Expert: Ken Alan - 4/18/2008

Question
Hello Ken

I am a male age 45. On weekends Sat and Sun I go jogging for around 45 mins each. On weekdays, due to time constraints I do skipping (jump rope) 2x a week for around 25-30 mins to ger the cardio benefit in addition to the jogging.

I would like to know, esp with respect to my case here:
is skipping bad for the knees?
what about jogging, again with ref to my case here?

Thank you.

Sincerely

Eddie

Answer
Jogging and jump rope are not bad for the knees.  However, you can develop knee problems if you aren't careful in what you do.

You jog on successive days, though it's better to have a day in between impact activity like running.  Try to do your jumprope on non-consecutive days.

Warm-up a bit before you start, and stretch after each workout for a few minutes.

Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes for jogging, and basketball, tennis, or cross-trainers for jumping. It's also a good idea to do some strengthening exercises to help ensure you can keep jogging and jumping for a long time to come.

Hope this helps.