How to Do a Back Handspring

Series Summary

Gymnastics is a sport that involves a sequence of movements and exercises that require strength and flexibility. Typical gymnastic moves include handsprings, handstands, forward rolls, tucks, somersaults, vaults and other acrobatic maneuvers. Competitive gymnastics, like those in the Olympics, take a lot of dedication and practice. There are many types of gymnastics, including: artistic, rhythmic, sports aerobics, sports acrobatics, trampoline and power tumbling. These are all regulated by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique. The two most popular types of gymnastics are artistic and rhythmic gymnastics; these are the types seen in the Summer Olympic Games. In this free video series, a recreation program director demonstrates a variety of gymnastics moves and flips. Discover how to do a back handspring, how to do a back walkover and how to do a backflip. Next, move on to do a backflip with a twist, a backflip without jumping and a front flip. Practice gymnastics techniques with these tips on acrobatics.

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Caroline and this is Amanda. We're here at Encore Gymnastics and we are going to teach you how to do a Back Handspring. Before you do any activity, you want to make sure you stretch. We're going to stretch our wrist, back and forth and ankles and the other one and also your neck. Up and down and back and forth. For this particular skill, I'm going to have you bend your knees, come forward a little and push up into a bridge. This will stretch all the muscles that you're going to need for this skill. All through your back and your legs, your stomach and your arms. Go ahead and come down. When you do this skill, you want to start with your arms up and you're going to sit back like you're sitting in a chair. Right here you want to make sure that you are leaning back, if I were to move my leg she would fall. That's the point at which you are going to jump into this skill. So, head up, sit and jump, stop. Arms up. We're going to stop on your hands. Ready, sit, jump. Right there. This is, we call this a rainbow body or a back handspring position and then she's going to flip up and finish tall. We'll do that a little bit quicker. Arms up, sitting back, push, jump and finish. Very good. That is how to do a back handspring."