. Maximal oxygen uptake rose from 43.8 to 48.4 ml/kg/min with skipping and from 42.2 to 47.2 with continuous exercise.

Enjoyment was similar, and neither group changed body composition.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 21 studies with 1,021 mostly young participants found jump rope training improved resting heart rate, body mass index, fat mass, aerobic fitness, strength, and jumping compared with controls. The effects were small to moderate.

An 8-week trial in 46 students tested rope skipping with and without calorie restriction. Weight and body fat fell in the groups that cut calories. Skipping alone did not produce a significant drop, which fits the pattern for most exercise: it helps fitness more than it moves the scale.

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Rope jumping and bone

Each landing loads the bones of the feet and legs. In a 4-month study, 37 high school girls were assigned to jump rope for 10 minutes, jump rope for 5 minutes, or not jump at all. At follow-up, heel bone stiffness, a measure linked to bone mineral content, was higher in the 10-minute group than in the controls.

Adults with low bone density, joint pain, or a history of stress fractures should build up slowly and ask a clinician whether impact training suits them.

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Where these numbers can be off

Compendium values describe steady skipping.

Tripping, untangling the rope, and resting all lower the true average, which is why the calculator asks only for rope time. Skilled jumpers with a low, relaxed bounce may burn a little less than beginners at the same rate.

Very short all-out rounds rely partly on anaerobic energy that MET values do not capture well, and you keep burning extra energy for a few minutes afterwards. The calculator reports the energy used while the rope is turning.

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How it works

Calories = MET × body weight (kg) × hours, using 2024 Adult Compendium rope-jumping codes 15550 to 15554 and 02068. Net calories remove 1 kcal per kg per hour of resting burn. If you enter a jump count, the calculator divides the session total by it.

Practical tips

• Count only the time the rope is turning.
• Pick the pace you can hold. Rate changes energy cost less than you think.
• Size the rope so the handles reach the bottom of your chest.
• Jump 1 to 2 inches and land on the balls of your feet.
• Every rope minute counts as 2 minutes toward the weekly activity target.

Frequently asked questions

• How many calories does jumping rope burn in 10 minutes?For a 155 lb (70 kg) person: about 97 kcal at a slow pace, 138 kcal at 100 to 120 skips per minute, and 144 kcal at 120 to 160 skips per minute. At 125 lb the moderate figure is about 112 kcal and at 185 lb about 165 kcal.
• How many calories does 1,000 jumps burn?At 100 to 120 skips per minute, 1,000 jumps take about 9 minutes. A 155 lb person burns about 125 kcal in that time, or roughly 0.12 kcal per jump. Heavier people burn more per jump.
• Does skipping faster burn more calories?Less than you might expect. In a lab study of 30 people skipping at 125, 135, and 145 skips per minute, energy use was about 14 kcal per minute at every rate. Speed changed the rhythm more than the energy cost.
• Is 10 minutes of jump rope equal to 30 minutes of jogging?No. Ten minutes of moderate skipping burns about 138 kcal for a 155 lb person. Thirty minutes of running at about 5 mph burns about 299 kcal. Per minute, jumping rope burns more than running at 5 mph, but not three times as much.
• Is jumping rope good for weight loss?It burns calories fast, but training alone moved body composition little in the one trial that tested it. In an 8-week study of 59 adults, rope-skipping intervals and steady exercise both raised aerobic fitness by 10% to 12%, with no change in body composition.
• Is jumping rope hard on the knees?Good form keeps each landing small: jump 1 to 2 inches, stay on the balls of your feet, and keep a slight bend in the knees. Start with short rounds on a wood floor or mat. People with knee or ankle pain should ask a clinician first.

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References

1. Herrmann SD, et al. J Sport Health Sci 2024. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities
2. Town GP, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1980. The effect of rope skipping rate on energy expenditure of males and females
3. Quirk JE, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1982. Anaerobic and aerobic responses of males and females to rope skipping
4. Phongchin W, et al. Eur J Clin Nutr 2025. Effects of high-intensity interval rope-skipping on cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and enjoyment in young adults
5. Singh U, et al. J Sports Sci 2022. Jump rope training effects on health- and sport-related physical fitness in young participants: a systematic review with meta-analysis
6. Tang Z, et al. Nutrients 2021. Effects of caloric restriction and rope-skipping exercise on cardiometabolic health: a pilot randomized controlled trial in young adults
7. Arnett MG, Lutz RB. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002. Effects of rope-jump training on the os calcis stiffness index of postpubescent girls
8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition