Damm you Double Unders (DU)! I guess lots of people will agree with the DAMM part… But why the Double Unders are so problematic since it is just a simple jumping rope? Well, maybe not that simple! 😉

@MrWhaite

Jumping rope might be simple as most people were used to do it during school years. And by jumping rope I mean the single unders.

> “A double under is a popular exercise done on a jump rope in which the rope makes two passes per jump instead of just one.” Athlepedia

One of the key characteristics comparing the double unders to the single unders are 2:

- the speed you spin the rope; and
- how high the jump is.

In simple math therms, if you jump twice as high from your single under would be enough to perfectly accomplish the double unders. Another possibility is spinning twice as fast the rope, thus not needing to change how high you jump. The actual answer here is that none of the situations will be the correct answer, otherwise you will burn your wrists and your handle power, or you will burn your legs more than necessary. Combining the DU into a more complex WOD will make these 2 initial extreme options even more useless, since probably you will have any other exercise that will demand your handle or your legs, or even worst: both.

## Progression

A good progression to perform your double unders if you still didn’t make it is to start without any rope! “Are you crazy?” you might be wondering. But no, Im not crazy or out of my mind. The point to start here is to start jumping consistently on your toes, not on your hills, and bending minimally as possible your knees. Once you are jumping consistently high, and by high, try jumping twice as high of your single under, or maybe even higher if you can. Once you can perform at least 10 sequence jumps high enough with not much difference between the jumps. At this high you can perform the “double tap” on your hips using your free hands (remember, you are not using hands so far). Also remember to jump straight, without high knees nor rising your feet. Once you completed all these steps, you are good to move forward.

You will start using a rope, consider buying one for you or make sure you will have yours reserved every time on your box. Otherwise mixing different ropes with different specs you make this process more difficult.

Now it is time to start using a rope, but still, it is not time to try to perform the double under. You need to keep jumping as high as the previous step, but performing only a single under. You will notice that you will be jumping really high and will need to slow down a lot the rope speed, otherwise you will be landing and the rope will be arriving at your feet at same time. Slow down and get used to the high jumps. Try to keep as high as you did before without the rope. Once you perform 10 unbroken high jumps with slow rope speed, is time to move forward.

Now you will be jumping as high as you did in both previous steps, but now you will speed up your rope trying to perform the double under. Performing these steps will raise your odds to accomplish the regular double unders.

Once you start performing more regularly your double unders, is practice time. And by practice I mean: exhaustive practicing. Try to perform at least 200 double unders. This will definitely make you get more feeling and understand your body balance, jumping and wrist skills.

## The hidden characteristics of Double Unders

Double unders are hard to get, but once you get used to it, you will perform it really smoothly. By looking to a more complex WOD where you have DU in it, you might underestimate how heavy the DU’s might be because it will:

- burn your wrists/handle
- exhaust your legs
- raise/keep high your heart beat

These three might sound inoffensive but don’t mis-judge this. They will make you suffer, suffer hard depending on the WOD. If the WOD mixes some hang moves, pull ups, muscle ups or any other exercise that burns your grip, the rope might feel harder to spin. This will be the perfect timing to jump a little higher and save your wrists a little bit. On the other hand, if your WOD is really burning your legs, might be a good opportunity to save some energies by jumping little lower and spinning faster. If your WOD burns your grip + legs, try to keep a balance with the 50-50 strategy, and know that by the end of this WOD you’ll be supplicating for your life, I mean, your breath! 😛

## Hints for warming up

- Perform sets of single unders
- Run some short sprints (100m is enough)
- Few box jump