Keep in mind that this is just a warm-up to loosen your muscles and prevent injury. You don’t need to push yourself to exhaustion.
Modified dragonfly arms: Bring one of your arms across your body toward your collarbone. Keeping it straight, pull it with your free arm and stretch it for 10 seconds. Repeat this motion with your other arm. Triceps stretch: Reach your arm over your head towards your back so that your hand touches the opposite shoulder blade. Use your other arm to pull your elbow and get a nice stretch. Chest stretch: Keep your arms straight while you bring them behind your back with your palms together. Slowly raise them up as much as you can to do a good chest stretch.
For an extra stretch during the straddle split, do side reaches by bending your torso and touching your arms to your toes. Performing a split can be tricky, especially if you’re a beginner. Don’t push yourself too hard and risk injury to your groin muscles.
Make sure to hold this pose for at least 10 seconds. You can add some variation to your backbends by completing a straight leg bridge and moving your legs as close to your head as possible.
Make sure that you’re standing on a comfortable surface that isn’t too hard. A hard floor will hurt your feet and may make the move more difficult. If you’re doing a scorpion for the first time, you should try this move with a spotter, which should ideally be either one of your teammates or your coach.
Make sure your palm is facing the inside of your foot. Your back should be slightly flexed backward, and your standing leg should be straight and firmly locked so you don’t buckle. For better balance, keep your free hand at your side or on your hip. You can also temporarily hold on to the wall.
Always push your leg up, not back. Pushing your leg up will make it easier for you to grab it with your other hand. If you push your leg back too much, it will be hard to reach it with your other hand.
If you’re having trouble reaching the leg, you can start by grabbing the wrist of the hand that’s holding your foot, then work your way back to your leg.
Your safety is a priority. You and your helpers should be experienced with cheerleading lifts and stunts before attempting this move in the air.
Your spotter should stand behind you and hold your waist for extra support. Place your hands on your bases’ shoulders to keep balance.
Your bases will grab your foot and push their arms up to move you up and offer support and balance while you’re in the air.
Make sure your helpers are holding both the bottom of your feet and ankles as well in order to help you keep balance throughout the stunt.
You need to continue to keep your leg locked in order to stay balanced while doing the move.
