Cheerleading Fitness - Work Those Abs!

So we know that cheerleading is getting harder and harder by the day. Our fans are expecting us to perform the best stunts with the highest tosses, all while maintaining the perfect toe touch. Keeping in tip top shape is more important than ever. Here are my suggestions on keeping your core strong!

Tires: Along with all traditional crunches you must do core workouts using your legs. Try taking some ideas straight from the football field. Excellent for abs, even if you don’t not have tires get those legs up in the air. Check out the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders abs. They must be doing something right!

Leg Lifts: Lay on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. Try to lie in front of something you can grab onto, for instance, a bedpost. Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle and then lower them down until they almost touch the ground, and then repeat. Begin with 20 per session and work your way up.

Partner Leg Lifts: Have one person lay straight on the ground with their legs out in front of them. The other person will stand just above the head of their partner. The person on the ground will grab onto the ankles of their partner and lift his/her legs to a 90-degree angle. The partner standing up will push their partner's legs down as hard as they can. You want to try to push their legs all the way to the ground. The person on the ground will resist and try to stop their legs before they hit the ground. They will then bring their legs back up and the process will happen again. This exercise works your lower abdominal muscles. Whether your working your abs alone or with the entire squad you’ll see amazing results in just two weeks. Your stunts will be stronger, your jumps will be higher and you’ll be rockin’ in your cheerleading uniform!


Sit-ups: Strong stomachs are very important in cheerleading. A strong stomach allows for better jumps, it helps in better stunting and pyramids, as well as in gymnastics.

Regular Crunches: These are great sit-ups to get you going. Your legs should be bent, your chin should be facing the ceiling, and you should sit-up so your shoulder blades are slightly off the ground, keeping your stomach tight. Begin with about 25 sit ups per session and work your way up to 100.

Side Crunches: All the same rules apply with the regular crunches, only your legs are bent and leaning over to one side. Do your crunches normally, keeping your shoulders slightly off the ground. Again, begin with about 25 per session on each side and work your way up.


-A great exercise is to do the crunches in a combination of regular crunches and side crunches. Begin with regular crunches, move your legs to the side and do some side crunches, move your legs back to the middle for some more regular crunches, and then move them to the other side for some more side crunches.

- A fun way to do sit-ups as a squad is to do it to music. One eight count of crunches to the middle, the next eight count to the side, back to the middle for another eight count and so on!

Toe Touch/Pike Sit-ups: This is a great exercise to help with your toe touches! Begin by lying down with your legs straight and your arms above your head. In one quick and sharp motion bring your legs and body up into a toe touch position. Quickly snap your legs back together and return to the lying position on the floor. You may also want to increase the difficulty level by doing the same exercise only in a pike position. For a great ab workout so about three sets of 10.


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