Intermediate jump rope program

Intermediate is a 4-week jump rope program for people who can already jump a full minute at a steady pace. You train three times a week, 13 sessions in all. It picks up where Beginner ends: a pace of 100 jumps per minute, then volume counted in jumps, footwork up to double unders and a week of tests. It’s part of Pro in Jump Rope Protocol, an iPhone app that counts every jump with your AirPods, Powerbeats or Apple Watch.

Who it’s for

You finished Beginner, or you can already do what its last week asks: eight one-minute rounds at about 95 jumps per minute, with 30 seconds of rest. If 30-second rounds still feel long, start with Beginner, which is free.

Trained jumpers usually sit between 120 and 140 jumps per minute. This program asks for 100, then 105, so the work comes from longer rounds, shorter rests and more jumps.

How the four weeks build

Week 1, Cadence 100. Monday is ten one-minute rounds at 100 jumps per minute, with 30 seconds of rest. Wednesday’s EMOM asks for 40 jumps a minute for 12 minutes. Friday is 12 minutes of density, with breaks when you need them.

Week 2, Volume. Work is counted in jumps. Monday is ten rounds of 100 with 30 seconds of rest. Wednesday’s pyramid climbs from 50 to 200 jumps and back down, 800 in all. Friday’s 12-minute AMRAP has no pace target: its total is your mark.

Week 3, Footwork. The pace rises to 105 and rest gets short: twelve rounds of 45 seconds, 15 seconds apart. The EMOM grows to 50 jumps a minute for 14 minutes. Friday’s skill session cycles Boxer step, High knees, Criss-cross and Double under, three 30-second rounds each.

Week 4, Tests. Monday stretches rounds to 90 seconds at 105, eight of them. Wednesday is a Death by 30 +5: 30 jumps the first minute, 5 more each minute after, until you miss one or reach 20 minutes. The minutes you held are your score. Friday is a Max unbroken test, then the 12-minute AMRAP again.

How to follow it

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are suggestions. The program follows your pace:

• The next session is always the first one you haven’t done.
• Any attempt you save marks a session done, even one you end early.
• Nothing expires.
• Keep a rest day between sessions.

Repeat a week if you cut most of its sessions short or missed most of its EMOM minutes. Week 3 deserves a second pass if double unders are new to you.

The pace targets are guides. The app shows them before the session and during rests, and a session counts as done whether or not you hold them. Pace week 2’s AMRAP so you’re still jumping in minute 12, then try to beat it in week 4.

Your rope changes the numbers

Intermediate adjusts to the rope you set in the app:

• Speed rope: about a 12% faster pace.
• PVC or beaded rope: the plan as written.
• Heavy rope, half a pound to a pound (227 to 454 g): about 10% fewer jumps, a 10% slower pace and 8 more seconds of every rest.
• Very heavy rope, a pound (454 g) and up: about 20% fewer jumps, a 20% slower pace and 12 more seconds of every rest.

Week 1’s Monday asks for 100 jumps per minute with 30 seconds of rest: 112 per minute on a speed rope, 80 with 42 seconds of rest on a 1 lb rope. Week 2’s 100-jump rounds drop to 90 on a heavy rope and 80 on a very heavy one. From a pound up, the app advises against double unders, and week 3’s double-under rounds become plain bounces. Same training effect, honest targets.

In the app

Intermediate is part of Pro, one purchase with no subscription. Without Pro, you can still open it in the Plan tab under Programs and read every session. Follow this program then opens the Pro page, and the program is followed once Pro is yours.

You follow one program at a time, and Today shows its next session. The app runs the countdown, the clock and the voice cues while the phone stays on the floor. Pro also keeps your full history, with records and charts.

After week four

Once the last session is done, Plan and Today show Program complete. Start by comparing your two 12-minute AMRAPs: same clock, two weeks apart, and a fair test if you kept the same rope.

Then pick what’s next:

• Run it again with Start over. Your sessions are kept, and your latest AMRAP becomes the mark to beat.
• Build your own sessions with the workout creator, part of Pro. Keep a test in your weeks, like a Death by, to see where you stand. Workouts you build run as written, whatever rope you hold.