Tumbling!

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.

Round-off Tips -

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.

The Standing Back Tuck