Single unders workouts are a great way to train your breathing, coordination, agility and general skipping skills, especially when already under fatigue.
Single unders are an incredibly effective aerobic exercise, and can get your heart racing incredibly fast. A widely cited 2013 study found that, after six weeks of daily 10-minute jump-rope exercises, participants demonstrated the same levels of improvement to their cardiovascular health as individuals who jogged for 30 minutes a day.
According to research, ten minutes of rope skipping can roughly be considered the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile.. Plus, single unders burn more calories per minute and engage more muscles than swimming or rowing, while still qualifying as a low-impact workout.
“Jump rope can be an important part of fitness and sports training, providing key advantages in developing dynamic balance, speed, quickness, agility, coordination, concentration, and cardiorespiratory efficiency,” says Olympian and “world’s best jump roper” Buddy Lee.
Jump ropes are small, portable, and provide great benefits in very little time.
Single Unders Workouts Basics
Rope skipping is a skilled movement that requires proper timing and coordination with every jump.
Developing the rhythm and timing to master the skill can be difficult, yet when done the correct way, single unders offer many benefits and are a building block to even greater fitness.
Single unders workouts reinforce:
- natural body biomechanics
- symmetry
- efficiency in movements
By becoming more efficient in rope skipping, your jumps will be softer and cleaner, meaning you’ll use less energy and the exercise will require less intensity.
This is great if you want to use the rope skipping part of a workout to catch your breath. Otherwise, you can go fast and really challenge yourself.
Single Unders Rope Skipping Technique
- Look straight ahead to maintain balance.
- Keep body upright and balanced with the weight on the balls of the feet.
- Jump only high enough to clear the rope (1 inch off the ground).
- Land lightly on the balls of your feet.
- Keep your elbows close to your sides, pointing down at a 45-degree angle.
- Never sacrifice good jumping form for speed. Progress slowly [1]
Whether you don’t yet master the double under or fancy a new challenge, give these fun single under workouts a go.
SINGLE UNDER WORKOUTS
Workout 1 – The Minimalist
15 Minute AMRAP
- 100 Single Unders
- 15 Goblet Squats
- 1 Minute Plank
- 20 Weighted Walking Lunges
You’ll be working at a quick pace and there’s no built-in rest. If you need to take a break take a few seconds between exercises and then jump right back into the workout.
Workout 2 – Trust Fall
AMRAP in 20 Minutes
- 40 Air Squats
- 20 Push-Ups
- 10 Reverse Burpees
Every 2 minutes on the minute starting 0:00, perform:
- 40 Single Unders
The reverse burpee requires the athlete to touch the ground with their backs instead of their chest. The athlete will then lift up their legs and rock up to the burpee jump.
Workout 3 – Rope Run
For Time:
- 800 meter Run
- 50 Single-Unders
- 25/18 Handstand Push-Ups
- 100 Single-Unders
- 25/18 Handstand Push-Ups
- 50 Single-Unders
- 800 meter Run
Keep a steady pace and try not to get too gassed on the first run so you get as many single unders done without stopping. The handstand push-ups may need to be broken up early.
The athlete should be able to test their conditioning. The first set of Handstand Push-Up should be a number that the athlete can do unbroken if they were fresh. The athlete should push the pace on the second run.
Swap the handstand push-ups for pike push-ups for scaling.
Workout 4 – Flight Stimulator
For Time:
5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5
- Unbroken Single-Unders
This pyramid scheme ascends in increments of 5 until it hits 50 and goes back down to 5.
Each set must be unbroken.
If you break down a set, go back to the start of that set and start again. Your rope should stop moving before starting the next set.
For scaling, go for increments of 10 instead of 5 (10-20-30-40-50-40-30-20-10 reps).
This “Flight Simulator” benchmark workout was designed by OPEX Fitness.
Single Under Workouts – Mike C Team Single Under WOD
For Time (in a Team of 3)
Buy-In:
- 800 meter Run
Then, 12 Rounds of:
- 10 Synchronized Burpees
- 25 Single-Unders
Cash-Out:
- 800 meter Run
To start with, the team will run 800 meters together. After the run, they will do 12 rounds of synchronized Burpees and 25 single unders. Only one athlete is to work on the single unders at a time.
This memorial workout is dedicated to Michael Cannon who passed away on March 1, 2020, after sustaining extensive injuries from a car accident on February 29, 2020.
Workout 6 – Single Under Couplet
For Time:
- 500 Single Unders
Every minute on the minute starting at 0:00, perform:
- 3 Bodyweight Front Squats
Perform 500 single unders for time, yet, at the beginning of each minute, perform 3 bodyweight front squats. Score is the time it took you to complete the 500 single unders.
Combining rope skipping with strength or gymnastics movements can make it more challenging, giving you more opportunity to trip up. Keep concentrated and work hard.
Workout 7 – CrossFit Games Triple 3
For Time:
- 3000m Row
- 300 Single-Unders
- 3-Mile Run
Triple 3 is a workout from 2014 CrossFit Games.
The workout originally featured double unders, yet swapping them for single unders gives athletes less chance to rest if performed with speed.
Workout 8 – The Ghost
6 Rounds of:
- 1 Minute of Rowing
- 1 Minute of Burpees
- 1 Minute of Single-Unders
- 1 Minute Rest
Your score will be your combined rowing distance and max reps of burpees and single unders.
Try to hit the max amount of reps in each exercise.
