Starting Cheer - How Do I Prepare?

[Lia]

Hi, everyone! Newbie here.

I've been a spectator-only fan of cheer in a big way for like... Two years now? I live in the UK, where cheer obviously still exists but simply doesn't get the same level of exposure as it does in the US. Watching cheer I've always really wanted to take part. I'm 18 right now though, so I thought I'd never get the chance.

That was until I discovered that the university I'll be starting in Autumn (grades providing - fingers crossed!!) has a competitive cheer team. I messaged their facebook page where they had videos of their last competition up, and I got a quick reply telling me that they absolutely love to take on complete newbies to the sport - half of the squad this year had never cheered before, apparently! They encouraged me to try out when I start at the university.

I understand that if they take on complete newbies that they're not going to expect an awful lot at try-outs, but I'd still like to do whatever I can to increase my odds of making the cut! I have just over three and a half months til then.

My question is, what would you guys advise I do to get in the best shape possible? I'm a paid member to a large local gym (the non-cheer kind, haha!) and I'm really keen to get fit - especially with the motivation of the chance to stop being an armchair fan! What areas of my body should I focus on? How would you advise I improve my flexibility? What types of exercise are best? I'm not sure whether my stats would be of much interest to anyone, but I'll post them if you think it'd be useful!


Thanks so much everyone <3

 

[ilikebigbows]

Congrats on getting the chance to cheer! That makes me happy.

Cheer will focus on all of the main muscle groups in your body. Tumbling will really depend on your core and back strength. If you are a flyer, core is very important as well. Bases need a lot of leg and shoulder strength, and back spots use their arms a lot. Hip flexor exercises and core strength are very important for good jumps, and strong glutes will help you in just about everything. So, basically, all of your muscles are very important! It is also important to stay warm and flexible in all muscles so you avoid injury and loss of mobility.

 

[alexacheer2010]

Definitely start conditioning now, it will help so much in the future!

 

[Lia]

Congrats on getting the chance to cheer! That makes me happy.

Cheer will focus on all of the main muscle groups in your body. Tumbling will really depend on your core and back strength. If you are a flyer, core is very important as well. Bases need a lot of leg and shoulder strength, and back spots use their arms a lot. Hip flexor exercises and core strength are very important for good jumps, and strong glutes will help you in just about everything. So, basically, all of your muscles are very important! It is also important to stay warm and flexible in all muscles so you avoid injury and loss of mobility.

Thanks so much!!

So essentially, I need to be working on every major muscle group! Thanks for explaining why each group is so important. Do you think because I'm on the shortish side (5ft1) there are any groups I should work a little harder on to make up for it?

Definitely start conditioning now, it will help so much in the future!

I intend to! What sort of conditioning is best? I have a couple friends in gymnastics that do Insanity when they condition - is that the sort of thing I should be looking at?

 

[alexacheer2010]

Insanity is great for conditioning! I've never done it but I know my sister has and some of my coaches used it before. It really strengthens your whole body and kicks your butt. Cardio is super important too to build up your endurance. If you can, I'd also suggest looking up jumps and how your school does them. Then, work on them every day because they improve with practice. The sooner you start working on jumps the better, because most likely even if you don't tumble you'll still have to jump! Your gymnast friends will definitely have awesome conditioning exercises that they use and you will get great results from those too!

 

[sapient]

Hi, everyone! Newbie here.

I've been a spectator-only fan of cheer in a big way for like... Two years now? I live in the UK, where cheer obviously still exists but simply doesn't get the same level of exposure as it does in the US. Watching cheer I've always really wanted to take part. I'm 18 right now though, so I thought I'd never get the chance.

That was until I discovered that the university I'll be starting in Autumn (grades providing - fingers crossed!!) has a competitive cheer team. I messaged their facebook page where they had videos of their last competition up, and I got a quick reply telling me that they absolutely love to take on complete newbies to the sport - half of the squad this year had never cheered before, apparently! They encouraged me to try out when I start at the university.

I understand that if they take on complete newbies that they're not going to expect an awful lot at try-outs, but I'd still like to do whatever I can to increase my odds of making the cut! I have just over three and a half months til then.

My question is, what would you guys advise I do to get in the best shape possible? I'm a paid member to a large local gym (the non-cheer kind, haha!) and I'm really keen to get fit - especially with the motivation of the chance to stop being an armchair fan! What areas of my body should I focus on? How would you advise I improve my flexibility? What types of exercise are best? I'm not sure whether my stats would be of much interest to anyone, but I'll post them if you think it'd be useful!


Thanks so much everyone <3

It's simple. Tell your kid to have fun and most importantly, let the coaches do their job.

 

[Ren]

@Lia which uni are you going to? Most people who start new at uni have never heard of cheer before they turn up to their first session, so you'll already be ahead! You could look up any teams/gymnastics gyms near you if you want a bit more of a headstart (if you want you can PM me - I might know of somewhere). Otherwise I think everyone's got it covered - condition and stretch!