# Short vs. Long Bouts of All-Out Rope Skipping: Effects on Metabolic and Perceptual Responses
###### Abstract  
Rope skipping has been well documented for eliciting positive effects on various health outcomes and contributing to overall physical activity levels. However, the specific health benefits may depend on the duration and intensity of the exercise bouts. This study aimed to compare the (1) metabolic and (2) perceptual responses between short (30 s) and long (3 min) bouts of all-out rope skipping, and to (3) evaluate the reliability and validity of a newly invented electronic rope (E-rope). A total of 23 young adults (13 males and 10 females; aged 23.23 \(\pm\) 2.62 y) repeated short and long skipping bouts on two testing days. The oxygen consumption (VO2), peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and post-exercise muscle soreness were assessed during each trial. Longer skipping bouts (148.33 skips-min\({}^{-1}\)) resulted in significantly greater metabolic responses (\(p<0.01\), \(d\) = 1.00-327), higher rates of perceived exertion (\(p<0.01\), \(d\) = 2.28), and more post-exercise muscle soreness (\(p<0.01\), \(d\) = 0.66-1.49) compared to shorter bouts (165.83 skips-min\({}^{-1}\)). The re-rope demonstrated sufficient concurrent validity (\(r>0.9\)) and between-day reliability (ICC3,1 = 0.89-0.95) but slightly overestimated the number of skips. Both long and short all-out skipping bouts were considered moderate-to-vigorous exercise, but longer bouts resulted in higher metabolic and perceptual demands. These findings may be useful for practitioners to strategically apply different skipping bouts to improve physical activity levels and facilitate training adaptation. The E-rope could serve as a self-monitoring and self-evaluating tool. oxygen consumption; physical fitness; metabolism; training; sport physiology +
Footnote †: journal:  
Rope skipping has been widely adopted in promoting physical fitness and physical activity levels among different populations of all ages and nations [10; 11; 12]. The metabolic equivalent of task (MET) is used as a reference threshold of absolute intensity (i.e., light: <3.00 METs; moderate: 3.00-5.99 METs; vigorous: \(\geq\)6.00 METs) [13; 14], and the mean METs of prolonged rope skipping range from 8.00 METs in adults [15] to 10.10 METs in adolescents [16]. Recent rope-skipping competitions, such as 30 s single rope speed sprints and three-minute single rope speed endurance, are popular worldwide. However, the specific demands of each variation of rope-skipping bouts need to be understood to achieve the desired training adaptation. Increasing the skipping rate of standardized five-minute rope skipping from 125 to 145 skips\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\) could result in oxygen consumption (VO\({}_{2}\)) with a small effect size (ES) ([PERSON]'s \(d=0.27\)) [17]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [18] recruited 10 participants and demonstrated that 66% of their maximal oxygen consumption (VO\({}_{\text{2 max}}\)) was attained in the last minute of a 6.5 min rope-skipping bout at a speed of about 80 skips\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\). Jumping at a higher rate of 138 skips\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\), varying jumping techniques from alternate foot to crossover, could increase the VO\({}_{2}\) from 30.8 mL\(\cdot\)kg\({}^{-1}\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\) (41.9% of VO\({}_{\text{2 max}}\)) to 40.4 mL\(\cdot\)kg\({}^{-1}\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\) (56.4% of VO\({}_{\text{2 max}}\)) [19]. Notably, these investigations of energy expenditure were limited to the submaximal intensity at assigned cadences. Therefore, the first purpose of the present study was to investigate the two typical international rope-skipping speed events (i.e., all-out two-foot skipping for 30 s (Skip-30 s) and three minutes (Skip-3 min)) among apparently healthy young adults. We hypothesized that Skip-3 min would require higher physical demands in terms of the VO\({}_{2}\), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and heart rate (HR) response. Individuals perceive the intensity of exercise differently, and their effort perception may influence their behaviors [20].