How to Improve Your Strength and Flexibility for Cheerleading Jumps

You must stretch and strengthen to improve your cheerleading jumps.

Improving your fitness level for any sport is a lengthy process. You can't begin a training program a week before an event and expect to see results. But if you stick with a training program, you'll see improvements. To see results, you have to use a program at least three days a week that combines at least four stretches and five exercises. The stretches will improve your flexibility and the exercises will improve your strength.

Instructions

Stretching

1. Stand with your feet together. Bend your right leg back, grab your right foot behind your back and pull the foot upward toward your backside. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and repeat for the other leg. This stretch is called the "standing quadricept stretch" and as sidelinestar.com suggests, this is "a good one for balance and stretching."

2. Bend at the waist and touch the floor with both hands. Keep your legs straight but don't lock your knees. Slide your hands to your right foot and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat for the left foot.

3. Sit with your legs pointed outward in a "V" shape. Reach both of your hands forward to the middle of the "V," keeping your back straight. "Concentrate on keeping your back straight, so that your belly button approaches the floor," suggests sidlinestar.com. Slide your hands to the farthest point you can reach on your right leg and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat the stretch for the left side.

4. Sit with your legs together straight in front of you. Point your toes straight up and reach to a point just over your toes. Hold for 10 seconds and return to the starting position. Point your feet forward and repeat the stretch.

Exercises

1. Stand with your feet together and your knees bent no more than 90 degrees. Jump as high as you can without using your arms, absorb the landing and return to the angle your knees were originally at. Do three sets of five jumps. According to varsity.com, this exercise will improve your jump height and strengthen your leg and calf muscles.

2. Stand with your feet together and your arms extended in a "T" position. Kick your right leg to the right as high as you can and bring it down as fast as you can. Repeat for the left leg. Do three sets of five kicks for each leg.

3. Sit on the floor with your legs in a wide "V" shape, your back straight and your hands on the floor in front of you. Lift your right leg 2 inches off the ground and hold for two seconds. Repeat for the left leg. Work up to holding each leg up for 10 seconds. This is a difficult exercise to master, so "take it slowly in the beginning," suggests sidelinestar.com.

4. Sit with your legs in a wide "V" shape, your back straight and your toes pointed forward. Extend your arms to the sides and lift both legs off the ground. Hold for four seconds. Work up to doing four sets and holding for eight seconds instead of four.

5. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and together in front of you about 3 inches away from your pelvis; keep your knees together. Hold the inside of your biceps against your sides and extend your arms 90 degrees to your body. Keep your back straight and quickly extend your legs until they are straight. Bring your legs back to the starting position and repeat. Work up to three sets of 20 reps. According to sidelinestar.com, this exercise, called "sitting tuck-toe touches," will improve your balance and explosion power, and strengthen your abdominal muscles and hip flexors, key muscles used in cheerleading jumps.

Tips & Warnings

• Here's a jump tip. Attempt to do three to five sets of each of these exercises 15 times. To see your progress, videotape your jumps each week and compare them.

References

• Varsity: Skills and Drills - Jumps
• Sideline Star Cheerleading; Cheerleading Jumps, Skills and Drills for Cheer Coaching; August 10, 2010
• Cheerleading Info Center: Toe Touch Cheerleading Jump