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Jumping rope is the best option when you want to improve your overall fitness. This easy-to-learn yet hard-to-master exercise is excellent for several things, from speed and endurance to strength and fat loss. One of the best jump roping techniques is the double-under, but not everyone has an easy time performing it. Read on to learn six tips for perfecting your double-under technique.
What Is a Double-Under?
A double-under, also known as a dub, is a technique that doubles the rope revolutions in a single jump. Single-unders, the most common move when jumping rope, involve a single jump and a single rope revolution. To correctly perform a dub, you need to rotate the rope around you twice in one jump.
For that reason, you need to increase the speed of your rope to pull this off—it’s not about lengthening your jump.
The Benefits of Double-Unders
Single-unders are an excellent starting point for jumping rope, but double-unders let you take your exercise to the next level. Without adding any more equipment to the equation, you can instantly increase your heart rate and fitness benefits!
In addition to improved cardiovascular stimulation, dubs are also a method for improving your quick thinking skills. On top of that, double-unders are effective at boosting your agility, accuracy, coordination, and balance. As you can see, dubs are a fantastic all-around exercise!
Targeted Muscles
When using the double-under technique, you’ll work out your shoulders, forearms, abdominal muscles, quads, calves, and feet. Most importantly, double-unders get your heart beating fast—just as fast as any run you’ll go on! Even better, you don’t need to be a double-under master to experience these benefits. Just give dubs a try—we’re confident your heart will get pumping whether you succeed or not.
Tip 1: Optimize Rope Length
You want to avoid jump ropes that are too long, especially when trying to get good at double-unders. The longer your rope, the more unwieldy it gets. It makes sense—when you have a longer rope, you need to move more material around yourself!
Additionally, using a rope with a suboptimal length causes you to change your form for the worse. The most common problem we see with ropes that are too long is that people extend their hands out from their sides to get the speed they need. That’s far from the ideal form!
Once you have a rope that isn’t too long, it’s essential to stick with it. Switching ropes will affect your timing, and timing is everything with double-unders.
Pro Tip: Measuring Rope for Your Height
To properly measure your jump rope to match your height:
- Stand on the center of the rope with one foot.
- Extend the tip of the handles to reach from your lower chest to your shoulders.
This measurement is a guideline and should provide sufficient clearance for starting out in your jump rope program. Once you become more proficient at jumping, adjust your rope to a desired shorter length for maximum benefits.
Tip 2: Master the Single-Under
It doesn’t make much sense to try the double-under until you have the single under your belt. Don’t worry—practicing the single-under will still be a fantastic exercise! One of the key things to consider when working on your single under is the location of your elbows and hands.
As we mentioned earlier, bringing your hands further out from your body will effectively reduce the length of your rope—not ideal if you have a jump rope that’s the perfect length for you. We recommend standing with your elbows at your sides, and your hands positioned at a 45-degree angle. If you can’t see your hands in your peripheral vision, you know you’ve moved them too far from your body.
Bringing In the Dub
Once you feel like you have the single-under down to a science, it’s time to start incorporating double-under attempts. These don’t need to be perfect! Start by performing three single-unders, then doubling your speed and trying a double-under. Continue this pattern: single, single, single, double!
Trying to start with multiple repetitions of double-unders is a recipe for disaster. Mix in singles as you get used to the feeling. Keep in mind that the speed of your jump should not change when you do a double—only the speed of the rope should increase.
Tip 3: Wrists, Not Arms
It’s tough for some people to unlearn the idea that, in jumping rope, the power comes from your wrists, not your arms. As soon as you start swinging your arms like twin windmills, you know you’re in for trouble. Your jump rope is a very responsive tool—all it takes is a quick wrist flick to get it where it needs to go.
With double-unders, efficiency is critical. Flailing your arms will bring you more problems than successes.
Tip 4: Timing Is Everything
Efficiency is one key, and timing is the other. It’s completely normal to get tangled up in your jump rope the first several times you attempt a double-under. Jumping too early means you’ll only get one and a half revolutions in before you touch the ground again, and jumping too late could cause you to get tripped up before you ever leave the ground.
Getting your timing right is all about practice. Muscle memory is your best friend when learning this skill—it won’t take long for you to know how to orient your wrists and feet to succeed.
Tip 5: No Dolphins or Donkeys
Dolphin kicking and donkey kicking are common problems that new double-under-ers experience frequently. Dolphin kicks happen when you kick your legs out to the front, and donkey kicks are the same but backward. In either case, you’re trying to extend the time your feet have above the ground, leading to wasted energy and bad positioning for your next jump.
Tip 6: Relax and Practice
The final tip is simple: don’t worry. Put in the time, and you will be able to do this. When you sense yourself becoming frustrated, stop and take a breath. We’ve all been right where you are! Keep at it, and you’ll be a double-under master in no time.
Our speed ropes are just what you need to perfect your double-under game. They’re designed with quick motions in mind, so you’ll have an edge when learning to double-under like a pro!
Now that you know these six tips for perfecting your double-under technique, put them into practice and get on the path toward greater fitness. It doesn’t matter where you are in your fitness journey—jumping rope is the skill that will help you reach the next level. From losing fat to improving your speed and coordination, jumping rope unlocks a world of possibilities.
