The 6 best cheerleading stretches

A proper warm up with cheerleading stretching exercises can help prevent injury, so both are essential before any form of exercise—but you already know that, right?

Cheerleading is no different, and since it engages almost every muscle in your body, well-planned cheerleader stretching exercises and warm up routines are crucial to safe performance.

Though it might not seem it, cheerleading is one of the most active sports around, and can involve some pretty athletic stunts—so cheerleading stretches are especially important. Just like you wouldn’t dive straight into a game of football without stretching first, you also mustn’t jump straight into a cheerleading routine either.

Aerobic warm up routine for cheerleaders

Before starting your cheerleading routine, do an aerobic warm up first, followed by a dynamic stretching routine.

Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that increases your heart rate and oxygen usage. Regular aerobic exercise improves your fitness, provides cardiovascular conditioning, and reduces your chances of suffering an injury.

A good cheerleading stretching exercises routine should move your body in different directions to get your blood pumping. Some of the best examples of aerobic warm ups for cheerleaders are:

• jogging either on the spot, around the gym/field, or backwards
• sliding from side to side
• skipping
• lunging
• star jumping

You should aim to warm up for around 10 minutes before moving on to stretches. This will loosen your muscles up nicely and prepare them for the task at hand. At the end of your warm up, you should ideally feel a little tired but by no means exhausted.

Stretches for cheerleaders

Stretching is arguably the most important part of a cheerleader’s warm up routine.

No matter how pressed for time you may be, you should never, ever skip cheerleading stretches, as you risk doing serious harm to yourself if you do.

As a cheerleader, you’ll use almost every part of your body in a routine or practice session, so you must ensure you’ve stretched everywhere in preparation. Aim to hold each stretch for around 25-30 seconds before moving on to the next.

A good cheerleader stretching exercises routine should last around 10-15 minutes, giving you time to stretch multiple body parts; upper and lower. However, there are no strict rules determining what every routine should look like. Ultimately, that power is down to you, nobody knows your body better than you do.

Hamstring stretches

Sit down and stretch one leg out while tucking the other into your groin. Reach for your toes and hold that position for 30 seconds. Alternatively, spread both legs out and reach to either side for 20- 30 seconds at a time.

You can use a fitness rubber band to deepen the stretch.

Hip stretches

In a standing position, spread your legs to double shoulder width and squat with your feet pointing outward. Tuck your elbows into your inner knee and squat as low as possible while pushing your knees out.

Quad stretches

Stand up, bend one knee backwards, and catch your foot with the same hand. Stretch your quad by pulling your ankle towards your body while balancing yourself.

Triceps stretches

Reach one hand up and behind your back, so your hand is touching the centre of your back. Push down gently with your opposite hand.

Shoulder stretches

Reach across your chest with one arm and pull it closer by grabbing underneath your elbow with your other arm.

Chest stretches

Hold your hands behind your back and gently raise them as high as possible while keeping your back straight.

Need some help training outside of your cheer sessions? You might find our best gym equipment list helpful.

How to stretch your muscles safely

Cheerleading stretches alone carry their fair share of risk, and that’s before you’ve even got into your performance routine.

However, the key to stretching safely is to treat your warm up and stretches as two separate activities. Don’t think of stretching by itself as an adequate warm up, as stretching without warming up first can cause more problems than you had to start with.

Stretching should never fully replace the aerobic exercise you do beforehand. If you fail to warm up properly before you stretch, you could pull or injure ‘cold’ muscles—i.e. ones that aren’t properly warmed up yet.

When stretching, you must:

• Not bounce: as tempting as it might seem, bouncing while stretching can actually tighten your muscles further
• Not hold for too long: remember to not exceed 30 seconds in one stretch position
• Be symmetrical: make sure whatever stretch you’re doing is mirrored on both sides of your body. Uneven stretching can lead to uneven flexibility, putting you at higher risk of injury
• Focus on your posture: this is crucial for stretching effectively

If you feel in pain at any point while stretching, or feel the stretch isn’t working the way you want it to, stop immediately and inform your instructor (if you have one). Listen to your body, as a good coach or instructor will help you find alternative stretches.

Ensuring that you are properly warmed up and stretched before cheerleading will not only reduce your chances of injury, but it’ll help with your overall performance, too.

Cheerleading is meant to be fun—so warm up, stretch, and enjoy yourself! 

Specialist cheerleading insurance through Insure4Sport

Alongside cheerleading stretching exercises, you may want to consider cheerleading insruance to financially protect yourself should the unexpected happen.

At Insure4Sport, we arrange cover for various types of cheerleaders and their needs, from coaches and instructors to solo cheerleaders and full teams. Get a quote online today.