Now, you can track your activity and health data when you jump rope, with Lifeflow – which is a smart skipping rope. 

This rope is the brainchild of a Singapore-based Internet of Things (IoT) company, KaHa, and the rope features the company’s proprietary IoT platform COVE®. KaHa hopes to provide a one-stop solution for brands to bring exciting smart wearables for their customers, with reduced go-to market time and costs.

Skipping for better health and a healthy heart

Said Sim Seo Lay, who’s in her 40s and the Head of Business Development and Operations at KaHa, “We are a smart wearable company and focus on making wearables that enable health and promote better living. We are constantly looking for new ways to bring tech into people’s lives. One of the key things is that we want exercise that can be done anywhere, anytime and have high impact. Skipping came into the picture because it is a recognised sport that gives those benefits.”

She added, “In fact, a lot of heart foundations recognise skipping as a key sport for keeping a healthy heart. With the Singapore government promoting ageing gracefully, skipping is an easy sport that many people know how to do, but it is not a regular one that many would incorporate into their daily routine. We felt there was an opportunity there so we took the old fashioned skipping rope and combined it with new technology, and that is how Lifeflow was developed.”

Invited to try out the Lifeflow rope

KaHa recently partnered up with the Jump Rope Federation Singapore – where they had showcased their new Lifeflow product. This event took place at Sport Singapore’s annual sporting event, Get Active! Singapore, at the Sports Hub’s OCBC Square and I was invited to head down to find out more, and try out the Lifeflow for myself too.

I admit that I do not skip regularly these days, but I still have a couple of skipping ropes at home. It is a sport that I used to do when I was a child.

Elegant and vibrant appearance

When I saw Lifeflow for the first time, my first impression was that it was quite different to most of the standard skipping ropes that I have seen.

For starters, the rope handles come in three vibrant colours – these are oriental purple, cyan blue and neon green, all decorated with dance streamers and tassels. And I noted that the shape of the handles are also tapered, rather than straight, to enhance grip. 

According to Lifeflow, these features are targeted at women – many of who generally prefer their belongings to have more vibrancy and elegance.

Other participants were also impressed by the Lifeflow’s elegant appearance, according to Sim. She said, “People who came by our booth to try the rope, were amazed, by the design of the rope, as it is exquisite and unconventional.”

Using the Lifeflow skipping rope

And when I started jumping with the Lifeflow, I quite liked the idea of seeing the number of skips being captured on an accompanying app, which was then projected onto a giant screen while I was skipping. 

In the past, whenever I skip, I try to manually count my number of jumps but I usually end up making mistakes, so it was great that in this case, that I did not need to think about how many jumps I was making.

Besides your number of jumps, Lifeflow also captures health data such as heart rate, hydration levels, body temperatures, oxygen consumption levels and total calorie burn. Skip speed and intensity is also counted, too. I had thought this was pretty impressive.

And added Sim, “Many of our participants were excited that Lifeflow is a smart rope. They liked having their own health data calibrated after their skip.”

As well, I think that having so much of this data at the wealth of my fingertips would definitely be useful in terms of customising my exercise and fitness routines as it helps to eliminate the guesswork.

The tech behind the rope

How does the rope capture all of this data? Explained Sim, “On one handle, which we call the smart handle, there are sensors that detects the information from the palm of your hand.”

When removed from the jump rope, the smart handle can also be used by dancers and Taiji practitioners in their sport, as the accompanying app tracks and displays the user’s dynamic movements via live videos.

Skipping is exhausting 

I quickly realised, however, that skipping is very tiring. As a marathon runner, I have always believed that I am quite fit. But after just two minutes of skipping, and about 260 jumps later, I was panting and needing to catch my breath.

I knew that I was beginning to get tired when I found myself tripping on the rope more frequently, towards the end of my session.

So I can definitely concur with what Sim was saying about seven minutes of skipping been equivalent to a 30-minute jog.

She explained, “You can, in fact, achieve the same health benefits in seven minutes of skipping as 30 minutes of jogging because skipping is much higher in intensity. So you need to only exercise for seven minutes per day to stay healthy.”

She also added, “As well, skipping is also a good cardio and brain exercise because you need to coordinate your legs and brain, and it also builds stamina. All parts of the body are utilised, and this makes skipping good for toning. And the jump rope is portable so you can take it along with you when you travel.”

Skipping does not harm the joints

Sim also pointed out that contrary to popular belief, skipping does not harm the joints. She said, “There is also the misunderstanding that skipping is not good for the joints because of the vigorous, repetitive movements, but in fact, it is okay. There is 30 per cent less effort on your joints when you skip, compared to running.”

How skipping helps running

For those who run regularly and train for marathons, Sim explained too, how adding skipping regularly to their training regime, will help.

She said, “I know that boxers use skipping as part of their training because of the stamina that it builds. Combining skipping with running, you will similarly find that it improves your stamina too, because skipping is more intense than running. And it builds your calves and tones your muscles, which will go towards make you a stronger runner, too.”

Besides the lower legs, skipping also engages the glutes, core, shoulders and arms, and by regularly exercising all these areas, you will also become a more powerful runner, too.

Making my personalised jump rope

Following my two-minute skipping session, I was also invited to make my own personalised jump rope with my name on it, to bring home, as part of the Get Active! Singapore festivities, for successfully completing more than 54+200 skips.

The 54 is because of Singapore’s 54th birthday and the 200 refers to Singapore’s bicentennial.

And the rope had been pretty fun to make, and I am happy with the end product, which comprises largely of my favourite colour, pink.

Taking the Lifeflow technology to the next level

Moving forward, KaHa hopes to further utilise the COVE® IoT platform used in the Lifeflow rope to bring more context to people’s health.

Said Sim, “We would like to see more people using a variety of smart apparel. Besides the Lifeflow rope, we also have watches, smart analog watches, accessories, buckles, t-shirts, and we hope that all of these smart products will come together in a bigger and better way in the near future, to give people more data and context in terms of their health and well-being.”

Lifeflow is currently available for sale in Singapore at www.coveiot.com/lifeflow and each unit retails for S$299.

Psst! Don’t forget to use the promo code “PRIS10LF” to get yourself a discount!