Execution:

The double under is a skipping movement where the skipping rope passes twice underneath the athletes feet per rep.
The double under is a very difficult skill to master as it requires coordination of hands and feet, the explosive power to jump high whilst holding a hollow position as well as good cardiovascular endurance.

Once the athlete has mastered single skips they can move on to the double under. The athlete starts with the end of the handles in their hands, holding the handle too close to the rope will diminish the athlete’s ability to rotate the handle effectively enough to pass the rope under the body twice.
It is important that the athlete jumps off and lands on their toes, if the athlete lands flat footed they will lose their momentum going into the next rep and the rope will catch on their feet.
They also need a tight hollow body position, with feet together and elbows in close to the body. The hands should remain in front of the body the entire time.

Any deviation from these guidelines will result in a less efficient double under.
If the feet are wide there is more chance of the rope getting caught, if the arms are behind the body the athlete will jump backwards, if the elbows stray from the side of the body the rope will become shorter and therefore more likely to catch on the feet. If the athlete does not hold the hollow body their jumps often resemble a tuck jump, pike or butt kick- these are hugely energy demanding moves that exhaust the athlete and causes them to fail the movement.

Purpose:

Double unders teach the athlete to connect with their body and its movement in space. It helps them to master coordination of their upper and lower body and also helps develop the ability to hold the hollow position. Double unders are also a great cardio vascular conditioning tool.

Programming:

This is a movement that you will see all the time in both warm ups and the main wod. They can also be used as a buy in to a wod, where you may have to perform 100 or 200 before you can begin your workout. They can also be programmed to be unbroken- meaning if you don’t make it to the end of the set you have to begin again.

Variations:

The double under is a variation of a single skip. The next variation is the triple under. Sometimes a bar over jump will be used to scale the double under instead of single skips.