Is there a trick to Double Unders? page

[Invictus14]

Ok so I have been jumping rope since I was like 11 years old. As a wrestler and a lacrosse goalie, jump rope was a staple in my life through high school and college. For the life of me I can't seem to get the rhythm or trick to getting double unders. I did like a max of 4 today before I whipped myself in the shins. Is it just one of those practice things or is there a trick to it. I have been using "speed ropes" (super thin ropes) at the little cross fit tent we have here. So far I have been told that I need to make sure that the rope is the right length, what is the right length to do double unders? I usually just pick up a rope and jump with it no problem unless it is like a foot long or something silly like that.

Thanks

[bloodorchid]

i'm gonna assume it's speed of the rope plus a bit of added height on the jumps

[federkeil]

Whip the rope around really fast... and jump higher....

seriously, you may need to exaggerate the jump quite a bit until you get comfortable with the whipping that's needed to accelerate the rope. And for me the rope doesn't maintain a constant speed. I whip it for 2 (rotations), whip it for 2, whip it for 2, etc...

[Evbois]

I box and jump rope as my key warmup. I can do a round of double unders. Trick is sometimes the length of rope, although I jump with a fairly long rope for my 5 foot height, but the key for me is what you do with your feet when you're up in the air. If you're bending your knees, it will slow you down and the rope will catch. The best position is to keep your legs straight and push them slightly forward, which also gives a heck of an ab workout! Does that make sense? I'm not describing it too well.

[Invictus14]

No that makes perfect sense, that is kind of how it looks when people are cranking them out while I am whipping my shins. I think I really just need to dedicate some effort to practicing. Thank you for the advice.