Here are some stretches that help you get properly
prepared for tumbling. The first thing you want to do is leg exercises.
Here's what I always do first before tumbling:
1. Sit down on floor, legs
spread
in a comfortable straddle (i.e., don't stress if you don't have that good of
one).
2. Reach over your left leg and touch your nose to your knees and hold for 30
seconds (for beginners I suggest a 15 - 20 second warm-up)
3. Now go to your
right leg repeat the same exercise, holding for another 30 seconds.
4. This
time,
go as far down as you can go to the middle, so your chest is on the floor,
and hold
this for 40 seconds.
5. After that, your legs will probably feel a tight
sensation,
if it does you will want to stand up and run in place for a couple of seconds
or until the sensation goes away.
After I do my leg exercise, I like to do crunches to get my ABS tight. I do
about 50, take a break, and do another set. Even though this may hurt,
just know that this is helping you. After that, I stretch my arms out to
get the re-assurance that they'll be worked, pumped and ready to go.
I do push-ups and hold a handstand for as many seconds as I can. Note that
if you are just starting out and have never done heavy duty stretching
and conditioning before, begin with 20 crunches and 25 push-ups.
Next it's time to stretch out your wrists. I feel that working your wrists
out is the most important part of stretching for tumbling. When loosening
your wrists, you will want to get on your hands and knees and put/release
weight
on your wrists by leaning forward, to the side, and back. Do this for
about 40 - 45 seconds in each direction. When doing these loosening exercises,
you may want to experiment and move you wrists in different directions as well
as your body.
And last but not least: the back bend. This helps your legs,
ABS, arms, back, and wrists - all of which are essential to tumbling skills.
You may want
to hold your back bend for about 30 seconds, take a rest, and try 30 seconds
more.
I hold mine for about a minute straight, but that's because I've practiced.
Ok, there you have it - I just went over the basic stretching rules with you.
I hope these help you, but know this: For all the tumbling beginners, or for
the very advanced ones, the number of seconds I put to hold the stretches were
mere suggestions! You can hold it for less or more than the amount,
depending on your ability.
How to get a better, more powerful round-off
STEP 1: Do a cartwheel and finish facing sideways with hips open (head should stay natural, arms by the ears).
STEP 2: Do the same as step 1 but just before the second foot hits the mat turn with square hips and shoulders and land with feet together.
STEP 3: Do a step hurdle into the roundoff working on keeping the hips open, head in, and arms by the ears.
PURPOSE: These steps are to avoid piking down in the roundoff. Many times gymnasts get their feet together and turn too quickly which causes them to have to pike down.
HELPFUL TIPS:
Make all cartwheels stretched and long. Putting chalk marks on the floor for the hands and feet are often helpful. A rubber band can be used around the arms by the elbows to help the arms stay by the ears. Take your time on each of the steps. To do them correctly may take some time, but it will be worth it in the long run.REASONS WHY
Early turn
Not keeping hips and shoulders square into the hurdle and lunge.Pike down
Turning too early in the hurdle and closing the feet too soon.Head out
Arms not staying fully extended by the ears.Shoulder angle
Lack of flexibility in the shoulders and reaching for the ground too soon.Back Handspring -Start with feet together and arms straight out in front of you. As you bend yur knees, act like you're sitting in a chair. Swing your arms down as you sit. Jump up and back as you swing your arms above your head to touch the ground. When you are in the handstand position, use your abdominal muscles to snap your feet down and rebound. If your whole squad has a standing back handspring, get into rows and do back handsprings together. Or you could all stand in a circle and do a back handspring out.
Click here for tumbling exercises!
a few helpful tips :
Back WalkoversStart with arms stretched above head and one leg out to the front. Arch back watching your hands and kick over.
1) Stand with your back against a wall. (a closed door works well too)
2) Take ONE step forward
3) KEEP your feet in a STRIDE position with your knees as straight as possible.
4) Hold your ARMS high over your head, elbows straight, arms narrow so your thumbs touch each other.
5) Look at the ceiling.. then tilt your head backwards until you can see the wall behind you.
6) Touch the wall behind you with your hands. Keep your arms as narrow as possible and VERY VERY far back (down behind).
7) Relax your head back & STAY in that position for 4 LONG breaths, relaxing your back and hands LOWER on the wall with each breath.
8) Bend your FRONT knee to stand, keeping your back arched as LONG as possible and bringing your head/arms back up LAST. All the weight should MOVE to your FRONT LEG. REMEMBER to LOOK AT YOUR HANDS!!! Keep your chin up and head BACK to encourage arching.
9) Each time you repeat this (5-10 times) begin standing FARTHER away from the wall (move forward one or two inches at a time) & eventually you'll be able to lay your hands on the floor or grab the BACK of your foot!
10) At advanced levels, the entire exercise is performed standing on ONE foot only with the front leg being held (knees straight) as high in the air as possible.
***NOTE*** in this exercise, to PROTECT and SUPPORT the LOWER BACK... you should TIGHTEN/SQUEEZE your BUTTOCKS and HOLD THEM in a tightened condition. There should be NO pain, but a bit of general "discomfort" may be expected. Be sure to warm-up and stretch the back muscles BEFORE and AFTER this exercise. Remember, strong abdomen/chest/hip muscles are needed to balance out strong back muscles.
Round-off Back Handspring Double Full Back
Arial-This is really a cartwheel with no hands. Take a small run or a few steps and get a deep lunge and be sure to push though your legs completely. Be sure to not to drop your chest to the floor. (that's my problem!! LoL) Use either an underswing or overswing with your arms to help your body get around fast enough.