Be aggressive. Be, be aggressive. B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E! Aggressive! Be aggressive!
How can you be aggressive — or help your team be aggressive — if you’re stuck on the sideline dealing with an injury? The truth is, you can’t. But there are things cheer athletes can do to improve their conditioning and better meet the physical demands of their sport.
Cheerleading is far more physically demanding than most people realize. Participants need to jump as high as a basketball player, kick while airborne, throw and catch teammates, and sometimes perform tumbling sequences that rival what you’d see in gymnastics.
Depending on their role, some cheerleaders need to be strong enough to propel a teammate into the air. Others need to maintain full-body rigidity while being lifted, thrown, and caught. All of them need explosive power and flexibility to execute jumps, land safely, and keep doing it again.
Why cheerleaders get injured
Several body regions take on significant stress during cheerleading:
- Knees can sustain ACL tears, meniscus damage, or both.
- Ankles are prone to sprains and fractures, particularly on landings.
- The low back is vulnerable to strain or disc injury from certain throwing stunts or aerial maneuvers.
- Shoulders, elbows, and wrists absorb the impact of all tumbling activity and can strain, sprain, or dislocate.
Addressing these risk areas requires a conditioning approach similar to what you’d see in gymnastics programs: a combination of targeted flexibility work and sport-specific strength training.
I developed this program after working with local cheer teams and gaining a real appreciation for just how athletically demanding the sport is. Like any sport, the goal is to optimize performance and reduce injury risk by training the muscles and movements that matter most.
Understanding the demands of cheerleading by role
Base athletes need lower extremity power, core strength, and a stable shoulder girdle to safely support their flyers. It’s a bit like trying to balance a 120-pound broomstick on your palms while that broomstick moves its arms independently.
Flyers need intense core stability and hip strength to maintain a rigid body position while being lifted or thrown. Once in the air, they have to hold their balance on top of their bases’ palms and then return to a controlled, rigid position to be caught safely.
Every team member needs the power and flexibility to jump, reach full extension, and land quietly back into a squat — repeatedly.
Flexibility exercises for cheerleaders
These stretches target the muscles most involved in cheerleading movement patterns. Hold each stretch for the recommended time and focus on breathing through any tension.
- Hamstring/split stretch
- Begin by opening your legs into a split position.
- Lean forward with arms overhead to minimize low back use and to help improve your ability to perform a split jump
- Hold for 60 seconds.
- Kneeling hip flexor stretch with pelvic tilt
- Place one foot on a sturdy chair behind you and the other in front of your knee pad.
- Slowly descend into a lunge position where you feel a hip flexor and quad stretch on the leg that you are kneeling on.
- Hold for 60 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.
*Be sure not to fall into compensatory movements such as pictured below.
- Lumbar rotation stretch
- Lay flat on your back and pull your left leg across your body to the right side.
- Hold for 60 seconds and repeat on the second side.
Strength exercises for cheerleaders
These exercises are designed to replicate the demands of cheerleading — building core stability, shoulder girdle strength, leg power, and the balance needed for stunts, tumbling, and jumps. Complete 3 rounds of each with rest as needed.
- Plank with hip extension and abduction
- Assume a plank position with good abdominal engagement. Avoid arching/sagging of the pelvis.
- Hold this position for 30-90 seconds while lifting your legs into the air and out to the side.
- Squat Jumps with good landings
- Begin in a squat position and explode upward into the air. While in the air, reach high, emphasizing the position you might be in during a jumping stunt, such as hurdler jumps or toe touch jumps.
- Land softly and quietly into the same squat position. Repeatedly perform this 10-15 times in quick succession to work to develop power in your legs and increase your jump height.
*This helps develop the power needed to complete all standing jump stunts performed during a routine.
- Chair dips with leg raised
- Begin with your hands resting on the arm rests of a sturdy chair.
- Lift one of your legs into the air and lower your body down towards the floor with your arms.
- Return to the top, switch legs, and repeat for 10-20 reps.
*Chair dips are a great challenge for “flyers” to improve their dynamic shoulder stability in the position they assume while being lifted by their bases or while entering certain stunts.
- Split lifts
- Begin in the seated Splits position.
- Maintain a tall torso throughout this movement.
- With toes pointed, lift your thighs and heels off the ground and hold for 3-5 seconds. Return to the ground and perform 10-15 reps to failure.
*credit for this move to coaches Pumma and Nelke at Northcreek Cheerleading. This works on improving core strength and stability as well as working on lower extremity strength required to perform any number of individual jumping stunts such as a toe touch or side hurdler jump.
- Push-ups with one leg elevated
- Begin in a push up position.
- Lift one leg into the air and perform a push-up.
- Return to the top, switch legs, and repeat.
- Perform 10-20 reps to fatigue while alternating which leg is in the air. Complete 3 rounds with rest as needed.
*This helps to replicate pushing movements a “base” or “flyer” may need to perform during a routine while adding a dynamic core stability challenge.
- Downward dog push-ups
- Begin in downward dog or modified downward dog position.
- Lower your head downward towards your hands
- Press yourself back up into your starting position.
- Repeat 10-15 times to fatigue. Complete 3 rounds with rest as needed
*This helps to replicate pushing movements a “base” or “flyer” may need to perform during a routine while adding a dynamic core stability challenge.
- Banded wrist flexion/shoulder press
- Place an exercise band around your palms, pull band downward around your Left elbow toward your ribcage.
- With your wrist and forearm muscles engaged against the band (wrist flexion) press the band upward while holding the bottom hand tight to your rib cage.
*This replicates the wrist and scapular stability demands for a base to lift their flier into the air during a stunt. It also helps to improve pressing motions seen during tumbling routines.
- High kick -> single-leg deadlift with balance pad
- While standing on something unstable, such as a rolled towel. Begin in a high kick position, with your leg out to the side.
- Slowly tilt forward into an arabesque or single leg deadlift position. This will be difficult to maintain stability while moving, which is the goal.
*Cheer athletes often land in awkward positions as they complete both individual jumps as well as team stunts. Improving stability and strength in ankle stabilizers helps reduce the risk of ankle sprains.
Frequently asked questions about cheerleading injuries and conditioning
How is cheerleading similar to gymnastics from an injury prevention standpoint?
Both sports demand a high level of strength, flexibility, and body control. Cheer athletes, especially flyers, need gymnast-level core stability and hip strength to hold positions while airborne or being supported by teammates. Conditioning programs for both sports often overlap significantly.
Do cheerleaders need to train differently based on their role?
Yes. Bases need to prioritize lower extremity power, core strength, and shoulder girdle stability. Flyers need to focus on full-body rigidity, core stability, and balance. All team members benefit from jump training, flexibility work, and ankle strengthening regardless of role.
Can physical therapy help with cheerleading injury prevention?
Absolutely. A physical therapist can assess your movement patterns, identify muscle imbalances, and design a sport-specific program tailored to your role on the team. If you’re recovering from an injury or want to reduce your risk before the season, scheduling with a PT who has experience in sports therapy is a great starting point.
When should a cheer athlete see a physical therapist?
Any pain that persists beyond a few days, swelling in a joint, or instability on landings warrants a PT evaluation. You don’t need a doctor’s referral in most states — you can schedule directly with a physical therapist through direct access.
Need help getting back to sport?
If you’re managing a cheer-related injury or want a personalized program to help you perform at your best this season, our sports therapy team is here for you. We work with athletes at every level to get them back to the sport they love — stronger and with less risk of re-injury.
