Remember about a year and half ago I did a partial review of the Crossrope system? Well, I forgot too. I was doing some spring cleaning and came across the article. It’s time to finish what I started.

Just a reminder, Crossrope is a well-designed, well-built jump rope system. The ropes are steel cables in varying weights coated in plastic. The handles have some sort of rubberized finished to aid your grip. The ball bearings are smooth as silk. The connection between rope and handle is secure and easy to use. The set I bought comes with a ¼ pound, ½ pound, 1 pound, and 2 pound rope.

The heavier weight does make for a more demanding workout. Even the ¼ pound rope is more demanding than a jump rope from your local sporting goods store. I don’t know if the increase in effort is arithmetic or geometric (pi x r2 and all that) but it is noticeable. The two smaller weights are good for speed work. The two heavier weights really are a beast. It’s most noticeable in the shoulders and chest. More than that, there is a need for grip strength and the angular momentum is a bit jarring at first. It takes some concentration, at first, to stay in the same spot.

I hardily approve of this product and recommend it to anyone who wants to jump rope as part of their fitness routine. It should not surprise me in the age of YouTube there would be channels dedicated to jumping rope. I like these guys. Sure, they have something to sell but so does every other fitness channel. I think these guys are on the up and up and there is plenty of useful information.

Coincidentally, the Bioneer covered skipping rope this week. He makes the point that beyond burning calories, jumping rope can also improve your sense of rhythm and timing, and increase bone density.

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When I wrote the first part of this review the pandemic panic was a full strength. I was grateful to Alex Berenson for doing actual reporting on what was going on. In my opinion, Berenson reaches some unwarranted conclusions and occasionally makes a logical jump that appears unsupported. Having said that, he had the stones to tell the emperor he had no clothes and cite basis for his claims. The large majority of the time, he was right.

He just posted this. Do read his article. A la zero hedge, don’t read the comments.

I’ll close this article the way I did the first one (albeit with a different musical link). This is how most of us are feeling.