Double Under Disaster to Double Under Master [Customer Spotlight]

February 26, 2018 0 Comments

Meet Brent: A determined 43 year-old Canadian father of three, lover of Japanese culture, and avid Crossfitter.

For years Brent has struggled to string together double unders despite spending countless hours watching YouTube tutorials and in the gym practicing his technique.

No matter how hard he worked, however, he just couldn't seem to get a feel for them...

Until he discovered Crossrope. Read on to find out how Brent finally conquered his double under struggles and broke his double under record on the very first try with his new ropes.

Crossrope Update (April 21, 2017)

Our initial interview with Brent was conducted back in October of 2016. We recently caught up with Brent to see how he has progressed since then.

You'll find the updated Q&A down below.

CR: How'd you come across Crossrope?

Brent: My goal, ever since I started functional fitness over 5 years ago, was to learn how to perform double unders. I have always struggled with them...I mean, REALLY struggled!

After watching the 2016 CrossFit OPEN, I decided to give it another go. But after six months of intense training, buying new ropes and watching every single YouTube tutorial out there, I could still only string a few double unders together.

Then, I came across the Crossrope 21-Day Double Under Challenge and figured it was worth a shot. Only a few days into the challenge, I became convinced that Crossrope would help me learn double unders, and ordered my first set.

Although I purchased the ropes a few at a time, I now have the entire Crossrope Premium Set which includes the four weighted ropes in the Plus Set (comparable to the new and improved Get Fit Bundle) and the high-speed Bolt Set.

Crossrope Get Fit Jump Rope Bundle for total Fitness

One of the other factors that helped me decide to buy Crossrope was that I didn’t have to mess around with rope size. This really simplified the process as I always felt that I cut my ropes either too long or too short (and that was just one more factor holding me back). I found that the Crossrope sizing guidance was spot on for me.

CR: What are the main changes you've noticed since using Crossrope?

Brent: Well, I learned how to Double Unders!

On Day 10 of the Challenge, my Crossrope order arrived and I headed out to the driveway to try them out. I was surprised by how robust the whole set was – very well designed.

I took a deep breath and did 10 Singles + 1 DU. I moved up to +2DU, then +3, then +4 -- I had never been able to do that before!

I hit record on my phone and busted out 21 unbroken DU’s. BOOM!

Note from Crossrope: Brent went above and beyond without us even asking and created a before and after video to show his double under progress. It's epic so we're sharing it here. Check it out:

CR: How has Crossrope changed or enhanced the way you train?

Brent: I can now Rx WODs with Double Unders! That's a pretty big deal because being able to perform double unders fills a HUGE gap in my CrossFit game.

Like the 21-Day Challenge, I add it as accessory work on my days off. I also use the Fury and Intensity ropes in my warm-ups.

CR: What is your favorite Crossrope workout?

Brent: Week 3 of the 21-Day Challenge featured a lot of rope-changing drills, which required me to switch between heavy and light rope weights.

Although I could technically perform double unders at this point, I was only comfortable performing them with the heavier Agility rope (comparable to the new and improved 1/4 LB Jump Rope from the Get Fit Bundle) and not yet able to string them together on the lighter speed ropes.

One of the last drills of the Challenge called for a light speed rope, Agility and Energy rope.

I debated long and hard if I should even use a speed rope since I still couldn’t do double unders with it, but I ultimately decided to stick to the program.

Much to my surprise, I ended up doing 6 double unders, and even got up to 21 on the last set! Afterwards, I set a new PR of 53 unbroken DUs with a speed rope!

Without a doubt, the Crossrope method allowed me to develop the feel and timing for lighter ropes.

CR: What are your favorite Crossrope training resources and why?

Brent: Honestly, I love them all.

I like and post regularly on the Facebook group, but really enjoy the Crossrope DU programs (like the 21-Day Challenge and 4-Week Double Under Domination program).

CR: What is your most embarrassing or funny jump rope moment?

Brent: Not such a fun story, but in the 2015 CrossFit OPEN, there was a 14 minute AMRAP of 7 Muscle Ups, 50 Wall Balls and 100 DUs.

I was doing everything I could to string double unders together so I could finish one round (I’d end the workout 56 DU short, not even close) but my frantic, crazy, broken double under attempts led to a splitting headache that suddenly went off like a thunder clap in my head as the WOD ended.

If you've never had an exertion headache, I hope you never do. When it happens, you’re 99.8% sure you’re going to drop dead on the spot of an aneurysm. It was scary, painful and really drove home my desire to learn how to properly perform double unders.

Not gonna lie, though - I’m very much looking forward to revisiting this WOD soon!

CR: How has Crossrope helped you improve your performance?

Brent: A lot of people at my gym compliment me on my drive and determination, but I’d be still trying to figure out double unders if it weren’t for the Crossrope system.

Even though I practiced with all kinds of ropes, none of them gave me the feedback I needed like Crossrope did. It’s simply a superior product and money well-spent.

For years, I was the worst in my gym at double unders. I’d scale every WOD to single unders, or I’d settle for only a few double unders in OPEN WODs.

Now, I’m motivated to become the best at double unders in my entire gym, and Crossrope gives me the training and the edge to achieve this goal. And I still can't believe how much I've improved with a recent PR of 177 unbroken double unders now!

It’s my "not-so-secret, secret weapon." :)

The other day, my 11 year-old picked up one of my Crossropes and strung together 10 double unders...on his first try. Meanwhile, I've struggled for years, invested hundreds of dollars in ropes and countless hours of training and yet he just picks up the rope and BOOM.

It was a proud dad moment, for sure.

Catching Up (6 Months Later)

CR: Since we last connected with you, have you continued to see progress/improvement with your Crossrope training? If so, what areas specifically?

Brent: After my spotlight I went on and did the 4 week Crossrope Double Under Domination program and that improved my form and wrist turnover.

I’m still working on my DU’s but they've come on a long way since being featured on the Crossrope blog.

CR: How many consecutive double unders are you able to do now and what's your favorite rope to perform them with?

Brent: Truthfully, I haven’t tried again since my 177DU's back in August. These days most WODs I do only call for 35-50 DU's so that’s my zone now.

I can generally do them unbroken but that doesn’t mean I’m done learning. I'll revisit my DU training in the summer and challenge my PR then.

For my DU’s, I love my customized Bolt Set — I added Handle Grip Tape.

CR: How many Crossrope Challenges have you participated in (to date) and which one did you like the most?

Brent: Not many, my focus up to now has been preparing for the CrossFit OPEN but love keeping tabs on everyone's progress on the Jump Rope Fitness Community.

CR: What continues to be your biggest hurdle in reaching your fitness goal(s)?

Brent: Time and focus. I’m a father of 3, I have multiple jobs and with CrossFit you need to be constantly working on your weaknesses.

Training ends up being more about priorities since you can’t do everything but that's the draw of the sport - it never gets boring.

Any major life events/changes since your Spotlight?

Brent: The 2017 CrossFit OPEN came and went and I totally exceeded my expectations.

Last year, I had a great OPEN and finished 189th in my region. This year I placed 43rd (Men’s 40-44 • Canada East ).

More impressively, the last workout of the OPEN, 17.5 featured 10 rounds of Thrusters and DU’s and I finished it in 49th!! In a workout with DU’s!!!

In the past anything with DU’s was my weakest event and now it was one of my best. For a guy who never thought he’d ever figure out how to DU, the feeling of accomplishment was amazing!

Looking forward to graduating to 45-49 category next year.

My final round of 17.5 vs. my DU PR video from July 2016

Favorite Crossrope product of 2016/2017?

Brent: Those Limited Edition ropes were pretty slick!

Crossrope Heavy LE jump rope set

The Limited Edition Set - an exclusive jump rope combo set available periodically.

CR: Favorite new Crossrope workout or skill you've learned in the last 2 months?

Brent: I’ve started adding criss-crosses to my warm-ups and would love to see a skills challenge from Crossrope in the future.

Top 3 favorite jump rope workout songs?

Brent: I think Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ is the perfect jump rope song... and if you train without hearing Drake, did you really train at all? So put ‘Headlines' as my 2nd choice. Finally, have a huge man-crush on Dave’s DU Tabata video so the 'Dr. Dre Tabata Songs' would be #3.