Dubs Got You Down? Use These Double-Under Tips To Help
Written by Drew Shempp

Few movements in the Crossfit world plague like the double under. It can elude even some of the best athletes and make a smooth nod feel like an insurmountable task.  In this blog I will provide a few tips I have picked up over the years coaching and a few that have been given to me by the godfather himself, Dave Newman, owner of RX SMART GEAR.

Double-Under Tips

It all begins with the rope…

I have a strong bias to RX SMART equipment, it’s well made, reliable, and backed by the company.  I’ve cracked into 300+ double unders with the feeling that the rope had more.  But that comfort and autonomy would not be achievable if I were using the right size rope.  If you are lucky to have an RX set up at your gym, you have 10 sizes that you can utilize.  At 6’2”, my recommended  sized rope would be a 9’2”.  However, that length is not what is optimized for me.  After a lot of practice and a few good lashes, I am down to using a 8’2”.  Seems like a huge change right?  Well it is, my room for error is much smaller, but the cable spins in a way that makes for as little effort as possible to make the rotation happen.  To maximize the reps in a finite time, the cable needs to be just short enough for you.  I have seen many members and athletes use a rope that is waaaay too long for them.  A telltale sign of this is the coding of the cable in the center of the cable is gone completely.  If they don’t use a coded cable, the center is very thin.  This is because the cable is dragging with each revolution, this is also the reason that jumper is missing reps by landing on the cable.  So, long story long, you need to find a rope that has a short enough cable to spin efficiently, while being short enough to just make contact with the floor with each rotation.  

In the barbell position…

Moonlighting with RX I have been lucky enough to pick up some great double-under tips from Dave Newman and Crystal Neccochea.  One of the best is holding the handles of the rope in a barbell position.  On site we explain this as imagine you’re holding a barbell across the top of the hip, this is the ideal contact position of a clean.  To achieve this your elbows will need to bend and point behind you, I like to tell my members to imagine your elbows just over the crest of your butt.  This does a few things… 

1. Lifts the cable axis point to be just about parallel to center of mass
2. Dissects the center of mass so that the axis of the spin is right in the center of the jumper, in other words, the jumper is not jumping behind the rope, but rather right in the middle of the hoop the rope makes 
3. Lets the rope achieve its maximum speed of spin; as long as your jump cadence and aerobic system can maintain movement, you’ll be going for days!

Here’s what that should look like…..

Are you a “t” or a “T”?

This was one that really changed my rope mechanics and capability.  Many members become complacent in their jump positions by using a long rope and working with a larger wingspan.  In this position your body looks like an upper case “T.”  This may feel safer, but the long term use of this is a low ceiling for your rep count of double unders. Focusing on a tighter arm position and making use of the above barbell position, makes your forearms and hands sit just outside of you front profile.  In this position, you r body looks like a lower case “t.”  Making the gross movements of a double under much smaller, and forces them to be generated from a smaller and much more. 

Go Crush the Open!

Odds are we will sees some double-unders show up in the next few week in the 2025 CrossFit Open workouts. Make sure you remember these tips.

Want more tips like these? Check out Invictus Athlete or Invictus Masters.