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In my first article I educate you on the importance of warming up before stretching. To be the best cheerleader you can be is not based on the variety of tumble patterns you can perform or if you are the best flyer or strongest base. While these attributes are fantastic to watch, how well do you think you could perform these acts without proper conditioning?
FIT 2 CHEER would like to educate you on the importance of building your endurance. Just as warming up your muscles before stretching them helps to prevent needless injuries, conditioning your body for endurance prevents flaws. Ask yourself, how many times can you perform your routine back to back - flawlessly? Maybe twice, at best 3 times…but I would still question that. You see, unless you have conditioned your squad for endurance, you can be sure that flaws will exist. No matter how perfect you are at stunting and tumbling if you are fatigued your body weakens and once this occurs the chances for minor and major flaws increases. How many times have you performed a simple backhand spring and due to simply being tired, you simply… flopped! This happens because while you may feel you are capable of doing them because you are an expert tumbler, your body may be tired and in this case it controls your reaction. When you are fatigued you do not react adequately. This lagging second to react can be the difference between catching your fellow squad member out of a basket toss or having her slip between your arms.
As a former collegiate cheerleader I understand the sport. As a personal trainer I have to be completely in tuned with my clients. I must recognize when they THINK they are tired and they want to stop and when I can physically SEE that their body has reached fatigue and I need to stop. This ability comes from many years of training and understanding fatigue indicators that our bodies naturally give. When coaching squads you want them to perform flawlessly. Performing the routine over and over again has been the traditional way of training squads to be perfect. While this has worked for years, it has not worked flawlessly. In today’s competitive cheerleading world, we must build a better mousetrap. Conditioning your squad’s endurance is how this can and should be done.
Simply put…if you are not being conditioned properly for endurance for your sport, even cheerleading… expect flaws. Flaws lead to injuries of self and your fellow squad members….and none of us want that.
FIT 2 CHEER was founded by Sherry Leetham and her revolutionary PoundPoms were created for sports specific cheer conditioning. Sherry is a former collegiate cheerleader, clinic instructor and private cheer coach. She has been in the fitness industry for 15 years and is a nationally certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. She offers training and workshops for cheer specific conditioning.Visit Fit 2 Cheer for more information.
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