What Is a Better Cardio Workout, Jumping Rope or Sprinting?

Jumping Rope Calories

Your weight and the speed at which you jump rope help decide how many calories you can expect to burn during the activity. If you weigh 130 pounds and jump rope for an hour, you can burn about 708 calories if you jump fast, 590 if you jump at a moderate speed and 472 if you jump slowly. The more you weigh, the more calories you'll burn. Jumping rope is a traditional aerobic workout because you use your body's major muscles to increase your heart rate.

Sprinting Calories

As with jumping rope, the calories you'll burn while sprinting depend on the pace you can keep. If you're 130 pounds and sprint at a pace of 10 miles per hour, five minutes of sprinting would equate to 79 calories burned. Because sprinting is such a fast, explosive exercise that typically lasts less than 30 seconds, it's not a traditional aerobic workout.

Jumping Rope Benefits

Jumping rope daily helps you exercise such muscles as your shoulders, abs, arms and calves, and it's easy to fit into your schedule. With just 10 or 15 minutes to spare, you can burn ample calories and tone your muscles by jumping rope. Provided you can take small jumps and bend your knees to cushion yourself as you land, this exercise provides a light impact for your joints.

Sprinting Benefits

A sprinting regimen will not only help you burn calories, but will also build muscles in your core, legs and even your arms. Although prolonged exposure to high-impact sports can cause pain for people with joint problems, the impact of sprinting helps make your bones denser and stronger and helps in the generation of tissue around your bones.

Considerations

Jumping rope and sprinting use different types of energy. It's possible to jump rope at a slow, steady pace for 15, 30 or even 45 minutes without feeling the same type of explosive muscle contractions as you feel during a sprint. Because jumping rope isn't as explosive as sprinting, it will help you burn fat and slowly build muscle and endurance. Sprinting isn't a fat burner, as it puts your body quickly into an anaerobic state during which your shortage of oxygen results in your body pulling energy from the sugar in your muscles.