Double Under Crash Course

[Max Schultz]

So the workouts for the Mid Atlantic Qualifiers were just posted and my worst fears have come to fruition: Double Unders. So yea Definitely should have been practicing them for a while now, but I can't jump rope. Sucks for me haha, but does anyone have tips or stuff to look out for on them that might speed up the process other than just doing them. I dont expect to win it or qualify but I would like to be able to post a time w/o being DQ'd. Thanks.


Ps. fml

[Júlíus Magnússon]

Jump high and turn the rope really fast. Someone's probably going to chime in with better advice than that, but it's like snatching... it's a matter of practicing, practicing and practicing some more.

Do 50 double-unders when you wake up, do 50 double unders in your warm-up, do 50 double-unders before you go to sleep. Eventually it'll click and you'll only need one set.

How much time do you have?

[Eric Montgomery]

Double unders seem to come and go for me, especially if I don't practice every day. Some days I'll have trouble stringing more than 2 or 3 in a row, then will suddenly hit 35 or 40 straight, so it's definitely all about getting consistent with your pace and timing. If possible, find out what kind of rope they'll be using at the qualifier and practice with that same type--you'll want to get used to how quickly that particular rope turns based off its weight and air resistance, as well as how the handles feel in your hands. Then do some alternating singles and doubles...SSDSSDSSD for a while, something like that, so you get used to how much higher you need to bounce and how much faster you'll need to turn your wrists. Talking about technique for jumping rope sounds silly, but make sure you're bouncing straight up and down, not leaning over at the waist or shoulders, and not traveling forward or backward too much. If you catch yourself getting sloppy when you turn the rope, set it down and do 8 or 10 straight bounces at double under height...those seem to help me once I pick the rope back up.

[Jerry Berg]

I'll have to disagree with the "jump high turn the rope really fast" advice.

DUs are most efficiently done with a jump that is no higher than a regular single under. When helping new people to learn them, I always encourage low jump, fast wrists.

If your DU are tuck jumps, you're doing them pretty inefficiently.

Make sure you've got the correct length rope. Step on it in the middle and the handles should be just shy of your arm pits. I tend to go with a bit shorter rope on DUs because they turn faster.

Start of with single, single, single, DU. Then slowly progress to the point where you're doing single, DU, single, DU, etc.

Your DU jump should look identical to your single under jump. Just have to turn those wrists faster. A few more tips that help me are to hold the handles slightly in front of my body and to keep my ankles together.

Good luck.

Best,

Jerry

[Jae Chung]

Max,

Watch this video from the Exercises section of the main page.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/C...ubleUnders.mov

WFS

You can skip the beginning part. At the end, a woman demonstrates the "bounce, bounce, bounce, EXPLODE" and Buddy Lee explains that the mechanics for the DU are exactly the same as the single jump.

My DUs are not very good at all, but I think Jerry's advice is the way to go.

Also, practice your singles. Can you consistently do 140 singles in a row? I remember reading somewhere that Gant Grimes said you should be able to do 140 in a row consistently before you attempt to learn DUs. I may have that number wrong, but it's probably close.

[Brad Gerbrandt]

I would definately second the advice of finding out what rope you are using and try to practice with the same type. With my own rope I can manage to do about 80 seconds straight but with other ropes it is usually hit or miss. At least until I get used to them. I find that a slight variation in length and possibly material makes it swing slightly different.

[Aushion Chatman]

The fastest way I can think of is to fashion or find a Thai Style Jump Rope, they are heavy and force you to develop speed in your wrists.

Attempt DUs with the Thai rope for a good 30 mins. Then switch back to a regular Jump Rope and see where you are at. Your wrist speed should now be greatly increased and allow you to develop the DU skill quickly, the tricky part will now be developing the rhythm to keep them going. Play with jump height and slowing down as you tire, usually your arms will start to burn out before your legs (in my case) and so I have to slow my jumping to time my slower rope speed as I tire.

Good luck! And don't give up!

[Kurt Armbruster]

I still can't string d/u's together, but I am getting beter at s/d/s/d alternating.

What really helped me was when I was told to learn to do a minimal jump in the singles, ie: jump just high enough to get the rope under. Then when that's consistant, work on jumping just a bit higher with the double spin.

Now, all I need is the rythm... (eek)

[Chris Walls]

I haven't read all these posts but my advice for double unders is keep that rope screaming (literally) fast and bounce as high as you can without donkey kicking or tuck jumping. Emphasize the 2nd rotation (woosh-WOOSH) but the rope is always fast. From the wrist, not the elbow.

[Andrew Sharp]

Originally Posted by Chris Walls

I haven't read all these posts but my advice for double unders is keep that rope screaming (literally) fast and bounce as high as you can without donkey kicking or tuck jumping. Emphasize the 2nd rotation (woosh-WOOSH) but the rope is always fast. From the wrist, not the elbow.

I agree with Chris.

You just have to do them. Some people have good luck with alternating singles and doubles but that didn't help me at all. Once I focused solely on double unders I was able to get to 10 consecutive within a couple days. My current record is 78 but like Eric, mine seem to come and go. I have also found that my arms die long before my lungs or legs.