We know your cheerleader has all the passion and heart in the world, and there is nothing worse than seeing your daughter/son give it 110%, but still not hitting that stunt. Instead of cringing at every competition, we’ve got the tips and tools to help you help them!

Now, a few reasons your cheerleaders are not hitting their stunts are:

1. Lack of core strength
2. Poor body control
3. Weak stunt group
4. Not strengthening the right muscles
5. Poor general awareness of the body during skills

BUT here is how to help!

1. LACK OF CORE STRENGTH

Your core is the most fundamental body part o to strengthen for all cheerleaders yet it is the easiest one to get wrong. Many people do not know this, but your core is not just your abs…your core is your entire trunk area: back, front, and sides. It’s the entire region between your shoulders and hips.

Crunches do not give you core strength, CORE exercises do!

2. POOR BODY CONTROL

In order for your cheerleader stick those stunts and have proper body control, she needs a strong core! Again your core is EVERYTHING! Here is an exercise fav’! It’s a bit of a challenge, but oh so worth it! Give it a try, start off 1-5 reps and then build up to 10 reps x 2 rounds! Get ready for TOTAL body control!

3. PART OF A WEAKER STUNT GROUP

I know, sometimes your cheerleader is rocking it, but her stunt group is not. Instead of getting frustrated, help her help her stunt group with CHEERFIT exercises that they can do together! Empower her group to do some of our favorite cheer workouts to help build upper body strength, endurance, and body control. By doing this together they will inspire each other, motivate each other, and HIT THOSE STUNTS! Here are our fav’ total body exercises.

4. NOT STRENGTHENING THE RIGHT MUSCLES

Cheerleading is very different than any other sport! Your child is not throwing a basketball, they are throwing a person, defying gravity, tumbling in the air, and pushing their bodies to the limits! Cheerleading today is NOT what it used to be and we need to condition our bodies to keep up at this level!

Instead of wasting time trying to figure out exercises, book a 1-on-1 COACHING CALL with fitness expert Danielle Donovan! Together on this call, you discuss your cheerleaders goals, challenges, questions and Danielle will provide you with customized advice and an actionable plan specific to YOUR cheerleader!

CHECK IT OUT

5. POOR GENERAL AWARENESS OF BODY DURING SKILLS

I promise fitness is your answer! Cheerleaders need fitness to build confidence, core strength and advance their skills. The stronger and more aware your cheerleader is of their body, the more controlled their stunts will be! Focus on core strengthening exercises and your cheerleader will be able to fix any shaky stunt, lock out in single leg stunts, and hit ZERO!

Let us know your favorite tip and how this goes!

As you can see, yo do not need to nor should you be stretching every day for hours at a time. Yes, I said it! What I want you guys to do is STRENGTHEN the muscles instead. So swap out 2 or your stretching days this week with this CHEERFIT workout and let me know how it goes! And if you want, even more, we’ve got tons of flexibility workouts and confidence boosting tips waiting for ya in the CHEERFIT Club !!

And there you have it, my top 3 exercises… to help your cheerleader advance FLEXIBILITY & CONFIDENCE in 3,2,1…GO! Let me know your favorite tip, and share your confidence boosting tips in the comments below!

DANIELLE DONOVAN

is the go-to fitness expert for the cheerleading industry and founder of CHEERFIT (www.cheerfittraining.com). Danielle holds national fitness certifications through the American Council on Exercise and specializes in sports conditioning, youth fitness, and group fitness as it pertains specifically to cheerleaders. Danielle has been featured on NBC,Inside Cheerleading Magazine, FITNESS Magazine, Livestrong, Yahoo Beauty, NY Post, American Cheerleader Magazine and more. Through fitness, Danielle focuses on helping cheerleaders build the confidence, strength, and flexibility they need to reach their goals and prevent injury.