Question by bria: What are good stretches for cheerleading and jumps?
I somewhat new to the cheerleading world.So when I do my pikes and toe touches they aren’t very high.Any of my jumps for that matter.I think im improving on my toe touches.But i don’t see a difference in my pikes.I was wondering if there any stretches or exercises to get my pikes and toe touches higher??If there are any could you please tell me them.It would help a lot!!!
Best answer:
Answer by CSScheer
Hello =) One exercise that I found works extremely well is leg lifts. Sit on the floor with your legs in a ‘V’ and put your hands next to your hips and slightly behind you. Lift one leg about a foot off the ground and hold it for about ten seconds then lower and repeat with the next leg. They’re difficult but they work!
Also to improve flexibility (and your jumps and kicks) you could a kick drill. Kick with your right leg to your right side 10 times then to the front 10 times then switch to your left leg to the front 10 times and finally to the left 10 times. Dont pause between your kicks. You sort of have to bounce while you do it.
And practice practice practice! The more you do them the better and easier they’ll get!
Hope this helps =)
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
even though i wasn’t a cheerleader in high school i was on the dance team and we did the same cheer jumps as ya’ll do.
i found that to best way to get my pikes up and in the air stright try and stretch out your legs out in front of you. now stretch to your feet as far as u can (try and get ur nose ALL THE WAY to ur knees) and hold it there for 30 seconds intervals.
now as for toe-touches, that came easy for me becasue in the dance team world we have a jump called “the russian”. it’s like a running toe-touch. but to get that up i sat in a stradle and leaned to both sides to stretch all my muscles out.
i hope this helps in some way 😀
-stephany
well flexibility is only half of doing jumps, when you have the flexibility work on core and leg strength. then practice practice practice.
If you mean your overall height is low do squats and calf busters (stand on your tippy toes and raise and lower your feet) to get more power.
If you mean that your legs in the air are low you need to do ab work like crunches. Leg lifts, T kicks, Doggies (like they are using the fire hydrant) all help too.
Good luck, and don’t despair if you don’t see improvement right away. Get someone to video you once a month and then compare the videos (especially first to last) so that you can really see your growth. :^D