A typical competitive cheerleading routine lasts for two minutes and thirty seconds; any type of exercise that is physically demanding for over a minute is considered cardiovascular training. During the first minute of a routine, cheerleaders use their anaerobic energy system for endurance. After that first minute has gone by, an athlete’s body has used up all of his/her anaerobic energy sources and now has to switch to its second energy source, which is the aerobic energy system (burning fats and sometimes muscle for energy).
During a competitive cheerleading routine, athletes are required to perform a number of stunts, tumbling passes, and jumps. These skills all need to be performed with high energy and poise. In order for a cheerleader to hold her teammate in multiple stunts, with a flyer weighing possibly 100 lbs or more, it takes a tremendous amount of total body strength. A stronger cheerleader, that has a regular resistance training program in place, will have the ability to hold these stunts for longer than a cheerleader that has no experience with resistance or core training. A cheerleader that has participated in an integrated training program will also be able to run faster, jump higher, and perform more difficult tumbling passes because of her increased strength and overall body control.
Balance and flexibility training are two other very
important aspects of a cheerleading routine. These two training systems are
most involved with injury prevention. Most cheerleading injuries occur due to
lack of balance and/or flexibility. This is where the Cheer360 training model
takes a step above and beyond any other integrated training system available
today. Cheer360 has designed a training concept that incorporates balance and
flexibility into every exercise our athletes perform during training sessions.
Incorporating the Cheer360 training philosophy into your athlete’s training
regimen will allow her to jump higher, stunt with better technique, tumble with
more power, and overall help decrease injuries.
