How to do a Straddle Stretch for Gymnastics

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Mandy Butler on behalf of Expert Village. I'm going to take you through a gymnastics class stretch and warm-up. Now, I'm going to keep my legs in their straddle position and really focus on stretching my side. I'm going to wrap one arm around my stomach, put my other arm up nice and straight, lock my elbow, and try to put my ear down to my knee. I tell my little ones to listen to their knee because that helps them understand the body position I'm trying to get them to get into. So, I'm going to reach, put my ear to my knee making sure I don't turn forward because that stretches a different part of your body. Make sure you stay to the side. My hand is grabbing the back of my ankle or the back of my heel and I'm pulling my torso down. I'm going to hold that, again, for at least 20 seconds and then I'm going to go up, wrap the other arm around, and do the same thing to this side. Now, you'll notice, this is my least flexible side. So, I'm really going to have to work hard to pull my body down. Just because this is your "bad side", doesn't mean you can cheat. It just means it's more important for you to stretch. Arms up. You can repeat the same thing with your toes flexed and really work out those calf muscles. Make sure you get a nice tight stretch so your body is ready to do more advanced tumbling skills in the rest of your practice."