Has your gymnast been struggling with her tumbling skills?
Improve your Side Aerial skills in these easy steps!
Equipment Needed:
(2) Nimble Sports folding mats
Be sure to practice this skill outdoors where you have adequate room for tumbling and flipping!
Step 1:
Start by warming up. You’ll be using your legs a lot during a side arial so make sure your legs especially are good and warm! Make sure you do some jumping exercises on the specific leg that you will be taking off from. Tip: Try doing hamstring stretches to get the best stretch in your leg muscles. Don’t forget to flex those feet!
Step 2:
An aerial is simply a Cartwheel with no hands. Before you start practicing your arial, make sure you’ve taken the time to master your cartwheel form perfectly! To introduce the arial into your layout, add a hop before you start your cartwheel.
Step 3:
Now that you’ve completed your “Hop-Cartwheel” it’s time to add a run. This will build more momentum and help you get in the air once we get close to a full arial!
The steps will look something like this: “Run-Run-Hop-Cartwheel” Tip: Since you’ve mastered your cartwheel already, make sure when you’re doing your new steps to get the fastest cartwheel you can without compromising the skill quality!
Step 4:
Takeoff; When you’re in motion for your aerial, your legs become your hands! Be sure to keep your legs underneath your body to avoid a bad landing.
For your takeoff, we’re taking it back down to your “Hop-Cartwheel” phase. Except this time, you’re going to bring your body down towards your knee so you can have a strong push-off.
Step 5:
Add your “Run-Run-Hop”. During this motion be sure to swing your arms up to gain momentum on your hop, and pull them into your chest when you push off. This motion will help you get the height you need to accomplish a successful side arial!
To gain good technique, make sure your back is straight and your eyes are looking at the ground during the skill.
For a super secret tip on how to master your Side Aerial, keep watching Sam and Teagan’s “How To” Video!
