Back Walkover

[laurensfierce2000]

hi everyone,
i'm having trouble doing my back walkover. going down into bridge with my leg up is fine, but i can't kick over & make the rotation: i just fall on my back. i'm really afraid of not competing this year & i would really appreciate any tips in throwing it!

 

[WinstonsGirl]

If you're having trouble with the kick over, I'd guess (without a video) that you're lacking in shoulder flexibility. When you kick over, you need to shift your weight past your shoulders/head to continue your momentum.

 

[123jump4!]

The leg that goes over first needs to be as straight as possible and you need to have a wide split while both legs are in the air. These tips helped my CP get it, as well as being able to do a good bridge pushing forward and yes you need shoulder flex for it. BWO is also about timing, you need to kick right when your hands land on the floor.

I'm not a coach, just a mom who paid for privates so my kid could get it. Good luck!

 

[cheer25mom]

Sounds like a shoulder flexibility issue if you can both go back and stand back up on one leg. If your wrist elbows and shoulders are not in a straight line perpendicular to the floor in your bridge, your weight will stay too far back when you kick. Inst
of the majority of your weight being in your arms, its in your hips and you fall on your back.

Trying to kick as soon as your hands hit the floor can be dangerous if you are just learning the skill. If you miss it and your hands and feet are off the ground at the same time (essentially jumping into the walkover) you can injure your elbow. I have personally seen this happen twice. It is common in people who lack shoulder flexibility because they instinctively want to "jump past" that flexibility barrier. A BWO should be one SLOW smooth continuous motion when first learning it, you can speed it up AFTER you master the skill.

CP got past her terrible shoulder flexibility by bridging with her hands on the floor next to a wall and pushing through her chest to touch the wall, slowly increasing the amount of time she held it for, along with having a coach seal stretch her, and stretch her over his back.

 

[fablilflyer]

This might sound weird but the way I finally got it was just by my coach putting my sister in front of me and telling me to kick her!! I also lacked shoulder flexibility, which is an easy fix if you just put your arm up on the wall and lean towards it, and do lots of bridges!!!