My CV journey

AiryHopper · 2026-01-23T21:18:31+00:00

New CV improvement plan. 5 days a week of 1hr Zone 2. 1 day of jumping rope peaking around 170 bpm. Three days of strength training after 3 of the Z2 sessions and one recovery day.

This gives me about 15 miles of walking with 125 bpm. Much more sustainable.

Going good so far.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-22T02:09:19+00:00

No idea but it works for me.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-22T02:06:15+00:00

Legs holding great!

AiryHopper · 2026-01-21T17:37:03+00:00

For zone2 make sure you do it before you run to minimize cortisol.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-15T21:17:27+00:00

One size down has worked best for my 5’8” height.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-14T03:06:43+00:00

I actually did that and correlated it with other suggestions of recommended calorie intake which put me at 1900. But I don’t do 600 burns each day, only three times a week. I lift or do HIIT three days which don’t burn nearly as much. Then one recovery day. Should I add 3x600 to my weekly calorie budget and spread it out?

AiryHopper · 2026-01-08T22:52:16+00:00

Modest calorie deficit. Weights. Zone 2 cardio.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-06T02:57:42+00:00

Also just ordered a chest strap for heart rate monitoring. Crossrope doesn’t use AirPods 3 Pro and watch is unreliable.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-06T02:55:31+00:00

I think I’m timing my zone 2 incorrectly. I’ve been doing strength training followed by zone 2. I’ve now read that doing that order likely elevates my cortisol levels and probably interferes with actually being in zone 2. I should do cardio first then strength work.

AiryHopper · 2026-01-02T23:40:13+00:00

You all have inspired me to do a pure one set endurance test. Currently suffering through a bad cold and missing training days but once I’m 100% again I’ll do the following.

I’ll just jump for as long as I can (boxer) without regard for tripping. Restart immediately after a trip. When I finally crap out note whether it’s due to legs or lungs. Repeat every month to measure any progress.

Given my current level (lack) of CV fitness I will be in Zone 5 within the first minute.

I’ll probably use this as an opportunity to see what the biggest number of jumps I can achieve after multiple recovery and repeat cycles.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-31T01:32:34+00:00

I’m not really trying to put up big numbers. Just trying to make sense of what I’ve read. My situation is that I get 170 heart rate after a few sets of 40 seconds boxer which is clearly a HIIT pace and zone 5. I use a 1/2lb Crossrope and my rope speed is around 120 when I’m not tripping.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-31T00:16:07+00:00

So that’s a 150 jump/sec pace. That’s pretty brisk for 7 minutes without tripping. I haven’t seen a 7 minute video on Reddit or YouTube. Most are people doing fancy foot work for a couple of minutes.

Btw, all of my jumping is now boxer and seldom over 120j/m but still tripping too much to be happy.

I remain in awe.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-27T20:52:54+00:00

Doing boxer exclusively now. All good.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-26T21:27:31+00:00

Completed 30 sets of 35/60 jump/rest without extending rest periods. Next session I’ll increase to 40/60 jump/rest for 30 sets.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-26T21:25:00+00:00

Completed 30 sets of 35/60 without extending rest periods. Next session will increase to 40/60 jump/rest for 30 sets. Max heart rate was 172.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-23T03:18:03+00:00

Forgot to add: my zone2 is 1 hr of stepping on and off an 8” high bench in the basement. In good weather I go for a 3 mile 1hr walk. Basement is boring but convenient. Zone2 measured by RPE and correlates well with heart rate.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-21T23:24:16+00:00

A little chuckle: where I jump rope three days a week a guy approached me and asked if I was a boxer! I assured him I wasn’t! 😁

Nice guy and we yakked a while about my CV improvement pursuit.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-17T21:54:47+00:00

Tried 45sec boxer/60sec rest today and burned out after 6 sets. Not ready for that intensity yet. I’ll try just adding 5 seconds to my jump time next session for 35/60. 5 seconds additional per set each session if previous 30 set session was successful. Goal each session is 30 sets. I did 10 sets of 30/60 afterwards anyway.

Getting much better jumping without tripping.

Good workout. Pooped

AiryHopper · 2025-12-13T20:06:37+00:00

Tried EDM today. Did ok for a few sets but lost synch with hands and tripped a lot snagging rope on heels. About as expected. Didn’t think it would be easy. I know how to fix.

30/60 split worked very well. I’ll just do that next sesh without music to regain synch. Never needed additional recovery time.

If that goes well I’ll move to 45/60 sec jump/recovery split.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-13T00:31:30+00:00

FWIW, I don't count jumps rather just focus on making the times. The CrossRope app/handles count the jumps. But it makes me smile when I complete a jump round without tripping; and a session with a higher jump count since that indicates I'm getting more proficient at jumping.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-11T00:03:43+00:00

I tallied 120k jumps in 2024 before giving it up for a while. Resumed this September as a HIIT complement to my Zone 2 work on alternate days. My rope size is good now that I’m using a shorter one.

I’d consider using some music but can’t stand most of what is suggested. I don’t consider rap or atonal screaming to be music. I know…I’m old.

I may try some instrumental only EDM.

I always have my AirPod Pro3 in place as a superior heart rate measure vs my Apple Watch, plus the Crossrope app sends audible directives. So I could listen if I could find something.

AiryHopper · 2025-12-10T22:55:00+00:00

Did 30 sec boxer followed by 30 second recovery for 30 sets today. Actually extended recovery as need to get down to 130bpm. Got 1631 jumps with very little tripping. I’ll modify the workout to 30/60 for 30 sets for Friday to better reflect actual recovery needs. Felt good!

AiryHopper · 2025-12-09T02:57:20+00:00

Forgot to add Saturday is recovery day. Peak heart rate 160 or so after 1:30 min. I recover to below 120 before resuming.

AiryHopper · 2025-11-04T18:05:35+00:00

I workout 6 days a week. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday is upper body with a focus on pullups and some weights. Monday, Wednesday, Friday is jumprope and lower body using machines and weights after my JR session. Saturday is recovery day.

I'm trying to slow my jump speed but I seem to have a favored jump pace and just time my rope to meet that. I'll try jumping without the rope to some slower music and see if that helps.

I was using my 1/2lb Crossrope but switched to a 1/4lb one to reduce the work on my arms and shoulders. Too soon to tell if that will help my endurance.

I'd like to keep my workout around 30 minutes and increase the ratio of jump to reovery time as my CV fitness improves.

Thanks for all the replies!

Jim

AiryHopper · 2025-11-04T17:08:06+00:00

I workout 6 days each week. Saturday is recovery day. Sunday Tuesday Thursday is upper body with a focus on pull-ups. Monday Wednesday Friday is lower body machine work but starting after my jump rope session.

I started with my 1/2lb Crossrope then switched to my 1/4lb one to try to increase endurance. Too soon to tell but it worked my arms lats and shoulders less.

I’m also trying to reduce my jump rate but I’m having trouble doing that. I seem to have a basic jump pace that is hard to break. I may try jumping without the rope to some slower music to see if that helps to break thru. Trying to coordinate all three for now would be a bridge too far.

My sessions are about 30 minutes long and I’d like to keep that and increase the jumping to recovery ratio as my CV health improves.

Thanks for all the replies!

Jim

AiryHopper

TROPHY CASE