Skipping in Full Swing

Skipping – or the act of bounding forward with arms and legs swinging at full amplitude – isn’t just for kids. 

Reintroducing playful movement like skipping is one simple way to recover the agility and coordination once present in everyday moves. Its simple and intuitive mechanics can be mastered by nearly anyone able to walk – while allowing for progression into more complex drills as skills evolve. 

Walk - Skip - Run As walking speed increases, gait patterns adapt and transition into a light jog or run. Most adults will stop at these options, rarely considering faster runs, sprints or skips. 

Yet, skipping can be a valuable transition exercise for novice runners, offering a simple, liberating practice not constrained by distance or pace goals. 

Starting slowly, skips can seamlessly enhance biomechanics, coordination, and athleticism – outperforming walking or jogging as a full-body experience.

Here’s why skipping isn’t just child’s play, it’s a serious business :

• Multi-Dimensional Movement - Engages multiple planes (up-down-lateral), phases (concentric-eccentric), and joints.
• Proprioception - Trains full-body awareness and stimulates full body & eye coordination. 
• Metabolic Boost - A Zone I-II activity that burns calories.
• Tendon resistance - Cycling though stretching-shortening strengthens tendons and reinforces tendons’ elasticity.
• Bone density - Repeated low-force impact stimulates bone-building cells (osteoblasts), especially beneficial for women.
• Explosiveness & Power - Enhances sprinting and other power-based activities.
• Foot and ankle fitness
• Neural connections - Motor learning stimulates neuroplasticity
• Skills transfer - Agility and self-control gains benefit many athletic disciplines and daily life.
• Reversing inward slump and tech posture from prolonged sitting.

Plus, playfulness drives engagement – making consistency effortless and rewarding.

Skipping For All Ages

While skipping in itself may seem irrelevant in aging, the above-mentioned ramifications in movement and neuromuscular health make it a valuable indicator of health aging – much like VO2max, grip strength, or dead-hanging. 

In this context, skipping is leaps above other proxies of functional longevity.

Frailty and falls remain leading causes of mortality – often triggering a downward spiral of immobility, bed rest and infections. Preserving the ability to move dynamically isn’t just about fitness; it’s essential to maintaining long-term independence and well-being.  

The ability to skip (and sprint) is a telling measure of one’s true functional age, revealing instabilities and biomechanical limitations; exposing critical factors like tissue & joint capacity, balance and proprioception. 

And beyond all, skipping adds vitality and fun in movement.

Educative Drills to Refine Movement

Skipping does not require special equipment or rigid structure, and therefore can easily be integrated into daily routines. 

Here’s how to make it a habit :

• Warm up with skips - Often overlooked, warmups remain foundational for effective movement. A few rounds of skipping before workouts activate muscles, improve coordination, and enhance mobility.
• Blend into recovery days - Use skips as minimally taxing yet stimulating recovery drills.  
• Turn it into a workout - Add intention and intensity. Aim for 10–15 reps of 50m skips, focusing on power, height, or ground contact.
• Play with variations - High-knee skips, lateral skips, or bounding uphill add challenge and complexity.

Form Tip: Standing tall, focus on driving your arms and legs with full amplitude, stomping the ground, keeping it bouncy and rhythmic.

Complementary dynamic drills :

• Jump Rope - A rhythmic, low-impact alternative to improve timing, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness.
• Plyometric Drills - Single-leg bounces, box jumps, or drop jumps also develop power and explosiveness.
• Torso Twists - Lying exercises like eagle or scorpion twists enhance spinal and torso mobility.
• Side-to-side movements & leg swings increase hip flexibility and balance.

Skip Into the Future: How Tech will Improve Movement

The current tech-infused era leaves no aspect of movement health behind. Here are innovations designed to enhance movement – while keeping the fun in the equation.

Tracking Every Leap Alongside motion capture systems, portable solutions like running pods, load sensors, and smart soles offer new ways to refine movement. 

Companies like Plantiga, Lubu, and Avelo have developed smart soles and shoes to track load distribution, foot strike patterns, and balance. Others like Stryd, Garmin Pod, Runeasi, and Ontracx have developed wearable pods and sensors using multi-axis accelerometers to track imbalances and lower-body load metrics.

Looking ahead, you can envision even more convenient innovations, like in-ear bone resonance sensors embedded in everyday earbuds to monitor instabilities – revolutionizing how we optimize movement dynamics in real-time. 

Playfulness and technologies do not have to be at odds. Together, they can foster engagement, movement health and long-term vitality.

Skip self-doubt and bound forward !