Strength and Conditioning for the Cheerleader

Never before has the sport of Cheerleading been more demanding on the athletes that participate. Many of the Cheerleaders perform year round with competitive teams as well as performing for their schools with little to no time off in between. Because of the high demand physically with cheerleading and long season, acute traumatic and repetitive injuries are very common in the sport. Ankle sprains, ACL tears, shoulder dislocations, wrist injuries, and low back pain are just a few of the common problems we see daily with these athletes. The good news is many of these problems can be eliminated through sports medicine based strength and conditioning programs. Below are some questions we are often asked.

What is sports medicine based strength and conditioning? The difference is the influence of injury prevention in the conditioning program and the comprehensive nature of the program. It is also important that it is sport specific in its training methods, which means that there are phases in the conditioning program that simulate the movements related to the sport of Cheerleading.

What are the key elements that should be addressed for cheerleading? Everyone works on flexibility and balance but upper body/lower body strength, core strength (abdominal/back musculature), plyometrics (improve jumping height), foot work and agility (reduce ankle injuries), speed for tumbling, and jumping and landing techniques to reduce knee injuries are critical components in maximizing your athlete’s potential and keeping them free from injury.

When and how do I need to train my team? Although cheerleading is almost a year round sport, it should be set up with a gradual periodized progression. This means that it will begin with a basic phase and progress to sport specific exercise phase. It should begin with a conditioning program 2-3 days per week during the “non competitive” season and taper to 1-2 days per week during the competitive season.

I have a limited time with my cheerleaders? How can I get all these key elements worked into my program? We have developed and often utilize a circuit training program for our high teams and some of the competitive cheer teams because it is cost effective and time effective. Your best scenario would be to divide you team into groups of 4-5 and we generally use 4-5 stations (flexibility, balance, upper body/lower body strength, core strength, power movements/agility). You should allow for approximately 5-12 minutes at each station depending on your time. This approach allows for easy supervision, total conditioning and is cost effective because you don’t have to by products for your entire team, only enough for 4-5 to utilize at a time.

SEE OUR CHEER FIT PACKAGE FOR TOTAL CONDITIONING FOR YOUR TEAM IN OUR CHEERLEADING RETAIL SECTION!

For more answers to questions you may have or for information on conditioning programs or products please contact us at contact@championsportstraining.com or (865) 454-2876.