Why do I keep tripping on double unders?

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: The heels fly back (a donkey kick) or the knees tuck up, so the feet rise much further than the hips do.

And feels like: Like you are jumping high. You are not — your legs are getting out of the way.

First, check

Do a few jumps with no rope and feel for long legs: your hips should rise about as far as your feet do.

The cue

“Pogo stick, not a frog.”

One drill: Pogo hops

Teaches the legs to stay long and the ankles to do the work, with no rope to worry about.

1. No rope. Legs nearly straight, feet together.
2. Bounce off the balls of your feet like the floor is hot.
3. Try to make each contact shorter than the last.

How much: 3 × 20 hops

More on this: kicking your feet up, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: The hands drift away from the hips, out towards a T.

And feels like: Like you need the space to turn the rope. You do not.

First, check

Check your rope length first. Hands pushing out to the sides are often the body shortening a rope that is too long. Check your rope length.

The cue

“Hands in your pockets.”

One drill: Pocket singles

Singles with the hands pinned where a double under needs them.

1. Thumbs brushing your front pockets the whole time.
2. If your hands leave your pockets, you will feel it — put them back.
3. Turn with the wrists. The elbows barely move.

How much: 3 × 45 seconds

More on this: hands flying out wide, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: The hands rise from the hips towards the chest as the set goes on.

And feels like: Like reaching for more rope speed. Usually it arrives when you are tired.

First, check

Notice when they rise: from the first jump, or once you are tired? If it is late in the set, end the set a few jumps sooner.

The cue

“Thumbs to your pockets.”

One drill: Pocket singles

Singles with the hands pinned where a double under needs them.

1. Thumbs brushing your front pockets the whole time.
2. If your hands leave your pockets, you will feel it — put them back.
3. Turn with the wrists. The elbows barely move.

How much: 3 × 45 seconds

More on this: hands creeping up, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: Some jumps long, some short, with no pattern to it.

And feels like: Like chasing the rope, or it chasing you.

First, check

Do twenty singles and listen to the rope tap the floor. Get that beat steady before you add a double.

The cue

“Same bounce, every bounce.”

One drill: Bouncy singles

The rhythm every double is built on: small, quick, and the same every time.

1. Singles on the balls of your feet, heels never quite touching.
2. Jump just high enough for the rope. Quiet landings.
3. Hands by your hips, wrists doing the turning.

How much: 3 × 45 seconds, 30 seconds rest

More on this: uneven rhythm, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: Long, flat contacts between jumps — land, stop, then go again.

And feels like: Like setting up for each one.

First, check

Listen to your landings: a quick, quiet tap, or a thud and a pause before the next one?

The cue

“Hot floor. Quick feet.”

One drill: Pogo hops

Teaches the legs to stay long and the ankles to do the work, with no rope to worry about.

1. No rope. Legs nearly straight, feet together.
2. Bounce off the balls of your feet like the floor is hot.
3. Try to make each contact shorter than the last.

How much: 3 × 20 hops

More on this: parking on the floor, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: The chest tips over the toes for the whole set.

And feels like: Like watching the rope. That is exactly what it is.

First, check

Do a few singles looking at something at head height in front of you instead of down at the rope.

The cue

“Eyes on the horizon.”

One drill: Wall singles

Facing a wall stops the lean and the forward drift at once, because the wall will not move.

1. Face a wall, about a rope's swing away.
2. Singles. If the rope hits the wall you have wandered forwards.
3. Chest up — look at the wall, not the floor.

How much: 3 × 30 seconds

More on this: folding forwards, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

A thing to try from what you noticed

It often looks like: The feet drift across the floor over a set.

And feels like: Like nothing at all until the rope catches.

First, check

Start with your toes behind a line or a strip of tape, and see where you are after twenty singles.

The cue

“Own your spot.”

One drill: Line hops

A target on the floor turns wandering into something you can see.

1. Stand with your toes just behind a line on the floor.
2. Singles. Every landing should be behind the same line, in the same place.
3. When you drift, you will see it — fix it on the next jump, not the next set.

How much: 3 × 40 singles

More on this: wandering, why it costs doubles and the other drills for it.

That is most people — the feet are below your eyeline and the rope is a blur. A phone can see what you can't. Get the framing right and the read names the one thing to fix first, with its drill.

• Head to feet in the frame, the whole time, with a bit of floor below your feet.
• 10–30 seconds of skipping. Already filmed a longer workout? Choose it and pick the part with your jumps.
• Phone held still — propped at hip height, about three big steps away, front-on.

The video stays on your device — it is read in the browser, never uploaded. The rope is too thin and fast for a camera, so rope counts are estimated from how long you are in the air.

Film a set

Want to know what it can and can't see? How it works. Not sure your rope fits? Check your rope length.