If you’ve been around Strongtown for any period of time it’s no secret that we love double-unders.
They’re a staple of our programming and one of the primary conditioning movements we do during the colder months when running isn’t an option.
They are also a movement that can be incredibly frustrating (and abusing) to learn.
The good news is that anyone can do them. Double-unders are a skill-based movement so learning them is a neurological adaptation and not a physical one. Meaning there is no prerequisite strength requirement, you do not need to be able to squat double your bodyweight or do 100 pull-ups in order to master them.
It’s practice, practice, and then some more practice.
With that being said choosing the right rope can make a world of a difference.
The key is finding a rope with enough weight that allows you to develop a feel for the movement. It’s for this reason that we never recommend starting out with a speed or cable-style jump rope.
Yes the cable-style speed ropes are faster, but trying to learn double-unders with them is like trying to learn how to ride a road bike before you’ve learned how to keep your balance with training wheels.
The rope that I personally learned with, and the rope that we have recommended for the past 10 plus years is the Buddy Lee-Aero Speed Jump Rope or the Buddy Lee Rope Master Jump Rope.
Buddy Lee - Aero Speed Jump Rope
Buddy Lee - Rope Master Jump Rope
The two ropes are very similar, they both utilize a rubber licorice style rope instead of a wire cable, and they both feature swivel bearing attachment which is more than fast enough to allow for double-unders.
The biggest difference between the two ropes is the actual handles, specifically the handle length. The Aero Speed rope handle is a 6” length and the Rope Master has a 9” handle.
One of the key components of successfully mastering the double under is making sure that rotation of the rope is being generated from quick wrists instead of arms. Think about using drum sticks or maracas, we are not lifting our entire arm up and down as much a quick flick of the wrist.
The advantage to the longer handle is that it can be easier to feel this.
Either rope is a great option and because of this they have been our go-to recommendation for anyone looking to get their first jump rope or first double-unders.
