Building Strength for Double Unders

Building Strength for Double Unders – The Single leg single under

Recently I have become very intrigued by the single leg single under. I will even go as far as saying it will drastically help you on your road to the illusive double under. For those who don’t know what a single leg single under is: you are simply doing single unders, but with only one leg. Note, that I am not talking about rotating single leg single unders where by you are almost jogging on the spot while skipping, but consecutive single leg single unders.

First off, know that the key to double unders and even triple unders is rope speed, not the height of your jump. For some people just simply working on single unders and learning how to move the rope fast will get them double unders. For most though, having the strength to stay on the balls of their feet and toes is a real challenge. When they attempt a double under, they jump really high and land hard, letting their heels touch the ground. The double under demands a very powerful ankle extension and more importantly that you land on the ball of your foot ready for another explosive ankle extension. When trying consecutive sinlge leg single unders for the first time you will instantly feel how much tougher this is than just a regular single under. It demands that you jump and land on the ball of your foot, not letting your heel touch the ground consequently making it a great as a transitional movement to the double under.

 

Basic progression

Single Under – Single leg single under – Double Under – Single leg double under – Triple under

The single leg single under can also be used as a tool to correct bad double under form. Very athletic people they can get away with doing double unders using a ‘donky kick’ or a tuck. This is very hard on the body and uses a lot more energy. When doing single leg single unders it teaches you to just extend your ankle, not pulling your knees up or back. Try doing 30 consecutive single leg single unders with the same leg and you will feel how much stress is put on your calves. If you have double unders already, you can make them better by adding in single leg double unders to your warm up, they are much harder and require very strong ankles and calves.

 

Lastly I believe single leg single unders are a great scale or substitution option in a workout. Ask anybody who has just recently got double unders and they will tell you how double or triple the amount of single unders are not comparable to an actual double under. Tuck jumps are great for building ankle and calf strength but teach you bad habits and don’t work on your rope speed. If awork out calls for 30 doubles a round, simply sub 30 single leg single unders: 15 per leg. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

 

Cam