When it comes to preparing for cheerleading tryouts there are 5 key areas cheerleaders should focus on. Just like a puzzle, when cheerleaders fail to focus on all the pieces of the puzzle they often get an incomplete picture; or worse, end up getting injured. The five key areas your athlete should focus on are: jumps, motion technique, stunts, tumbling, and the most important part of the puzzle is their strength/conditioning.
In my 23 plus years of coaching cheerleading, the number one reason I see that athletes do not meet their cheerleading goals is the lack of flexibility, speed, and strength required to master the art of cheerleading. Brooke Haden is a certified personal trainer and lead fitness trainer at Fitco in Forsyth, GA. Brooke developed a love for fitness after spending over 15 years as a former gymnast, competitive cheerleader, and as a former cheerleading coach at MGA. Drawing on her experience and knowledge Brooke has created a workout program designed to help develop the strength and athleticism required to excel in our sport. While this workout routine will only take 15-30 minutes a day, the benefits will pay off tremendously.
This workout routine should be performed in a circuit, which means perform each exercise for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, then move onto the next exercise. Once your athlete has completed all 6 exercises, we refer to that as being 1 set. Each athlete should perform 3 sets 3 to 4 times a week.
Exercise 1: Plank Walkout/Inchworms-
Exercise 2: Plank Holds
Exercise 3 and 4 Lateral Lunges
Exercise 5: Push up-
It is better to do the modified version correctly getting the full range of motion until you get the strength required to perform a proper regular push up
Exercise 6: Upright Row
To help you track your fitness goals and improvements, click here to download a workout tracker form.