Fit to skip: It's not just for kids

How much does skipping burn off?
By William Hageman, The Chicago Tribune

What once was Kim Corbin's secret is now out on the street.

She skips.

Not just an occasional shuffle-step down a deserted sidewalk; not in the privacy of her back yard. But at least twice a week. For extended periods. In public.

Corbin has founded iskip.com, an organization dedicated to the propagation of one of the simplest and most enjoyable of childhood pastimes.

"Skipping really throws you right into the moment," Corbin says. "You're having fun -- your arms are moving, you're bouncing, you can't help but smile when you're doing it."

Now, this isn't some kid skipping to the candy store. Corbin is a grown-up, 30, with a real job as the publicity director at Jossey-Bass, a publisher in San Francisco. How, then, did a responsible adult come to dedicate herself -- and dedicate is not too strong a word here -- to skipping?

"Two years ago I skipped for the first time as an adult," she says. "I was with a friend and he got me to skip. While I was doing it, I thought, 'Wow, why did we ever stop skipping?' "

That's as far as it went until earlier this summer, when Corbin decided she needed to get in shape and set about to take up jogging. Her first run was a short one.

"I went about three blocks and almost died," she says.

A few days later at the office, a co-worker mentioned that her daughter had asked her to skip with her. The co-worker said she had told her daughter that skipping was a pursuit for kids, not adults.

"That triggered the memory of me and my friend, so I decided to get fit by skipping publicly," Corbin says.

And she did, hitting the streets of San Francisco at least twice a week. It was invigorating, healthy and, as she says, fun.

The more fun she had, the more committed she became. To spread the word, she started iskip.com. Her brother put together a Web page (www.iskip.com), a friend designed a logo and another friend became the official iskip.com event photographer. Soon people were talking. In a positive way.

"When I started, I thought people would point and smirk and laugh and say things," Corbin says. "But now people are like, 'Hey, Skipper!' when I'm out there. They're really supportive."

That support has translated into two group skips each month.

"There's the Happy Hour Skip, where we meet after work at 5:30 and skip up Market Street, and there are the Sunday Skips (at Golden Gate Park)," Corbin explains. "The San Francisco Chronicle plugged the first Happy Hour Skip (in July), and when that happened it really started getting the attention it deserved. We had 60 people. And CNN was even there."

The media attention is making Corbin and Co. famous. "People are starting to recognize us on the street," she says. "It's like, 'Look, it's the skippers! Hey, skippers!' "

The publicity is also bringing out more participants, people who may have been reluctant in the past to admit to skipping.

"The really amazing thing for me is that now a community is starting to build," Corbin says. "There are people who have been skipping in private for years but who didn't want to be embarrassed and stuff. Now they're out in the open. A great-grandmother came up to me at the (Happy Hour) skip and said she'd been a closet skipper for years."

And skippers -- closet, public and prospective -- have been flocking to the Web page.

"I've been getting e-mail from all over -- people in Denmark, a guy in the UK who skips to work every day. There's a guy in Chicago named Will. There are skippers everywhere."

The messages they leave are wonderful.

"I belong to TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly)," wrote one woman. "Today at our weekly Friday meeting one of our members read a newspaper article about your skipping movement. We all enjoyed it and were challenged to skip. ... (Y)ou can imagine what it looked like to see 20 middle-aged to senior women skipping around the meeting hall! ...Thank you for giving us our youth back."

Wrote another: "I am a 48-year-old woman who has always loved skipping, but I have also always felt embarrassed to do it in public. ... I will soon take 'the risk' and push through my embarrassment and go public with my skipping. Keep up the good work, for I agree with you. A community that has skipping adults on its streets is a healthier community."

How much healthier?

"I would guess that it would have benefits between walking and jogging, but would have more high impact on the knees and feet than walking," says Janet Walberg Rankin, a professor in the department of human nutrition, food and exercise at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., who admits that she skips with her children.

"I typically encourage people to do activity that is comfortable, moderately intense, and is something that they enjoy. If skipping fits the niche for a person, I'd have them try it."

Corbin says she has lost 10 pounds ("My legs are looking very fine") and has more energy since she started skipping.

"It's incredible exercise -- physically and mentally. Try to get that in a gym."

As for the future, Corbin will keep spreading her gospel, and not just in San Francisco. She's hoping to find skippers to lead the charge all around the U.S.

"I'm looking for someone who's looking for a fun hobby and who's into promotion," she says. "I would love to have people start doing skips in other cities."

How much does skipping burn off?

By Knight Ridder Newspapers

Where does skipping fall in terms of calories burned? There's a dearth of hard data, but according to Greg White of HealthStatus.com, an Indianapolis-based health Web site, skipping falls between walking 3 miles an hour and low-impact aerobics.

He took an office straw poll, and "our fairly knowledgeable guesstimate would place it at about 350 calories per hour for a 150-pound person."

That figure, of course, could vary depending on the speed and vigor of the skipper.

Here is how that compares to other aerobic activities for a 150-pound person.

Activity Calories burned/hour

Handball ....816

Jogging (51/2 m.p.h.) ....740

Cross country skiing ....700

Running in place ....650

Tennis (singles) ....400

Skipping ....350

Walking (3 m.p.h.) ....320

Swimming (25 yards/minute) ....275