Jumps can be one of the hardest skills to learn for a cheerleader. You must have incredible leg and stomach muscles, good flexibility, and have incredible momentum when lifting up into the air. Here you'll learn how to become ready for jumps, and what stretches and excercises to learn to get better at jumps.
One of the hardest and most common jumps is the Toe Touch. This name doesn't exactly fit, because you aren't accually suppoosed to touch your toes. You are supposed to get close, but if you do end up touching your toes, your back is arched too much.
THE PREP is the first step. You should begin with your arms above your head in a high V motion.
THE LIFT is the second step. Swing your arms across your chest while bringing yourself up on your toes and bending knees.
THE SNAPSHOT is next. Push yourself off the ground as hard as you can and bring your legs up to the sides of you. Once in this position, make sure your SMILE! That is why it is called the snapshot. Tip: Make sure you don't do the splits in the air. Your legs should be about perpendicular with your arms.
THE LANDING is the last step. Land on your feet with your legs bend slightly. Immediately after landing, put your arms to your sides and your feet together.
Okay, this may seem really stupid, but this really helped me. What I do, is I like to watch television. Sometimes, I think about all the time I waste when commercials are on. So, I sorta made this deal with myself. I can watch t.v. as long as I want as long as I practice during commercials. I usually wear shorts or stretchy pants so I can stretch out during the first commercial. What I do, is when the commercial comes on, I do 5 toe-touch jumps, 25 sit-ups, and then practice my splits until the show comes back on. I'm not joking when I say this works. If you don't watch much t.v., then this may not help too much, but if you do, this helps TONS!!!
In order to make this jump look good, you must have incredible muscle strength and flexibility. Here are a few exercises to get you started. Change them if they are too easy or too hard. You should be able to talk while you are doing them, but not be able to sing.
CRUNCHES-These are simple, but effective. Put your feet under a bed or couch. Scoot up until your knees are almost touching the bed. Lie back and put your hands behind your head. (Do not cross your fingers together) With your ab muscles, pull your head up a few inches, and go back down. When you go back down, don't touch your head to the ground. Touch your shoulders and then immediately go back up. Do 3 sets of 30.
SQUATS-Stand up straight with your legs in a straddle position (about 2 feet apart) Bend your knees unil your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Hold for one count, then return to start position. Do 2 sets of 20.
LEG LIFTS-Sit on floor with legs out in front of you in straddle position. Slowly lift one leg a few inches off the floor. Hold for 2 counts then return to start. Repeat with other leg. Do about 2 sets of 10. Then do both legs at the same time. Do 2 Sets of 7 of those with each leg.
Sit with legs in straddle position in front of you in front of a wall. Slowly scoot up towards the wall so the legs are stretched outwards. As with all stretches, make sure you do not stretch to the point of extreme pain. When you don't think you can go any further without hurting yourself, stay in that position for about 20 seconds (or as long as you can). Then, take a breather. Try again, trying to go further each time. If you have a certain place that you practice where others won't go, mark how far you go with colored tape. You'd be amazed at how much further you can get in just about 2 weeks!
Sit with legs in straddle position in front of your. Bend over one leg and try to kiss your knee. Do not bend your knee! Then stretch over your other leg. With each stretch, hold for 30 counts, and do not bounce, which may result in injury. Do 20 of each stretch.
Sit with legs straight in front of your. Bend over them and try to put your hands behind your feet. Do not bounce, and hold each stretch for 30 counts. Do 15.
This is what I usually try to stick to. I try to streatch every single day. Even when I'm sick I pick myself out of bed and stretch on the floor for at least a few minutes, but when I'm well, I usually stretch for about 15 minutes. Monday-Saturday I do excersizes, and practice my jumps, tumbling, and cheering. On Tuesday, I also work on stamina. Sometimes, if I work REALLY hard on my stamina (usually running/jogging a 1/2 mile to 1 mile), then I don't do excersizes because after running you are pooped!
Don't worry if your can't get the jump the first time. Remember, perfection takes practice. I hope I helped!
