Declan McCarthy – Discovering Jump Rope and Managing OCD with Fitness (#04)

“Of course, once I fell in love with it, it became like a game. What new trick can I learn next?” —Declan McCarthy

In this episode, I talk with Declan McCarthy, @decmcc10 on instagram. Declan is a truly amazing guy, and this was actually the first time we’ve spoken live. We get into a lot of different topics, including the evolution of Dec’s training style, the major we both started with at university, and his journey with OCD.

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a multi-faceted condition, and Dec does a phenomenal job unpacking the different elements and explaining what it’s like to live with OCD. It really envelops the mind, and I’m extremely grateful for his willingness to discuss the difficulties he’s faced. I have so much respect for this guy! At one point, we discuss, given the opportunity, whether or not he would change everything he’s gone through. His answer surprised me, and I think it might surprise you as well.

You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Overcast.

Show Notes

Declan’s Podcast (2:30)

Declan’s Fitness and Sport Beginnings (4:09)

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? (7:20)

Therapy and Managing OCD (18:05)

Converting Stones to Pounds (20:55)

The Symbiotic Relationship of Physical and Mental Health (21:22)

Declan’s History with Fitness (22:29)

Declan’s Strategy for Nutrition (23:59)

How Declan Found Jump Rope (25:12)

Learning Jump Rope (28:38)

Current Jump Rope Training (30:45)

Becoming a Personal Trainer (33:00)

Developing Jump Rope Style (36:22)

The Power of Social Media (38:39)

If You Could Change Anything, Would You? (42:37)

Studying Film at University (43:19)

What is Jump Rope to You? (44:18)

The Jump Rope High (45:17)

Time of Day to Work Out (45:48)

Selected Links

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Here’s each step of this combo: 👉 Swing 👉

Here’s each step of this combo:

👉 Swing
👉 Leg Over Swing
👉 Arm Wrap + Release
👉 Unwrap + Regrab
👉 Swing
👉 Basic Cross

Make sure you keep your hands really close, even as you’re doing all of this wrapping. Keep a smooth, even rhythm without speeding up the rope aggressively. Doing this will prevent handle from flying away from your body haha

And definitely don’t power through this combo with your entire arm. You want to use your wrist to rotate the rope and get that nice, smooth motion for this combo!

#jumprope #skippingrope #athomeworkout #ropeskipping #jumpropetricks

The Split Bound Handstand is where your feet split

The Split Bound Handstand is where your feet split apart (like a front straddle) right before bounding into the handstand position!

Remember: DON’T TRY THIS IF you haven’t already learned how do a Stepping Handstand Pull Through.

If you’re ready to try this, use your front leg to push off the ground to bound into the air.

Once you’re in the air, your back leg swings to rotate you into the handstand position.

This one is intimidating at first, and I would definitely recommend NOT full sending it right away! Take it slowly and only do small bounds into that handstand position at first 👌

#handstands #jumprope #skippingrope #doubleunders #handstand #athomeworkout #ropeskipping #jumpropetricks

This combo is: 👉 Toad Cross 👉 Toad Swing

This combo is:

👉 Toad Cross

👉 Toad Swing

👉 Elephant Cross

For this to work, you MUST use both hands to turn the rope! That might sound a little bit obvious, but it’s really easy to forget to use the hand that’s underneath the Toad leg.

As you go from the Toad Cross into the Toad Swing, use that Toad hand to rotate the rope as you transition into that Elephant position.

Make sure you go slowly so you don’t jump too early for the Elephant. If you wait until the rope comes all the way down to the ground before jumping, it’ll be way easier to do the Elephant Cross!

#jumprope #skippingrope #athomeworkout #ropeskipping #jumpropetricks

The Swing, Swing, Open, Open Quad is a classic ski

The Swing, Swing, Open, Open Quad is a classic skill!

You start this with a Swing, and then use the hand that’s farther away from your body to transition over your other hand to the other side.

Then pull the rope back to an open and finish with one final open rotation!

This one’s definitely tough, but the most important important thing to remember is to make sure your hands are really really efficient at doing that swing transition movement!

Your hands must be able to transition from one side to the other with very minimal movement in order to get this done. You could still complete the skill without efficient movement but it’s going to be a lot harder haha so keep all of these tips in mind as you try the SSOO Quad!

#jumprope #skippingrope #doubleunders #tripleunders #quadrupleunders #athomeworkout #ropeskipping #jumpropetricks

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← Prev:The Culture and Origins of Competitive Jump Rope with Chris Holmes (#03) Coaching and Learning Competitive Jump Rope with Susahnn Valente-Olsen (#05) →

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