When watching any given competitive cheer routine being performed, it is not unusual for the focus to be on the flyers in the stunts and pyramid as they are being executed.

Similar to in football where the quarterback may get all the glory and any successful quarterback will be the first to admit that they would not be nearly as fortunate without their offensive line, every stunningly successful flyer has an equally stunning stunt group comprised of superstar bases and a backspot underneath them.

It is imperative that bases & backspots are in peak physical condition in order to make sure that their stunts hit at comp and that their flyer is able to feel safe to do what they need to do while in the air.

Leg, shoulder, and core strength are particularly important for bases and backspots.

There are a number of exercises that help in strengthening these areas.

Strong legs are critical for bases in support of the athletes that they are holding up in stunts and in pyramids.

Wall sits are great exercises to help develop stronger legs for bases who are often in fixed positions during stunts.

Adding in weights during common leg exercises such as squats and lunges can be very helpful and provide an added edge in gaining strength in the leg areas.

When a base or backspot lifts another athlete above their head, they are fundamentally performing a shoulder press to lift another human being.

A shoulder press using dumbbells can strengthen shoulders with what equates to a very similar motion of tossing (or “shoulder pressing”) a flyer into the air.

Dumbbells are great workout tools because weight can gradually increase as your shoulders get stronger and they also force each arm to work on its own, so one side of you does not get stronger than the other.

Just as important as the legs and shoulders are your core.

V sit-ups are a great exercise that need movement from both your upper and lower body in order to do them properly.

Strengthening these areas of your body will be enormously beneficial as you work toward putting yourself in the best position to be able to help your stunt group.

What should not be lost in the process of continuing to build yourself as an athlete is the significance of integrating increasing your flexibility along with your strength training.

While not needing anywhere near the flexibility of a flyer, stretching everyday helps to increase vital flexibility.

Front and side splits are one example of items whose flexibility should be worked on which could aid in greatly impacting the ease of which stunts are able to be carried out on the mat at competition.

A wise man once told me, “You only get out of it what you put into it.”

Clearly this can be applicable to many areas of life but is absolutely 100% on the money when describing the impact that strength and flexibility training can have throughout all sports and definitely competitive cheerleading, where the balance of strength and flexibility is out in front for all to see when performing at competition.