Cheerleading has evolved into an elite activity full of athletic components.As a cheerleader today, you must cheer, dance, jump, tumble and perform stunts.Before every practice and performance, you should complete a thorough warmup to loosen up your muscles and lessen your chance of injury.Do dynamic stretching, a form of stretching that uses movement, and prepare your body for action.Unless otherwise noted, do eight repetitions of the dynamic stretching motions.
Cardiovascular Warmup
Start your warmup with cardio to get blood flowing to your muscles.Alternate sets of 25 jumping jacks with 10 of each of the following exercises.In the jump and roll, jump up and then lower yourself to the ground to roll up onto your shoulder blades before rolling back up and returning to your feet.Killer pushups are done by jumping into the air, bending down to place your hands on the ground, thrusting your feet out into a pushup position, and pulling your feet back in to return to standing.Start jumping lunges with your feet together, spring up and land in a lunge with your left foot forward.Spring immediately back up switching your legs in the air to land with your right foot forward.Finally, do sumo squats by starting with your feet together, stepping out to the side and landing in a deep squat with both legs, pushing back up to center, immediately stepping out to the other side, and returning to center.Repeat this series of exercises until five to 10 minutes have pa*sed.
Neck and Torso
Perform these motions to warm up your neck through your core.Nod your head up and down, being careful not to tip your head back too far.Turn your head side-to-side, looking over your right shoulder and then your left.Lower your right ear to your right shoulder and then repeat on the other side.Place your hands on the sides of your thighs and do side bends back and forth, reaching for the side of your knee or lower.Pull your fists up underneath your chin, keeping your lower body stationery, twist side-to-side.With your hands on your hips, circle your hips as if you were using a hula hoop.Circle eight times in one direction before switching directions.
Arms
Move on to movements that will warmup your arms and shoulders.With your hands dangling at your sides, roll your shoulders up toward your ears and then back eight times before switching and rolling forward.Swing your arms in front of your body, crossing the left arm over the right, behind you attempting to touch your arms together, in front crossing the right arm over the left, and again behind you getting them as close together as possible.Circle your arms widely, first backward for eight times and then forward eight times.
Legs
Stand near a wall, placing one hand on it for balance.Make sure to do both sides of these exercises prior to moving on to the next movement in the series.Transfer your weight to one leg, swinging your other leg forward and back.Keep the swinging leg straight and attempt to get the leg higher with each kick.Lift your knee to the front, lightly tapping your foot on the ground in between knee lifts.Keep your torso straight and lift your knee higher each time.Pointing your knee down to the ground, kick your heel up to hit your rear end, again tapping your foot on the ground in between repetitions.Finally, rise up on the balls of your feet and then rock back onto your heels, lifting your toes off the ground.
