Cheerleading training includes conditioning to improve fitness levels. Advanced skills such as stunting, tumbling and jumping require high levels of muscular strength, endurance and flexibility -- as well as cardiovascular endurance. Improved fitness will help your body withstand the repetitive training needed to perfect skills and reduce risk of injury. Quick cheerleading workouts take less time to complete and allow more time for skill practice.
Circuit Training
Circuit training is a thorough and efficient training workout for muscular strength and endurance gains. A complete body circuit can be completed in 10 stations. Participants move quickly from station to station with minimal rest in between. Exercises at each station can be performed using a specific number of repetitions or for a specific amount of time. Stations should alternate between exercises for the upper body, lower body and core. Station examples include squats, chest presses, pullups, crunches, tricep pushdowns, lunges, lower ab leg lifts, bicep curls, shoulder presses and bicycles for abs. For strength gains, use up to 12 repetitions, and longer rest periods, up to one minute. For endurance gains, use up to 15 repetitions, or one minute of repetitions, and shorter rest periods, up to 30 seconds.
Interval Training
Interval training is a quick, cardiovascular workout that builds stamina. Training sessions use cardio activities that alternate between higher and lower intensity levels. A run to walk workout can be performed by setting time intervals such as two minutes of running alternating with two minutes of walking. Anaerobic training, or sprinting, uses shorter interval phases alternating with aerobic training, or longer jogging phases. All workouts should begin with a five minute warm up consisting of low intensity movements such as walking, combined with some active stretching, such as low leg kicks or knee lifts.
Plyometric Training
Plyometric drills can be added to training sessions after a strength foundation has been completed. Combining strength training with a speed component improves the ability to exert force in a short amount of time. Power is crucial for advanced tumbling and stunting skills. Examples of plyometric drills include squat jumps that are performed by repeatedly lowering the body and jumping up. Tuck jumps are performed by lowering the body and jumping up bringing your knees to your chest. Start with two repetitions, working up to eight for each drill.
Combo Workouts
Combination workouts are geared toward more than one fitness goal. Step workouts combined with free weights improve cardiovascular endurance, as well as lower body and upper body muscular endurance. Alternate between step movements for the lower body and free weight exercises for upper body muscles. For a combined workout using both step and free weights, the tempo needs to be slow enough to accommodate upper body movement speed, and is not recommended for beginner level participants. An example would be combining a basic step up and down while doing bicep curls. Step up on the step and then down on the step leading with your right foot, then alternating with the left foot to perform a step up.
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