Doing a Back Bend for Gymnastics Warm Ups

Video Transcript

"I’m Heather McCanna with expertvillage.com and in this clip I’ll be discussing gymnastics warm-ups, specifically the back bend. This is a skill that utilizes the stretch we performed earlier called the bridge. You’re going to be in an arch position with your feet and your hands on the floor. Begin this skill with your feet slightly apart about shoulder width and your hands directly above your body with your palms facing forward and your fingertips facing up. You gradually lower your shoulders leading with your hands and looking at your hands towards the ground, arching your lower back until your hands gently reach the floor. At this point, if you’re not ready to stand back up, you can simply walk your feet further away from your body and then lower yourself to the ground, just as we did with the bridge stretch. If you are ready to stand up, you will simply perform the skill just as we did previously. At this point, you will rock your weight from your hands back to your feet and stand up. This is also a basic gymnastics skill that will be necessary for many tumbling skills on both the floor and the balance beam. "