Cheerleading (: !? Backbends !?, Round offs !?, and Cartwheels !?

Question

My little sister has a question:

Okayyyy , So I'm a cheerleader .

And I have been for two yearss .

But my sister has been for a LONGGG time !

And I have A few questions here ...

NUMBER 1: I am not a flexible person at all ! How do I improve my flexibility !?

Number 2: I always seem to hurt my wrist or ankle or arms while im cheerleading , what are good stratches to prevent this ? [While im like doing jumps, or tumbling...]

Number 3: I learned how to do a roundoff a few weeks ago , now my cartwheels arent very good. They used to bee EXCELLENT !! Why is this and how can I improve them both ?

Number 4: How do I make my jumps highers ? Especially a higher pike .. and esp. a higher toe-touch/russian and my legs spread apart more in the air ?

Number 5: BACKBENDSSSSS ! I can only do these with a spotter, same with back walk overs and front walk overs. How do i learn to do a back bend? then a back walk over? then a front walker over ? and dont say [for backbends] stack pillows , do it off the wall , because it doesnt work . my back desnt bend easily and i dont trust myself cause i usually fall on my head or something .

Please helpp me with thissss !!

Answer 1

1 & 2) Streeeetttch at least twice a day everyday. Warm up until you sweat first, or else you will be stretching tendons and ligaments instead of muscles. http://aescougarcheer.com/Cheer101/exerc...

3) Your cartwheels got messed up because now your body is used to doing round-offs. Keep doing cartwheels down a line and really focus on having a tight straight body, arms and legs. Pointing/curling your toes will help. And really pay attention to having a big straddle and doing the whole foot-hand-hand-foot pattern.

4) Jump every day. Do several of each jump you know and even more of the one you most want to improve. Don't forget to do a lot of ab work like crunches because it is your stomach muscles that really give you the ability to get into position in the air. http://aescougarcheer.com/Cheer101/Skill...

5) For bridges and limbers read the paragraphs here in the back handspring section. http://aescougarcheer.com/Cheer101/tumbl...  As you can see here, http://www.gymnasticsrevolution.com/Brid... you need flexibility not just in your back, but also in your stomach, shoulders, and quads (the front of your thighs.)  It is possible that you can't kick over because a) your arms are in the wrong position and not locked out (they should be right on your ears) and b) you aren't kicking over hard enough out of fear of falling, which ironically, is more likely to cause you to fall.

Good luck. I am sure if you put some hard work in you will eventually see all the improvements you are looking for. Just keep the faith!

Answer 2

1  the only way to get better flex is to stretch!  no short cuts or secrets.....start at just a few minutes a day....once you can do em for a while you can watch tv or do homework while in splits or whatever....

2  wrists- roll em and then stretch em by putting ur palms down on the ground and lean forward....then flip em over.....ankles just roll em.....

3  idk why....practice!!!  but practice doesnt make perfect....PERFECT practice makes perfect....if u dont use form u might as well not practic....u dont want bad habits that are hard to break!

4 sorrry cant help

5 i think by backbends u mean like a bridge.....u definatly need flex in ur back.....dont try to do backwalkovers till you have the flex to do a bridge.....once u have that....i was really scared to go backwards.....i did the wall thing and it helped me.....took forever but it worked......start with both feet on the ground.....wait to do it one legged until u r confident.....with front walkovers.....i never got to do this but i trained for it with doing handstand and then lowering to bridge and then limbering up....so basically a slow broken down one.....

good luck!!!