There are two levels to skipping. One occurs in playgrounds, accompanied by innocent chants and scuffed knees, the other in sweat-pooled corners of boxing gyms, soundtracked by masculine grunts and the whir of a revolving rope.
Our skipping skills are destined to remain closer to the former image - unless we get our hands on Sophia.
No, she's not the new celebrity-endorsed personal trainer; Sophia is a skipping rope with a built in fitness tracker, currently clocking up funds on Kickstarter.
While fitness bands are all very well, they rarely help you identify just how hard you're pushing yourself on a specific workout. Sophia tracks just about every metric you can apply to the cardio-ruining activity of skipping, measuring jumps, speed, time intervals and calories burnt. By connecting up to its partnering app, you'll be able to clock just how much your skipping is improving, setting yourself new jump goals and time trials.
The curved ergonomic handle contains a battery (good for a month on one charge), Bluetooth transmitter and a small OLED screen to measure your workout. The thick plastic rope is adjustable for your own height, meaning you can take on taller opponents in Sophia's challenge mode.
Currently available for £22 on Kickstarter, should the project be a success you can expect your rope to arrive in May. Or you could stick to using that old piece of twine you found in the shed - either way, so long as you're not snorting at the idea of skipping as a brutal fitness test, that's fine with us.
