SOYOUWANNA BE A CHEERLEADER?

2. GET IN SHAPE

To have a good chance of making your cheerleading squad (at any level), your first order of business must be to get in good shape. While it may not be obvious that cheerleading involves an awful lot of work, over the course of a game or a competitive routine, cheerleaders require enormous cardiovascular stamina and a good deal of strength. Before you try out, follow our pointers to develop the most important physical aspects of the activity.

Stamina
Strength
Flexibility

Stamina

Perhaps the key physical requirement for cheerleading is stamina. When performing a competitive routine, you will expend an enormous amount of energy; but well before any competition, cheerleaders will practice their routines countless times, over and over. To practice at this kind of level - which is crucial to developing the necessary precision -- you will have to be in great aerobic shape.

There are a number of things you can do to improve your endurance, but perhaps the best is to participate in a sport. Training for training's sake is very difficult to do, but taking part in a fun game is much easier. So while you can take up jogging or suffering through the Stairmaster, organized athletics are a great option too. Soccer and basketball are excellent team sports that will get you in great shape pretty quickly. Sports like racquetball, tennis, and squash can also be quite demanding, if you play against strong competition. If you take the easy way out, you're only hurting your own chances, so be sure to push yourself a little no matter what activity you choose.

When you have chosen an aerobic activity, begin by training for around 30 minutes a day, three days a week. You won't get in great shape in a few days, but killing yourself at the start won't help either. Choose a manageable regimen like we have below, focusing on increasing the amount of time you train each week. To start, try a program such as this:

Time Activity Frequency 30 minutes Light jogging or energetic walking. Twice during the week & once on the weekend.

Work toward but don't go beyond:

Time Activity Frequency One hour Stairmaster, treadmill, or organized sports. Three times during the week & twice on the weekend.

Ultimately, your stamina will allow you to coast through the rigors of tumbling runs, elaborate lifts, and frenetic dance routines.

Strength

An often overlooked asset to any cheerleader is strength. Whether you are a base, whose job is to lift other cheerleaders and to support pyramids, or a flyer, who climbs atop these constructions, you'll need to be able to lift yourself and others into the air. Top-flight cheerleaders are built much like Olympic gymnasts, with powerful lower bodies for tumbling and jumping.

The best way to add strength training to your workout regimen is by incorporating modest weights. So, for instance, if you spend time on the Stairmaster or jogging, consider holding light free weights in your hands. Even small amounts of weight will add muscle to your arms when you add this resistance over a high number of repetitions. Do not, however, add weights to your feet, ankles, or legs during aerobic exercise, as these can place injurious strain on your important supporting joints. The best way to add strength to your lower body is to perform targeted and individual repetitions on weight machines.

These days, every decent gym has several machines designed solely to strengthen the lower body. Work this equipment into your routine, but concentrate on controlled movements during your workout. Adding a ton of weight, but then swinging it around with momentum is not going to help. Choose a lighter weight that you can slowly and carefully raise and lower; this will provide the resistance training most beneficial for cheerleading.

Strength training is particularly important for male cheerleaders, as they are usually the ones lifting people onto their shoulders or tossing people into the air. But a bit of strength training benefits all cheerleaders.

Flexibility

Cheerleaders are famously flexible, often kicking their legs impossibly high during their routines and frequently performing the splits on the ground and in the air. Flexibility is not something you can schedule in for a couple of intensive sessions - you must give a little bit of time to it every day. Don't panic, this won't become all-consuming, but it is a very good idea to stretch a little each day, perhaps after you wake up or right before you go to bed. Your ligaments need constant reminders to stay elasticated and limber.

The best way to stretch is through constant pressure, never bouncing. Try to hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds, and work up to about a minute. Push yourself to attempt difficult stretches, but don't get to the point of pain. Avoid spending all your time on the stretches you can already do well - we're all tempted to stick to the comfortable, but you want to ensure that you're comprehensively flexible. Draw up a list of stretches to do, starting with your feet and working all the way up to your neck. Be sure to spend some time on all the major muscle groups, such as your calves, quads, hamstring, groin, triceps, and traps. A fantastic way to stretch your entire body without injuring yourself is to start taking yoga classes. We have a couple tips here to help you find one.

A great tip for making stretching easier is to focus on your breathing - many of us are tempted to hold our breath while doing something physically demanding, but all exercise is improved by circulating oxygen and relaxing, both of which are aided by careful breathing.