The 1,000 jump rope challenge

The 1,000 jump rope challenge asks for one thing: 1,000 jumps. There’s no time limit and no set rest. Breaks are allowed, so you stop when you need to and pick the rope back up. At 100 to 120 jumps a minute, the jumping itself takes about 8 to 10 minutes, and your breaks come on top. If you can jump for 30 seconds at a time, you can finish it. Fitness only changes how often you stop.

How it works

• One target: 1,000 jumps, from the first to the last.
• No clock. You choose the pace, when to break and for how long.
• At 100 jumps a minute, 1,000 jumps take 10:00 of jumping. At 120, about 8:20.
• You’re done when the count reaches 1,000, however long that takes.

Two numbers tell you how it went: your total time and the number of times you stopped. Both should drop as you get fitter.

How to do it

1. Warm up first: two or three minutes of easy bouncing, or the warm-up.
2. Pick a pace you can hold. Beginners usually sit near 90 to 100 jumps a minute, trained jumpers near 120 to 140. Start at the low end of yours. The first 200 should feel easy.
3. Split the 1,000 before you start: 10 sets of 100, 5 of 200 or 4 of 250. Decide your breaks before your calves decide for you.
4. Stay light on the balls of your feet. Jump just high enough for the rope to pass.
5. Turn the rope with your wrists, not your arms. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your hands just in front of your hips.
6. Breathe on a steady rhythm and never hold your breath. If you can’t get a short sentence out, slow down.
7. Keep breaks short: 15 to 30 seconds of walking and shaking out your calves. Start again before you feel fully rested.
8. Count in hundreds. Keeping count to 1,000 is harder than the jumping: count to 100, start over, and keep the hundreds on your fingers.

If there’s anything left after 800, spend it on the last 200.

Make it easier or harder

To make it easier:

• Start with 500 jumps, then go for 1,000 a week or two later.
• Plan more breaks: 20 sets of 50.
• Slow down to 90 or 100 jumps a minute.
• Alternate feet, like jogging in place, when your calves start to burn.
• Use a slower rope. A beaded or thick PVC rope is easier to time than a thin speed cable.

To make it harder:

• Cut the breaks: from 10 sets of 100 to 5 of 200, then 4 of 250, then 2 of 500.
• Go unbroken: all 1,000 without stopping.
• Speed up to 130 or 140 jumps a minute.
• Use a heavy rope. The same 1,000 jumps ask far more of your shoulders and grip.
• Raise the goal to 2,000.

In the app

In Jump Rope Protocol, 1,000 jumps is one of the workout presets on Today. A countdown puts you on the rope, then the app counts every jump with your AirPods, Powerbeats or Apple Watch, so the phone stays on the floor and you don’t have to keep count. It shows your progress toward 1,000 and announces it when you get there. Along the way, it tracks your cadence, your longest unbroken streak and your trips, estimates calories and saves the session to Apple Health. You can change the goal before you start, to 500 or 2,000. The presets are part of Pro, paid once, with no subscription. Free Jump stays free: it counts every jump without a goal, so you can still watch the number climb to 1,000.

This page’s timer runs in your browser. A browser can’t count jumps, so there you keep count yourself and tap Done at 1,000.