Question by JJ: What kind of things can I do to strengthen my body for cheerleading and gymnastics?
I have been cheering for ten years and i have recently joined a competitive cheer squad. On this new squad I am a base (the person on the bottom holding the girls up). I need new things for me to do so I can strengthen my body to allow me to do these things easier so I am less likely to hurt myself when I do these. Can anybody help?
Best answer:
Answer by ithinkso
go to cheerleading clinic
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Core strength exercises will help you the most. I would recommend swimming, and ask your gym if they provide trainers that can help you with a routine to help your core strength.
Start eating more dairy to increase your calcium so your bones get stronger, and make sure you start seeing a chiropractor – you will really need to take care of your bones.
I was a cheerleader for 5 years in HS and junior high and a gymnast for 12 years, from age 4 to age 16. I also coached gymnastics and cheerleading when I was in college and then again when I had only my first two kids.
Push-ups are boring, so are curls, but they will strengthen your upper body a lot. You can use anything as weights for curls that you have around your house, as long as you can get a good grip on it (I’ve even used milk jugs for this!). I would recommend doing real push-ups, not girl push-ups (the kind where you’re on your knees). Keep your body completely straight, have your arms out so that when the elbows are bent, they are at a 90 degree angle (corner of a square), and go up and down, without letting your stomach touch the ground. Keep your core tightened.
Pull-ups, or chin-ups, on a bar also strengthen upper body. When I was in gymnastics, we did these with our hands facing outward, not inward toward our body, and they were hard. You can also do the chin hang, in which you pull your chin up to the bar like in a chin up, but you stop and hang there for a while. If you want to strengthen your core while you do those, you can put your legs in an L (at a 90 degree angle with your body), or a V (a 45 degree angle with your body).
I hope these help. Good luck! I sure do miss cheering and tumbling!
lots of jumps..
lots of crunches
handstands, splits, pushups…
flipflops
kicks
anything that you would do in a routine..
will help you to get stronger…
same with gymnastics…