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Inventor says forget jogging and try a weighted jump rope

By RON KOEHLER

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- One requirement of the fitness frenzy sweeping the nation is time -- a commodity that always seems in short supply.

Many people who have become devotees of aerobics or jogging find themselves slipping out of the habit because they just can't find the time to slip on their Danskins or their Nikes.

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But inventor Mike Mattox believes he has developed the answer -- a weighted jump rope.

Mattox, a former college track star, said the exercise is ideal because it involves the entire body and stimulates the cardiovascular system in a short period of time.

His conditioning program for the weighted rope, marketed under the 'Heavyrope' trademark, peaks out at 26 minutes. But he says he knows of no one -- including football star Walter Payton or basketball greats Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Ralph Sampson -- who has reached the top level of exercise prescribed in his conditioning program.

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Average folk can take only a 15 minute workout, jumping for one minute and resting for a minute, he said. His studies indicate that a short amount of exercise is better for the body than miles of jogging or many, many minutes of aerobic exercises.

'There's nothing like it,' Mattox said. 'You could run for aerobic conditioning and then lift weights for anaerobic conditioning, but you'd still not be working the heart to get the oxygen and nutrients to the cells. This does it.'

College and professional athletes who have worked with the weighted rope, which has been on the market since February, seem to agree.

Jabbar and Sampson were so impressed they invested in the company, joining a group of 15 current and former athletes who purchased the marketing rights to Heavyrope.

College coaches from Michigan State University to Boston College are purchasing the ropes by the dozen for their basketball and football players.

'I find it very beneficial in supplementing our weight program,' says Dave Henry, strength coach for MSU football team. 'It's particularly beneficial for cardiovascular endurance.'

Basketball coach Ray McCahill, of Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., did the unthinkable after working with the rope - he told his players to stop running wind sprints.

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'I'll never have my team run wind sprints again,' says McCahill, who claims at least two team members increased their vertical leap by five inches after working out with the rope.

But the move from the lockeroom into the living room has brought a warning from Bob Gadja, an Illinois fitness expert who once held all the titles -- Mr. USA, Mr. America and Mr. Universe. He said the Heavyrope is fine for athletes, but cautions beginners to make sure they are in shape before they begin swirling a six-pound rope.

'If people can't use a regular jump rope, how can they use this?' he asked. 'The difficulty with the whole concept is the same as with jogging. The inherent flaws in jogging are if (any part of) the body is out of shape you have to build that through individual exercises.'

The ropes are 8-foot rubber tubes filled with powdered sand. They come in 3.5-, 5- and 6-pound weights, and cost about $30. The tube stretches and contracts with jumping speed, causing the centrifugal force to increase and decrease along with the jumper.

'The simplest ideas are the best -- and everybody knows it,' says Mattox, who has a patent pending on the Heavyrope and has patents on four other exercise devices to condition and strengthen specific muscle groups.

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Although he first pushed his rope to college and professional athletes to gain acceptance, Mattox hopes to see the Heavyrope sold in major sporting goods and department stores throughout the nation.

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