How to Practice Cheerleading Jumps

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Lucy Spain here to tell you about how to practice your cheerleading jumps. Practice is very important when it comes to jumps because you're height and form are going to improve immensely if you do a few simple exercises every day. Fist and foremost, to get your jumps looking their best, you're going to need to stretch. Stretch, stretch, stretch. I cannot say it enough. It's so important. Especially when it comes to your more advanced jumps like the herkies, the pikes and the double nines. You're going to want to do regular stretches, legs apart, down to the side, to the middle, to the other side. You're also going to want to do a lot of floor stretches such as your butterfly, stretch the inside of your legs, and the split stretch where you're going to want to work on getting your chest to the ground and getting your head to your legs. Now that we've talked about stretching and the importance of it, you should work on it for about twenty minutes a day. Next you can work on strength, toning and training your muscles. A good exercise to do are simple leg lifts. Concentrate on the right leg. You're going to want to be in a straddle position, lean back over your left leg, placing your right hand in front so you've got your balance. You're going to simply want to point your toes, same form you would in your jump, and lift this leg off the ground. I would do about fifteen to thirty reps, take a break, and switch sides. Now that we've learned that exercise, you can do a standing one in a similar fashion. These are called leg kicks. You're going to want to start with the right leg behind you if you're practicing the right leg, arms up in your high V, and simply. You can do the same thing with your left leg. Make sure you alway keep your strength training and stretching even on both sides, or else in your jumps you're going to be lopsided with the leg you're favoring. It's also important to practice your jumps in front of a full length mirror, sideways so you can see your form. Make sure you're not hunching over. You want to stay nice and straight. Another great ways to practice these is on a trampoline. So if you know anybody that has a trampoline, or sign up for some gymnastics classes, that would be a great time to practice your jumps. And that's how you practice your cheerleading jumps."