Cheerleading tips: How to do power jumps

Here’s a fun video from the wide world of YouTube.

It explains how to do power jumps and how to train for power jumps in cheerleading. As you can see, strength and flexibility play a big part in it.

Related: Improve your leg strength with our selection of cheerleading strength and conditioning equipment.

Cheerleading tips: Basic cheerleading stretches

Stretching is one of the most important parts of cheerleading.

Not only does it improve your flexibility and help you perform stunts better, it helps prevent injuries.

Here’s a quick video showing some basic stretches to do before you begin cheerleading. We also recommend stretching while you cool down after you work out — it’ll be a big help in preventing tight muscles.

Related: Shop our selection of cheerleading equipment and apparel.

Leader-Post: Cheerleading is no laughing matter

From the Regina Leader-Post in south-central Canada, here is an interesting take on the cheerleading lifestyle.

Sometimes cheerleaders get the short end of the stick. They work hard, putting in grueling hours of practice, to be called an “accessory to sporting events.”

As this author argues, many cheerleaders work harder than the athletes themselves.

Here is an excerpt:

Gone are the days where cheerleaders paraded around in short skirts and twirled their pigtails on the sidelines at football games. They are no longer merely an accessory to sporting events. Cheerleaders have emerged from the stereotypes that are still present in some spectators’ minds, and proved that they deserve the title of “athletes” just as much as the people on the field.

No other sport parallels cheerleading. Despite the fact it incorporates hints of dancing and gymnastics, cheerleading is set apart because it includes aspects like throwing people two or more storeys high, and completing sequences of stunts suspended in mid-air. Many of today’s all-star football or basketball players would not be able to do the basic stunts cheerleaders execute every day.

Cheerleaders go through practices and conditioning classes that are many times more gruelling than the majority of teams participating in athletics that are looked upon as “real sports”. Unlike sports such as basketball, cheerleading is not something you can make mistakes in. There is no opportunity to come back from a defeat.

You can read the entire article here.

Related: Browse our selection of cheerleading equipment.

Cheerleading tips: How to do a toe touch

In this video, and expert explains how to do a toe touch in cheerleading.

She also shows how to incorporate the toe touch into your routine.

Related: Browse our selection of cheerleading footwear.