Who’s sick of subbing bar hops for double-unders? So here’s the deal…if you follow these 5 simple guidelines you’ll be double-undering in NO TIME! Say bye-bye to bar hops & hello to double-under fabulousness!

Stay relaxed. 
Keep your upper body loose. If you’re tense you can lose your rhythm and even create more work for yourself. Double-unders are ananaerobic exercise which is VERY taxing; you don’t need to make them even more difficult by stiffening up and forcing your muscles to work overtime. Keep your arms out and comfortable, a little bend in the elbow is fine and allow the shoulders to relax (see picture).

Steady jump.
No, it’s not about jumping higher. Most beginners think if you jump higher the rope has more time to get around the second time. However this isn’t the case, your jump for the double-under should resemble your jump for a single. Also, try not to tuck or pike your legs, you should be steadily bouncing on the balls of your feet.

It’s all in the wrists.
A typical mistake athletes make when double-undering is using the entire shoulder to bring the rope around. The speed of the rope is most important and it actually starts with the wrists. You need to rotate the rope handle with JUST your wrist; this will help the rope pick up speed so it can make it around you twice. Remember, keep your upper body relaxed and then just use a little flick of the wrist.

Feel the rhythm.
Bad @$$ double-underers make jumping rope look effortless. That is the way it should be. There is a perfect rhythm you’ll find when you double-under. Timing is crucial. The first revolution should take place as you’re jumping up and the second revolution will happen as you’re coming back down, the rope will skim the ground just a millisecond before you land.

Practice makes perfect.
So, if you haven’t been adding double-unders in your warm-up or even cool downs there is a HIGH likelihood you’re not going to get better at them. You can’t just wake up one day and expect that magically you now have double-unders. Just sayin’. The more you practice the better you’ll get. If you’re ready to say goodbye to stinkin’ bar hops, say hello to a jump rope for at least 2 minutes before each class.

Here’s to more of our members joining the double-under club!