WITH gyms closed throughout the pandemic, many people have gotten creative in their quest to stay fit.
Some have tried to replicate the experience with online classes, or at-home sessions. Others turned to biking.
And then there is the jump rope.
It makes sense that this became a pandemic-era fitness trend. It’s low cost, It’s (relatively) easy to get into, and it’s highly effective in burning calories
For Ilokanas, Thea Tamayo, a university nurse and part-time clinical instructor at the Northwestern University (NWU) in Laoag City, as well as her fourth year nursing student, Kelsey Cu, said that their shared passion for skipping rope fueled their initiative to organize a community of skippers in the north.
Tamayo has been a skipper for six years now.
“I think it’s the easiest way of exercising [because] you only need the rope and you can jump for as long as you want,” she says.
With all the time she’s clocked in, teacher Thea is now very skilled in the art. She would often upload many of her sessions on Instagram — inspiring a brand-new wave of skippers.
Cu, meanwhile, only started skipping just last October. Her jump-rope journey began with a fascination with watching skippers on Instagram showing off their skills. Among the accounts she followed was Tamayo’s.
Her teacher helped convince her to make the jump (no pun intended) to skip rope. Previously, Kelsey had just been sticking to her old routine of jogging and core workouts.
Since making the change, Cu has noticed how it’s made a positive impact on her — both physically and mentally.
“My metabolism is faster now, I feel my strength and endurance has improved, plus it has given me a peace of mind,” she said. “It’s been really therapeutic.”
Now, the two Ilokanas are sharing this passion to fellow skippers in the north through a Facebook page called ILOCOSkips.
The idea was first sparked by Tamayo and sister Rona Raquiño’s search for a community to join. After finding out that there were plenty of skipping communities across the country, the metaphorical light bulb turned on to create ILOCOSkips.
The idea further blossomed when the teacher-student tandem, along with fellow Ilokana skipper Floricel Macadangdang, talked about why they loved skipping rope. It wasn’t just a means of recreation — it was also as a fitness advocacy, a way to get healthy in the middle of a global crisis.
Hardly a surprise, considering the field they are currently in.
“We started ILOCOSkips because we wanted to bring or introduce a new way to exercise which would help others maintain a healthy lifestyle while keeping safe from [contracting or] spreading the virus since you can skip rope from the comfort of your homes,” Tamayo shared.
She added, “The [primary] objective is to promote overall wellness — physical and mental — [and] at the same time bring people with the same passion together.”
Of course, ILOCOSkips did not sprout instantly. It took plenty of conversations and thorough planning for them to decide when to start the platform, what they’d do with it, how they would grow it. Even the catchy name needed a lot of brainstorming.
But plenty of peers and friends welcomed the idea. And to the team’s surprise, there was already a substantial amount local of skippers who expressed how they were waiting for this to happen.
These proud Ilokanas finally launched ILOCOSkips last February. From the get-go, Thea and Kelsey (who are primarily managing the page) were happy to find jumpers already sending their videos and sharing their sessions.
The community currently serves as a support system for its followers, wherever they are in their fitness journey and whatever skill level they may have in jump rope.
“I learned by watching individuals who inspired me to do skip jumping. I actually don’t do the teaching,” Thea clarified. “What we do is to share our ideas and experiences and it’s where we get to inspire other people to do the same things that we are doing.”
The duo envisions that the community will grow even bigger down the line. And once everything has settled, at least in terms of travel restrictions, they look forward to doing weekend meet-ups with skippers to help hone each other’s skills and at the same time teach new tricks and techniques.
While ILOCOSkips is based up north, the community is most certainly open to everyone who is interested to join and share their journey.
And for everyone who wants to start learning how to skip rope and are aspiring to go beyond the basics, they have these simple tips to share.
“Patience is a virtue,” said Tamayo.
Cu, meanwhile, has this timely reminder: “We strive for progress, not perfection.”
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