Feb 9, 2018

20-Minute Rope Skipping w/ Pranayama and Meditation

Duration: 60 minutes
Location: Lyn's Backpackers Inn, Loboc (municipality), Bohol (province), Philippines
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Join In!!!
Here's a joiner workout program in real time to get into a 20-min rope skipping routine with interval warm-up, pranayama and meditation!

Cardio Wonder
Rope skipping is one of the best cardio workout on the planet! It gives you stamina, strengthens the heart, improves hand-feet coordination, gives a feeling of lightness and sheds fat like crazy.

I Warm Up Stretches
Make sure you warm-up first. A proper warm-up determines if you'll have a good workout. Do a head to foot stretching - neck tilt, forward bends, side bends, back bends, twists, quad stretch, knee rolls, etc.

II Intense Interval Warm-up, 1 Round only
This is a complete cardio workout by Chris Heria designed to be done for 5 rounds. I do only 1 round as a warm-up for rope skipping. Trust me, having this as a 2nd warm-up greatly enhances the quality of the workout.

III Rope Skipping
Best to use a playlist of bouncy dance tunes. I use songs from the 80s. When you get into the groove, you're not rope skipping anymore - you're just lost in the dance! Don't make high jumps - just hover above the rope and make the process smooth and zero-impact.

Why 20 minutes? I was told once by an athlete that to get the most heart benefit from a cardio workout, the heart rate has to be sustained at the aerobic threshold for a minimum of 20 minutes. That sort of stuck in my head and started aiming for 20 minutes.

But to those who are just getting started, 20 minutes will be too much. As my friend Jim pointed out, a build-up sequence would be more encouraging. I would suggest an initial 2-minute rope skipping followed by 1 minute rest - that's 1 round. See how many rounds you can do in 20 minutes. When you build-up stamina, try a 3-minute rope skipping/1 min rest round. Build it up...to 4-minute skip/1 min rest...until you reach 20-minutes non-stop skipping.

IV Pranayama
Pranayama is the yogic breath exercise. This is where you get the edge - because no one does this. Pranayama makes you strong and resilient.

V Meditation
This is the perfect finish to any workout. This is not just in the realm of yoga but a stand-alone discipline in itself. Meditation de-clutters the mind and presents reality as it is...not how it was manipulated to be.

Ending Thoughts
This exercise routine is complete...more than complete! With a 2-stage warm-up and post-rope pranayama and meditation, you went beyond physical workout. You worked-out your body, mind, spirit and come away with stillness of the mind plus overall well-being.

--- TheLoneRider
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Reader Comments:

Jim

Thai Plum Village
(Feb 13, 2018) Very very very nice. Few people though, including me, can manage 20 minutes basically full on. Not wanting people to get discouraged suggest start with just two minute and build endurance with two additional minutes. i guess alot of folks will be happy to reach 6 or 8 minutes. But you ? Inspiration Brother.

TheLoneRider
(Feb 13, 2018) Great point, Jim. I have made the addition in the story. And thank you for the kind and encouraging words.

Next stop: Cliff Dive at Molave Cove

Loboc Map

Loboc, Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

Cruz Daku - 80-foot white cross erected in 1986 on top of Loboc's highest mountain
Virgen de Guadalupe - giant statue of the Black Madonna perched on a Loboc summit
River Cruise - river cruise on a floating restaurant serving lunch with cultural presentation
Busay Falls - accessible only through the river cruise
Loktob Spring - cold water spring, free admission, huts for rent
Zipline and Cable Car Ride - at the Eco-Tourism Adventure Park

hotel

Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
Lyn's Backpackers Inn - family-run guesthouse in the heart of Loboc

Bohol Travel Info/Tips

Bohol FYI / Tips

the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located within the Alona Beach area
the tourist attractions in Bohol are far apart and spread-out. It would be difficult to visit them all using public mass transit. Better hire a van (P3500/day) if in a big group, or rent a motorcycle (P400/day + gas)
Bohol relies on its tourism for revenue. As expected, everything they can capitalize on from tourism is extensively used and developed

Tagbilaran Port to Panglao

You can charter any tricycle from the port all the way to Panglao (~P300), but if you want to do it on the cheap,

don't take the tricycles lined-up inside the port. Walk past the port gate and immediately outside, you'll see many tricycles. Take one to the bus terminal in Dao (~P15)
in Dao, take the jeep that plies the Panglao route (~P20)

Tagbilaran (Bohol) to Cebu City by boat

** schedules and rates keep changing, call for latest schedule

Weesam Express - departs 6:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM
one way: Economy (aircon) P500.00, Economy (non-aircon) P400.00, First Class P600.00
round trip promo (at least 2 days advance booking): Economy (aircon) P600, Economy(non-aircon) P500, First Class P1200
round trip promo (1 day or on the day booking): Economy (aircon) P800, Economy (non-aircon) P700, First Class P1200
Ocean Jet - departs 6-7:05-8:20-9:20-11:40AM, 1-2-3:30-4:20-5:30-6:30PM, 2 hours, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
Open Air / Tourist Class P800, Business Class P1000
+63(32)255 7560 / +63 (32) 255 0115 / 0917 638 0000
SuperCat (2GO) - departs 5:50-11AM, 3:45-5:25-8:15PM, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
P 500.00
+63 32 233 7000

Things to do, Places to go in Bohol

Chocolate Hills - this is a clustering of more than 1200 hills within a 50km² area. They range in height from 30-50 meters. What's unusual is their near-perfect conical shape resembling an individual chocolate chip. No one knows how they were formed. Entrance is P50/pax.
Tarsier Conservation Area - located Upper Bonbon, Loboc. The tarsiers are no longer being played at by tourists as circus props, but instead, visitors now view them in cordoned-off areas in their natural 6ha habitat. As they are territorial and nocturnal, they are predictable on where they can be viewed. P50/pax.
Alona Beach (Panglao) - Alona Beach is the tourist hub of Bohol. It has 1.5 kms of white sand beach lined-up by bars, hotels and restos. Alona is also the jump-off point for Balicasag Island, a world class dive destination.
Danao Adventure Park - located in Barangay Magtangtang, 72 kms (2 hours ride) from Tagbilaran. Adventure activities include river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock climbing and ziplining.