mydonspace
New member
There are more than two things wrong with how we teach double unders.
Some months back I dropped in out of town and was honored when a super fit 50 year old guy offered to be my partner. He threw up unbroken toes to bar like nobody's business, whipped that 50 lb dumbbell into a snatch like it was a feather and blew me away by doing his 10 cal on the row at a sustained 2,200 cals/hour! But afterwards, with the tone of voice suggesting he had given up trying, he told me he doesn't have doubles.
This keeps happening. I find guys wonderfully fit for their age, who have mastered so much of what is CrossFit, but are completely stuck with doubles and don't see a way out. Having others show them "how" doesn't help. Unlike the other skills, you can't get there by "starting light". There is no way to scale to a 1-1/2 under on the way to doubles!
I'd like to propose three fixes to the problem, all missing from the approach of in-person and online coaches. It seems like too many of them grew up jumping, find learning doubles easy and are ill-equipped to understand what will help those of us that didn't. A lot of the instruction is focused on improving doubles, when many of us struggle for to get even the first one. I hope this is a bit controversial:
1 - Get Symmetrical Singles, at Various Speeds
The standard advice to practice singles at different speeds is good. Make sure the athlete understands the slow speed is what the jump should feel like in doubles. There is a natural danger for the doubles jump cadence to be too fast.
The fast practice speed is for the wrists to get used to flipping the rope around quickly, as will be needed for the two swings in the double when the jump is up. Make sure they feel the rope going around the back side. All this needs to feel happy and relaxed.
Make sure their swing is symmetrical - both wrists doing the same thing. Put a bright piece of tape in the middle of the rope and make sure they see it going up and down directly overhead and in front, not off to one side. This took me a while - to develop matching wrist coordination.
2 - Skip the Fancy Footwork
Single foot single unders are a waste of time. It requires developing a lot more ankle strength which is a huge challenge for those of us that haven't jumped much. We don't need this for double unders. Don't make us frustrated trying.
3 - The Big Kahuna: It's Swing Rope, not Jump Rope
There is a natural inclination to think of this skill as jumping, with an added rope swinging. That's fine for singles but sets doubles to fail.
Instead, practice singles as a leading swing, with the jump almost as an afterthought. If you are giving athletes the "penguin" drill, get them to tap their leg the first time jumping. NOT like a single under. Otherwise, you'll be setting them up for the wrong timing - the one that catches the rope under the feet second swing. Maddening.
Watch this exceptional video:
The foolproof way I implement the proper timing is to start with a single under and then when I land, leave my feet on the floor for a VERY long time, until the rope is near my toes. Then, and only then, jump. Even with this timing shift, I have NEVER swung so early as to hit my toes with the first swing.
Let the rope swing fast for the double, and be sure to keep it going around the back side while standing still preparing for the next jump. Otherwise, the rope falls on their head.
It took me FOUR years to get here with doubles: for 24.2 placing me at the 97th percentile in the 65+ division by stringing up sets of 20-30. If I had seen that video or gotten similar instruction sooner, I would have saved a lot of time and frustration, and avoided overloading my achilles. If other old guys had this instruction, I would have not placed so high in my cohort. That would be a good thing!
Cheers
Bruce - St. Paul, MN
Some months back I dropped in out of town and was honored when a super fit 50 year old guy offered to be my partner. He threw up unbroken toes to bar like nobody's business, whipped that 50 lb dumbbell into a snatch like it was a feather and blew me away by doing his 10 cal on the row at a sustained 2,200 cals/hour! But afterwards, with the tone of voice suggesting he had given up trying, he told me he doesn't have doubles.
This keeps happening. I find guys wonderfully fit for their age, who have mastered so much of what is CrossFit, but are completely stuck with doubles and don't see a way out. Having others show them "how" doesn't help. Unlike the other skills, you can't get there by "starting light". There is no way to scale to a 1-1/2 under on the way to doubles!
I'd like to propose three fixes to the problem, all missing from the approach of in-person and online coaches. It seems like too many of them grew up jumping, find learning doubles easy and are ill-equipped to understand what will help those of us that didn't. A lot of the instruction is focused on improving doubles, when many of us struggle for to get even the first one. I hope this is a bit controversial:
1 - Get Symmetrical Singles, at Various Speeds
The standard advice to practice singles at different speeds is good. Make sure the athlete understands the slow speed is what the jump should feel like in doubles. There is a natural danger for the doubles jump cadence to be too fast.
The fast practice speed is for the wrists to get used to flipping the rope around quickly, as will be needed for the two swings in the double when the jump is up. Make sure they feel the rope going around the back side. All this needs to feel happy and relaxed.
Make sure their swing is symmetrical - both wrists doing the same thing. Put a bright piece of tape in the middle of the rope and make sure they see it going up and down directly overhead and in front, not off to one side. This took me a while - to develop matching wrist coordination.
2 - Skip the Fancy Footwork
Single foot single unders are a waste of time. It requires developing a lot more ankle strength which is a huge challenge for those of us that haven't jumped much. We don't need this for double unders. Don't make us frustrated trying.
3 - The Big Kahuna: It's Swing Rope, not Jump Rope
There is a natural inclination to think of this skill as jumping, with an added rope swinging. That's fine for singles but sets doubles to fail.
Instead, practice singles as a leading swing, with the jump almost as an afterthought. If you are giving athletes the "penguin" drill, get them to tap their leg the first time jumping. NOT like a single under. Otherwise, you'll be setting them up for the wrong timing - the one that catches the rope under the feet second swing. Maddening.
Watch this exceptional video:
The foolproof way I implement the proper timing is to start with a single under and then when I land, leave my feet on the floor for a VERY long time, until the rope is near my toes. Then, and only then, jump. Even with this timing shift, I have NEVER swung so early as to hit my toes with the first swing.
Let the rope swing fast for the double, and be sure to keep it going around the back side while standing still preparing for the next jump. Otherwise, the rope falls on their head.
It took me FOUR years to get here with doubles: for 24.2 placing me at the 97th percentile in the 65+ division by stringing up sets of 20-30. If I had seen that video or gotten similar instruction sooner, I would have saved a lot of time and frustration, and avoided overloading my achilles. If other old guys had this instruction, I would have not placed so high in my cohort. That would be a good thing!
Cheers
Bruce - St. Paul, MN
