This workout is not a 4-mile run, but it might be harder on your calves and feet.

Once upon a time, there was a feat considered by many to be the gold standard of double under proficiency: two minutes straight. No rep requirement. You didn’t even have to count. The goal was just to do two minutes of double unders without stopping or missing.

If that were the challenge before you, would it change the way you did your double unders?

If the answer isn’t “yes,” you’re either (a) already doing your double unders in a smooth, efficient manner focused on consistency rather than speed, or (b) you're wrong.

But we’ll get to that later. Let’s begin with an analysis of Kyle Kasperbauer’s performance.

Analysis

 Notes:

1. Split times for each movement are taken when the athlete completes each set. Transitions are therefore accounted for at the beginning of each movement — i.e. the time for the overhead squats includes the time it takes the athlete to set down the jump rope and get to the barbell.

2. *This may have been four breaks, camera panned away.

3. **Kasperbauer seems to have planned for only one break and miscounted — the second break happened with only one rep remaining.

4. This is all hand timed and imperfect, but sufficient for our purposes.

The most important thing to highlight here is the degradation of Kasperbauer’s double unders. He added over a full minute between his fastest and slowest rounds. His mean time was 1:19.5, mostly as a result of the last two rounds (without them, his mean would have been 1:05.75).

So the question arises: was the severe deterioration in double unders preventable? I think the answer is yes, and much of your pacing strategy should be determined with the aim of maintaining consistency in your double unders.

I don’t mean to suggest here that the other movements don’t matter. They do — mostly the muscle-ups. But the double unders present a unique challenge, because it’s very easy to pace them incorrectly, and the cost of doing so is very high, as we see in Kasperbauer’s (nonetheless admirable) performance.

Output Management

Double unders: The name of the game is “break before you have to.” You should have decided on the following before starting the workout:

1. How large will your sets be at the beginning of the workout?

2. How long will your breaks be (on the clock, not in your head)?

3. What will you do when the plan fails?

Let’s start with point No. 2, because I think that’s the only one of these that is universalizable, and it essentially determines No. 1. You want to keep your rests short — let’s say five seconds on the low end, eight on the high end. Figure out how big your sets can be while keeping your rests in that range, and you’ll have your answer. Be realistic, not optimistic, and be ready to adjust to this standard as you fatigue.

This is sort of implied by the above, but all your sets should be submaximal. Break before you have to! Your set will be slower if you go 68-12-9-6-5 because you really, really, really wanted to go unbroken, than if you go 50-30-20 and keep your rests controlled. When you miss a rep, it is harder both physically and psychologically to get back to your rhythm.

No. 3 is especially important. For example, if you plan to go 60/40 but you trip at 38, do you try for 62 on your next set to stay as close as possible to the original breaks, or do you do get to 60 and then take the planned break before finishing the last 40? I don’t think there is a right answer here — but I think it is crucial that you have your answer before starting. Don’t waste precious seconds trying to come up with a plan on the fly.

I suspect that for elite athletes, two sets per round will be the sweet spot. There may be some freaks who go unbroken the whole way. If you are masterful at double unders and want to try doing at least some of the sets unbroken, I would go for the sets which are after muscle-ups, the reason being that muscle-ups will slow the overall pace down anyway, and you will likely be coming off of them with a bit of a longer break since the last round of double unders.

Muscle-Ups: There are two cases with regards to the muscle-up. They either barely matter (you’re an elite athlete) or they matter quite a bit (you’re everyone else).

Alright, so “barely matter” is a bit of an exaggeration. But the approach for those rare few who look at 12 muscle-ups the way my cats look at graham crackers (they’re weird) is certainly going to be different. Specifically, elite athletes will need to approach the muscle-ups in a way which considers the rest of the workout, whereas the slightly-less-elite will treat the muscle-ups as a standalone piece.

If you aren’t capable of ripping through the muscle-ups without a second thought, your best approach is to keep submaximal sets with controlled rest, being more realistic than optimistic about just how large those sets can be. It’s better to do four sets of three with no misses and all of your rests on the clock, than to do two sets of four, a set of two, and two sets of one, all with your rests getting longer and longer as you go. Just as you did with the double under, you should go in with a plan for how many reps you’re going to do each set, a plan for how long your rests will be, and a plan for adjusting the plan when the plan fails. Plans, plans, plans!

Now let’s imagine for a moment that you could, theoretically, do the muscle-ups unbroken. Athletes in this position must answer the question: should you?

It seems obvious that going unbroken is good. But it’s only good if it does not negatively impact your overall pace, particularly your double unders. If you crank out twelve ring muscle-ups, leaving your pecs, shoulders, biceps, and grips heavily fatigued, what will the time-cost on the following set of double unders be? Is it likely to be more than the cost of a 5-10 second break between two sets of muscle-ups? The answer is, of course, “it depends”, but you must consider this when deciding how to tackle your muscle-ups.

Overhead Squat and Dumbbell Snatch: Again there are two groups: those who can go unbroken easily, and those who cannot. But the latter group’s strategy can be quickly dispatched. If you can go unbroken easily, do it. Don’t push the pace. Move smooth and steady, focus on breathing and keeping your heart rate in check. The end.

If you need to break into two sets, my recommendation is to aim to get past the halfway mark in your first set. This always makes the second set less mentally daunting. However, break before fatigue forces you! It’s better to do three planned sets than two planned sets and an unplanned third. As always, come in with a resting strategy and stick to it on the clock, not in your head.

Technical Considerations

Double Under: Smooth, not fast! Focus on breathing and stay relaxed, particularly in your forearms and traps. Try to take deep breaths as you go. Pushing your pace here is all cost, no benefit. Keep it in check unless you happen to be in the middle of a round of double unders with ten seconds left on the clock.

Overhead Squat: Get good, SOLID overhead position, allowing the load to “rest” on your shoulders and upper back. Watch your posture. The better your position here, the less your shoulders will suffer. Work at a smooth pace, and be sure to lock your hips and knees at the top of each rep – it’s very easy to miss lockout on light overhead squats.

Muscle-Up: Nothing other than good, sound muscle-ups, but it’s worth a reminder that the more powerful and efficient your kip, the less fatigued your upper body will be, the less your double unders will be impacted.

Dumbbell Snatch: If your hands are big enough, you probably want to hook grip here. Try to maximize use of the hips and legs and minimize use of the arms. This isn’t always the best strategy for light weight dumbbell snatches, but your concern here isn’t cycle time, it’s allaying local fatigue that could impact the more challenging elements of the workout.

Other Notes

Double Under: Make sure you have your judge watch and confirm a good amount of reps prior to the workout – I’d say at least 30 or so. Double unders are a really difficult movement to judge, and you don’t want to find out you and your judge aren’t on the same page when you’re halfway through the second set.

Set-Up: Apart from the usual care taken into smooth and fast transitions, there are two things you want to make sure of. First, be sure that after each round, you take a second to set your rope down neatly, in the same way each time, so that you don’t have to waste time on the back end organizing yourself. Second, be careful that you don’t end up jumping rope too close to any of your other implements. With five different stations (rope, barbell, rings, dumbbell, pullup bar), it’s likely that you will have to crowd in a bit in order to keep your transitions quick. Double unders are an easy exercise to move around on, so be sure that you reset to your starting position at the end of each round so that you don’t end up causing a missed rep by clipping something with your rope.

As Always: Read the standards. Read them again. Watch the videos. If they’re relevant for you, make sure you fully understand the filming standards and make sure that you have a time established at your gym where you can expect to perform the workout uninterrupted. Don’t force yourself into an unnecessary redo because you didn’t do your homework.

I hope you and your calves have a fantastic 18.3!

Warm-Up

Note: This is only the part of the warm-up which is specific to the Open workout. It should not replace your general warm-up routine.

1. Jog 800m + 30 Russian Kettlebell Swings (light) + 15 American Kettlebell Swings (light)

2. 3 Rounds:

3. 
   

   1. 10 Single Arm Overhead Walking Lunges, left arm, light and controlled

   2. 10 Single Arm Overhead Walking Lunges, right arm, light and controlled

   3. 5 Tap Swings on Rings + 5 Tap Swings on Pullup Bar

   4. 5 Calf Raises with slow eccentric, full range

   5. 
      

      1. Stand on a plate or the edge of a platform so that you can take the eccentric as far as your ankle range allows.

4. EMOM 12, alternating:

5. 
   

   1. 1:00 Jump Rope (mix up single, doubles, crossovers, single leg, etc, but make sure to get into a good rhythm with doubles towards the end of each set)

   2. 1-3 Muscle-Ups, alternate rings/bar each round

   3. 6 Dumbbell Snatch, alternating + 4 Overhead Squat (start light, build to RXd weight)

Jacob Tsypkin is the owner of TZ Strength. He began CrossFit in 2005, owned a gym for seven years, and switched to programming and remote coaching full time in 2014, after realizing he was just truly bad at mopping floors. In his free time, Jacob can be found battling fellow wizards at Magic: The Gathering, pontificating at the intersection of epistemology, ethics, sport, and training on his blog Exercise Philosophy, or practicing his Pajama Fighting in preparation for his final battle with Armen.