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Conditioning in Cheerleading
Every coach wants their team to be the strongest, fastest and most physically fit team there is, especially when having to endure 2.5 minutes of a tiring routine at a major competition!
From my experience as both an athlete and coach in allstar cheer, combined with my post-secondary education, I’ve been able to realize that the majority of the cheer industry is extremely lacking in proper knowledge and implementation of strength and conditioning programs.
I’ve noticed that during cheer practices, the goal of conditioning is usually to tire out the athletes as much as possible, with almost no regard to quality of movement. Coaches, if you are guilty of doing this (I know I was at one point), stop now because it will not get you the results you want!
In fact, before I began studying Kinesiology in university, I had no idea that the number of reps or amount of rest time between exercises could induce different adaptations in the muscles being used. That’s why I’m going to describe the 4 outcomes of resistance training that you can implement into your conditioning programs to help your teams reach their goals.
Hypertrophy vs. Strength vs. Power vs. Endurance
Each of these training aspects are equally important in cheerleading. For instance, you need increased muscle size and strength to perform stunts with ease, have lots of power for tumbling, jumps and baskets, and have enough endurance to complete a full-out without being absolutely exhausted after.
With that being said, how can these 4 aspects be described and how do they differ from one another?
Hypertrophy
- Refers to the growth and increase in size of muscles
- When doing hypertrophy training, increases in strength are often developed simultaneously, despite the program not being focused on strength improvements
Strength
- Refers to the ability of muscles to exert maximal force against resistance
- Often confused with power, but strength exercises consist of slower, more controlled movements
Power
- Refers to the ability to move a weight at a high speed (think explosive movements)
- Sometimes called “speed-strength” because it combines quickness with strength
- Being strong does not always mean powerful
Endurance
- Refers to the ability of muscles to exert a low level of force against resistance for a prolonged period of time
- Can be measured by # of reps completed (higher # of reps = better endurance)
How to Train Each
Hypertrophy Training
To increase muscle size, aim for a moderate number of repetitions, usually 10-12, using a weight lower than that used for strength but higher than that used for endurance and power. An appropriate rest interval is anywhere from 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes.
Strength Training
For beginners, doing sets of 10 reps is acceptable, as it ensures adequate time for motor learning and practicing good technique. For those with more experience, sets of ~1-5 reps with a heavy weight are more ideal. For maximal force output during each set, rest intervals of 2-5 minutes should be given.
Power Training
To improve power, do not perform repetitions until failure. Instead, reps should be kept low in number so the athletes can give their all without tiring. Also, each movement should be done with a low weight – using just body weight is ideal for cheer.
In between sets, a rest interval of 2-5 minutes is optimal, but this doesn’t mean to do nothing for that period of time. Rather than sitting around relaxing during rest time, athletes can work on other exercises that won’t tire the area training for power. For example, if doing lower body power exercises, the time in between sets can be used to perform pull ups or handstand push-ups. This allows you to make the most of your time and condition different areas at once.
Endurance Training
When building endurance, a very high number of reps with a low weight (often just body weight) is ideal. A rest interval of 30 seconds or less should also be implemented so athletes don’t recover too much in between sets.
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