As we head into the new year, many people are looking to make lifestyle changes to promote healthy living and fitness.
But for one woman, the change came earlier this year when she decided to start skipping as a form of exercise and said it has had a massive positive impact on her health and outlook on life.
Laura O’Donovan said she started missing six months ago after losing her job due to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, Laura lost a job she loved in a senior management position after a business downturn made her position unsalvageable.
Laura said: “I had some really bad weeks with work, or lack of it, over the summer.
“I had been applying for roles for months at that stage, but nothing seemed to be going right and like many people, I felt like the pandemic was really getting to me and my outlook, overall, was not good.”
(Image: Laura O’Donovan)
Laura said she was inspired to take up a new form of exercise after seeing a woman jumping on Instagram.
She said: “I was online one night, I saw this video, I was actually on a running platform on Instagram, called Running Territory and I thought, she seems like, well, I’d say, a pretty normal girl and then I thought, oh god yeah she can jump like this, maybe I could try to do something similar.
“So I picked it up literally the next day, it was July 1st, I was home visiting family and I went and bought a jump rope for €7, and it all started from there.”
Setting up her own Instagram page, laura_leaps, to track progress, Laura shared her journey with followers and inspired others to join her.
Laura said jumping has had a “really positive” impact on her life, allowing her to really enjoy exercise for the first time.
“Yesterday I turned 43 and it’s the first time in my life that I really want to exercise,” said Laura.
“Any other form of exercise, I would because I know I’ll feel better afterward, but I don’t feel like doing it. While this is my first time, and I’ve run for years, and I’ve done little triathlons and lots of parts, but I never expected something like what I do with this”.
(Image: Laura O’Donovan)
Jumping is a great way to promote fun exercise, and Laura says it has really helped her mindset.
She said, “I think it should be promoted for fun and a healthy mindset. That’s really the message I’d like to get across.”
“It’s not about losing weight or anything like that, it’s really about helping your mind, and if there’s any added benefit, you know it’s personal.”
She added: “For me, I know things have changed a little bit, but it’s probably simple things like my calves are a lot stronger and I can jump for a lot longer, and I’d say my upper body strength is probably better because I jump.” with weighted ropes.
“There’s a huge network of people hopping on Instagram, and it’s probably one of the friendliest online communities I’ve come across.”
Laura said, “If you’re looking to get active, change how you feel about yourself, and join a great group of people, you need to pick up a rope.
“It’s cheap, you can do it anywhere, and the benefits are amazing.”
