Double unders in CrossFit
If you are just getting started in CrossFit I'm sure you have already discovered the difficulty of double unders.
Don't worry because absolutely all of us when we started out had to learn how to do double jumps.
If you think you'll never get over them you have to stay. I bring you a tutorial of double jumps with the trick that has been the most successful in my Youtube channel to get them at once.
Difficulty in double jumps
You may wonder why it takes so long to get these kinds of jumps.
When you look at others it looks easy, but no matter how hard you try it seems like you will always be stuck in singles.
Basically, the problem is the lack of coordination.
The first day in the box they probably explained to you that CrossFit works on many skills: respiratory endurance, energy, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and precision.
Double unders are the best demonstration of coordination. And like everything else, with practice and patience.
Benefits of double unders
Many people question the need for double jumps, isn't the single jump enough?
Double unders improve
- Respiratory resistance,
- agility,
- the balance,
- the accuracy
- and above all coordination.
Double jumps create a neurological stimulus. Our brain works like a computer that is programmed to record everything.
Our mind remembers these sensations and also learns to change and adapt. Double jumps require an important neurological demand and the mind learns to change and adapt. practice is the only way to improve this movement.
When the continued practice promotes this adaptation is when learning arises and voila! that's when we get our first double under.
Another benefit is that nor will you have to scale a WOD just because you don't know how to do double unders?. Scaling a WOD is no sinis an option that exists to help you progress. But it should not become our comfort zone from which we do not leave. Don't limit your efforts.
Tips for double unders
Adjust the rope to your needs
Give speed to your wrists
The trick to passing the rope twice while jumping only once is to give it rope speed. Think that it is your wrists that have to go fast, not your feet.
Hands close to the body
Keep your hands in front of youwhere you can see them all the time. When we stop seeing our hands, we are spreading them too far apart and we will stumble.
Exaggerates the jump
It will help you to have time to pass the rope twice.. Over time you will see that you don't need to spend as much energy on the jumps and you will make them smaller to be efficient, but for now we want to internalize the movement.
Uses progressions
When it comes to training jumps there are different versions although they are not very helpful if your main problem is coordination:
Make a normal jump and then a double jump, and combine them.
This option may not work for you. For many people this progression doesn't help you, as you don't need to rest with the single jump, you need to understand the movement. Break away from your mental schema of a jump and wrist twist.
Practicing the wrist twist with the rope in one hand and without jumping
The idea behind this progression is that you save energy in the jumps and learn to move your wrist fast and can practice longer because you are not tired of jumping. The technique is good, however, you lack using another important component, the feet and are not able to internalize the movement with the feet.
The best trick for double jumps
If despite doing all the above double unders are still resisting you have to try this trick. It is one of the videos that has helped more people.
It's the best advice I was given to start doing double jumps and breaking with the mental scheme of the simple leap: search directly for a double jump from the beginning.
It was very easy to get my first double. From this point on, I gradually chained more repetitions and refined the technique to make it more efficient.
Let's say this is the way to start. Once you have understood the movement, it's just a matter of continuing to practice.
The best camber for double unders
One thing that helped me a lot in getting my double jumps was having my own rope. Cause:
- I could also practice at times outside the box.
- was always adjusted to my height
- was good and rolled well
I recommend reading this article where I analyze the best ropes for CrossFit.
