How Many Calories Does Jump Rope Burn? Weight and Time Chart

For a 155-pound person, jump rope burns an estimated 102 calories in 10 minutes of slow jumping, 145 at a moderate pace, or 151 at a fast pace. These 2024 Adult Compendium estimates describe minutes actually jumping, not a 10-minute session with breaks.

A full hour of uninterrupted moderate jumping comes to about 871 calories for that example person. Most people take breaks, so a clock hour should not be treated as 60 active minutes.

Jump rope calories by body weight and active time

The table uses the Compendium’s moderate two-foot jump rope pace of 100 to 120 skips per minute, rated at 11.8 METs. Values are rounded to the nearest calorie so you can check the arithmetic; that display precision is not a claim that an individual’s burn can be predicted to one calorie.

Body weight	10 active minutes	30 active minutes	60 active minutes
125 lb	117	351	703
155 lb	145	436	871
185 lb	173	520	1,040

The 60-minute column assumes an entire hour of continuous jumping at the listed pace. It is a mathematical comparison, not a realistic starting workout or an individual measurement.

How the calorie estimates were calculated

The 2024 Adult Compendium lists 8.3 METs for slow rope jumping below 100 skips per minute, 11.8 for a moderate 100 to 120 skips, and 12.3 for a fast 120 to 160 skips. A MET is a standardized activity intensity value, so it does not capture every difference in technique, fitness, or effort.

The Compendium’s conversion method is: calories = MET × 3.5 × body weight in kilograms ÷ 200 × active minutes. Convert pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2046.

For example, 155 pounds is about 70.3 kilograms. Ten active minutes at the moderate 11.8-MET pace yields 11.8 × 3.5 × 70.3 ÷ 200 × 10, or about 145 calories.

These are estimated total calories used while jumping, which include energy your body would expend at rest. The Adult Compendium applies to ages 19 to 59; people outside that group should not treat these figures as their personal measurements.

Does jumping faster burn much more?

At 155 pounds, ten continuous minutes at the Compendium’s slow pace work out to about 102 calories; moderate is about 145; fast is about 151. The published moderate and fast MET values are close, so the estimate does not jump dramatically when you move from the listed moderate category to the fast category.

Skip count is only a way to match a Compendium category, not a guarantee that your movement uses exactly that amount of energy. Rope style, jump height, skill, and pauses can change what you actually do during a session.

Why a 30-minute session may mean only 15 minutes of jumping

Imagine a 30-minute block in which a 155-pound person jumps at a moderate pace for 15 minutes total and spends the other 15 minutes resting or resetting the rope. The formula estimates about 218 calories during the 15 active minutes, compared with about 436 for 30 continuous active minutes.

The 218 figure does not include energy used during breaks, so it is not the full session total. To make your estimate more useful, record the minutes when the rope is actually turning and note whether the pace was slow, moderate, or fast.

Simple session log: Clock time: 20 minutes. Active jumping: 8 minutes. Pace: slow. Body weight: 155 lb. Estimated jumping energy: about 82 calories, plus whatever energy was used during the other 12 minutes.

Jump rope versus running: compare the same active time

The Compendium rates running at 5.0 to 5.2 mph at 8.5 METs and running at 7.5 mph at 11.8 METs. For a 155-pound person, the same formula gives roughly 105 calories for 10 active minutes at 5 mph and 145 for 10 active minutes at 7.5 mph, compared with 145 for moderate rope jumping.

That is a like-for-like estimate based on the listed activities, not proof that rope jumping always beats running. A runner who moves continuously for 30 minutes may accumulate more activity time than a jumper who takes frequent breaks, even if the rope pace has a higher per-minute estimate.

The Compendium’s running entries also vary widely by pace. Choose the activity you can perform consistently and comfortably rather than relying on a headline calorie number.

A practical way to use the estimate

Match the activity: Use slow, moderate, or fast only when your skipping roughly resembles the Compendium description.
Count active minutes: Separate actual jumping from setup, untangling, and rest.
Use your body weight: Recalculate with your own weight in kilograms instead of copying a table row.
Treat the result as an approximation: The calculated number is not a personal measurement, even if a table displays it to the nearest calorie.

If you are starting out, brief jump intervals with enough recovery to keep your movement controlled are more useful than chasing an hour-long number. For broader conditioning, see our beginner endurance guide.

Stop if jumping causes pain, dizziness, or unusual breathlessness. If you have a condition that affects exercise or have been advised to limit impact activity, ask a qualified clinician what is appropriate for you.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does 10 minutes of jump rope burn?

At 155 pounds, the Compendium method gives about 102 calories at its slow pace, 145 at moderate, and 151 at fast for ten minutes of actual jumping. Your number changes with body weight, movement, and time spent resting.

Does jump rope burn 1,000 calories in an hour?

It can exceed 1,000 calories on paper for a heavier person jumping continuously at a moderate or fast listed pace; for example, the moderate estimate for 185 pounds is about 1,040. That does not mean a typical one-hour workout with breaks will burn 1,000 calories.

Is jump rope good for weight loss?

Jumping rope can contribute to physical activity and energy expenditure, but no exercise guarantees weight loss. The calorie table should be used as a planning estimate, not as a target to eat back or a promise of a particular result.