Flexibility

[nellie]

Hello all!
So I'm a college cheerleader looking for some advice on flexibility for flyers? I've been a gymnast my whole life so I do have some flexibility, but I have more muscle and power than flexibility. I've been stretching everyday but I haven't really seen much improvement and have no idea what to do. I do the basic stretches as well as over splits, and back stretches, but it's like nothing is improving. Does anyone have any advice on this or maybe some different stretches that could help? Thank you in advanced!

 

[Joanie]

How long have you been out of gymnastics? If you have done it your whole life, you should have a pretty good idea of a flexibility routine your gym/program used and what stretches work best for you. Easing back into it can take time, but you should start to see improvements if you're stretching correctly.

If you were a gymnast, I would expect that you are at least able to pull the stretches. Are you having difficulty getting to the point of pulling them or are you just trying to get them really pretty? Is there a particular body position that's giving you the most difficulty?

My recommendation is to start moving into a routine that's tailored for flying. "Basic" stretches are a good warm up but you're going to need to start partner stretching and putting a big emphasis on your splits. If you're flexible enough, start doing splits with each foot on a mat so you hang and get a better stretch. Make sure you lean forward and backward in each split.

There are a ton of really educational stretching videos for flyers on YouTube. It would take me years to type out everything they go over. The biggest thing though is to take your time and don't expect changes overnight. Everyone is different and some people take longer to build flexibility.

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

If you're talking about flexibility for flying, it sounds like you've got plenty. Maybe the problem is a lack of strength in the muscles used to hold your body in those body positions. That will come with practice and working specifically on strengthening those muscles.

 

[CheerTD]

Have you looked into yoga?

The CheerTD family