HOW TO SKIP: MASTERING THE DOUBLE UNDER

A Double-Under is when the jump rope passes under your feet twice between the time it takes for your toes to hit the ground when skipping and is a skill highly sought after yet elusive for many. However, you’d be surprised by how quickly you could master the exercise by setting aside perhaps just 5 minutes each day to practice it.

Why you should learn this? 

• It’s a fantastic cardiovascular exercise when you’re limited for space, time or simply want to spice up your workouts & will strengthen your core & calf muscles.

• It looks seriously cool and is incredibly satisfying to master! You’ve got to enjoy exercise to keep it sustainable.

• At WITTFIT, the equivalent for 1 Double-Under is 3 Single-Unders in our workouts so...well, you’d be silly not to make life easier for yourself wouldn’t you?!

So, if this is something you’ve been neglecting for a while and hear yourself echoing the ‘I can’t skip’ mantra, now’s your chance to learn how to get this under your belt (and your feet, twice) and feel like a ninja! ​

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Preparation & Warmup

We want to ensure both your jump rope and body are nicely set up for skipping.

To warm up efficiently, focus your stretches & mobility work on your calves and ankles.

Starting with some static stretches, moving onto more dynamic stretches such as leg swings and including some nice ankle rotations to ensure you’re ready for action. 

A word of warning: - although skipping can really strengthen the muscles around your ankles and subsequently reduce the risk of future ankle injury, please do not throw on some shorts and jump straight into skipping outside in the cold - you are just asking for an injury. Take the time to get those calfs warmed up properly. 

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Set your rope right

The two rope handles should be nipple/chest height when standing on the rope with one foot. (depending on where your nipples are)

There are ropes of varying materials and diameters which affect the weight and speed of the rope to challenge the athlete in different ways but a speed rope is what we’re after here. We use metal speed ropes with metal handles that do not break when stepped on which are ideal for training.

The Leaning Process 

You’re warmed up and ready to practice so what’s next?

​We suggest the following process:

• Practice your Single Unders
• Understand what a Double Under entails (More on this below)
• Practice your ‘Penguin Tap’ - Without your rope, practice bouncing on the spot and tapping your sides with your hands to mimic the rhythm (and sounds) of Double Unders.
• Start with a Single, Single, DOUBLE, Single, Single, DOUBLE….etc  (or however often you can Double Under at the moment) and start incorporating more DOUBLE UNDERS in a row until you’re just doing them without the Singles.
• Incorporate them into your workouts either at the end of each session to hone your skill or as part of a circuit. 
• Getting whipped on the arse, foot and arms are all part of it. Expect others to ask what you have been up to!

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The Jump

The movement is more of a bounce (using the elasticity of the achilles), rather than individual jumps strung together. Your toes are 'slapping' the floor and your legs are pretty much straight throughout without too much knee flexion (bending).

​You need only jump high enough to allow the rope pass under your feet so conserve your energy when there’s no need for huge jumps here.

​This is an exercise that is going to challenge your cardiovascular so learn to jump efficiently!

Rope Rotation

Imagine making circles - the quickest rotation you can make is at your wrist, not the elbow or the shoulder and we want the movement to be as energy and time efficient as possible in order to sustain our energy and also get the rope round quickly enough before our toes land again.

​Therefore, your arms are locked out at the elbows, with your hands slightly in front of your hips and the wrists perform a ‘whipping’ motion as they rotate.

​Your core is tight and your gaze ahead with your shoulders once again… pinned back and down in your pockets! ​

Recap

• ​Warm Up
• It’s all in the wrists
• Bounce, don’t jump - You need only jump the width of the rope 
• When you’re integrating Double Unders into your skipping, have the rhythm of that Penguin Tap in your head. It will help with your coordination.
• Tight core & squeeze your glutes
• Wrists slightly in front of your body
• Find a song with a beat that is in time with your feet’s bounce & practice to this

Set aside 5 minutes every day to practice your skipping & notice how much you improve in a week. 

Your challenge:

How many can you do in 2 minutes?