In preparation for writing this post, I did a search for “double unders” on our site. The majority of the articles from the search were Athlete Profiles where they were listed as “least fave movement.” While we have made dubs a challenge last January and tried to provide incentive to learn them by making people sub 3x or 4x the singles, we haven’t spent enough time practicing doubles for those trying to learn the movement. We usually find that some people have settled into a comfort zone and gotten VERY good at singles (ahem, Melissa). Here are some other tips and resources.

• I posted an article a while back with Again Faster’s double under video which I found really helpful.
• CrossFit Watertown posted an article about the importance of relaxing and not trying to power your way through them.
• Ross Boxing.Com suggests getting comfortable with single unders first, keeping your arms long and close to your body and moving your wrists instead of elbows.  Then, transition to learning how to jump rope while ‘running in place.”  After that, sneak in a double or two and go right back to running in place to prevent that stomp that will prevent you from linking dubs.
• Buddy Lee, jump rope guru and maker of our lucky jump ropes, posted this video which helped me get my first dub.  Skip to about 1:20 for the tutorial.
• Watch someone with great dub form and listen to the timing and rhythm of the rope and feet.  Ask anyone who just got their first one or learned how to link them for advice.  Sometimes all it takes is for someone to describe the cues just a bit differently:  eyes forward, light feet, fast hands, jump higher, etc.
• For those who want to geek out, check out this site for jump rope crew videos.  Check out the burpee to jump rope towards the end of the first video!

Go to these sites. Read, watch, then practice. If this is your greatest goat, come 5 minutes early to class, find your lucky rope, and work on it.  Grab a trainer or anyone who can do dubs and ask for tips.  Come in on Rest Day (Thursday) and work on it.  We’ll be watching you guys in the upcoming month.  If we see people practicing and working on them, cool.  If not, get ready for the double under subs to evolve to ungodly movements such as tuck jumps, lateral jumps, and whatever else we dream up.

WOD 12.28.10

4 Rounds:
AMRAP 4 minutes / 1 min rest
20 Double Unders
10 Push Ups
5 Power Cleans (up to 60% of work set)