CrossFit Athletic Group

The general skill of jumping is one of the three movements we teach in the gym (the other two being push-up and run.) Squats, Kettlebell swings, wallballs, cleans, snatches, and push jerks are all just creative ways to jump.

The most basic way we challenge jumping is by doing jump rope variations. That is an important point to remember for every point in this post; everything comes back to making you better at jumping in general, not necessarily the specific versions of it.

The goal for jump ropes is not for the rope to pass under your feet!

Singles

Single jump ropes are the most basic way to practice positions of repeated jumping/landing seen in running and most ball sports. To exaggerate good foot and knee position, we do this movement with feet together. In addition, your belly should be on about 40% tension to make sure your spine stays in line. The final product looks like a fixed body bouncing off the ground repeatedly. The only thing making the movement go is the wrists and forearms - which whip the rope around in a rhythm.

Remember, the goal for single jump ropes is not for the rope to pass under your feet. So what we don't want to see is the classic Abby Trip wounded bird technique.

Those might be the only way get the rope under the feet, but they also practice an inefficient, slow, limited, and eventually dangerous jumping position. When the movement starts to look bad, we can modify by 1) dropping the reps, 2) using a split rope, or 3) doing line-jumps without the rope. Here's how the 10 am crew from last year modified.

Double unders

When singles don't provide a challenge for your overall jumping pattern any more, we progress to the double under. Again, the only thing that makes the movement go is the wrist movement - and a liiiiiittle bit of extra height. Otherwise, a double under should not be distinguishable from a single.

Is Kroll doing a single or double?

Remember, the goal for double unders is not for the rope to pass under your feet twice. Here's what a double under should not look like.

If this is your first double under, okay. We'll give you a high-five and a New Graduate post. But if this is what they would look like in workouts, then it's a no-go. Or even if they look anything different from singles. We would have you do single jump ropes with 2-3x repetitions instead because you need more practice jumping repeatedly in a good position.

Coordination

The one exception is if you are a Robert Kroll/8th grade Aaron Augustyn, Parker type that has never jumped rope before, we will sometimes overlook the position for a few weeks just so they can get the actual timing of when to jump. We will reinforce the position in a different movement.

Remember, the goal for jump ropes is not for the rope to pass under your feet. On Friday, I noticed we were having trouble with both the position and coordination of the jump ropes, so be on the lookout for mor practice coming up.