Here is a new subject that I thought of. What does your team do to make sure you are physically in tip top shape to compete full out?
What interests me about this subject are the teams your see at competition who have alot of potential, but are physically not fit to do their routine full out. Stunts start to fall, tumbling gets ugly at the end, technique gets sloppy, and the energy level drops at the end.
Than you see the teams who are in amazing shape who have the same high energy at the end that they had at the beginning!
I think it is a case of just working hard. I know everyone THINKS they work hard, but many truly don't. I know we run through our routines full out numerous times during practice. The kids need the same energy after the 5th time as the first, or there is hell to pay, lol. Some kids just can't hang. I know when my daughter starts to feel like it is too hard, she starts running on her (rare) off days. Running really helps her stamina. Cheer tends to be short bursts, so I make sure she is doing something else. She swims a full hour each day of summer and runs othertimes. I hope that helps!
Conditioning! Our teams are constantly doing the boring strenuous exercises that keeps them limber and builds endurance. They hate that part of cheer of course, lol. But it works!
Running through the routines full out at least 3 times every practice seems to work the best for my son. Conditioning helps but he still says running the routine is best. Also running helps but he gets shin splints from that and front tumbling so he has to pace himself.
I find that doing a lot of short bursts runs helps a lot for routines. When you think about it, it makes sense. In a routine you use a lot of energy to do something and take a few second breather in transions. So what I do i go to my track at my school do 50 meter dashes with a 5 second break in between each one. I started out doing 5 each time taking a break then doing 5 more and so on till i got to a total of twenty. Then i did sets of ten till i got to 40 and so on. I have stuck with sets of ten because I don't want to over do it, but I now do it till I do a total of 70. It has helped a lot. I go to the gym and I am able to run the routine 5 times with ease. I'm sure I could do it more times, but once again I don't want to tire myself out and you guys shouldn't over do it either. Over excersising just gets you worse not better. This is just for the endurance part of the routine though. I do sqauts and a lot of pushups for leg and arm stregth for tumbling and stunting.
thats awesome i never thought of running in bursts.. I live by my highschool and i run at the track 3 times a week i started out doing a mile then worked to 2 miles but i also think theres a point where you CAN over do it.. I also am in the weight room whenever i can be and i stretch all the time so that i can keep up the stunting and improve tumbling.
I think the work outside of practice helps ALOT with being able to run the routine full out several times at practice!
