4 Tips on Learning How to Cartwheel

Are you trying to learn how to do a cartwheel?

Sometimes just the seemingly easy step-by-step instructions can be difficult to manage. There are 4 great tips that you can try that will make your cartwheeling easier and more fun!

Keep reading to find some efficient methods to try when learning how to cartwheel.

1. Find Your Dominant Foot

Something you may not have thought about when attempting cartwheeling is which foot your dominant foot is.

One idea to get familiar with is the difference between regular and goofy-footed stances.

"Regular-footed" people use whichever foot matches their dominant hand's side. So, if you're right-hand-dominant, you likely will find that you're right-foot-dominant as well.

However, sometimes people find that their dominant foot is on the opposite side of their dominant hand. This is called being "goofy-footed."

Practice walking up to a staircase and, without thinking about it, step up. Whichever foot you stepped up with first is your dominant foot. Try this several times in a row to make sure you get the same result every time.

By finding your dominant foot, it'll be easier to start with your dominant foot every time you lean into a cartwheel.

2. Wear Flexible Clothing

Gymnasts know the importance of wearing flexible clothing while practicing moves like cartwheels. But if you're practicing cartwheels at home for fun, you'll need to make sure you're wearing comfortable, flexible clothing.

Avoid clothes like jeans, skirts, dresses, jackets, and socks. These can restrict your movement, flip up, or cause you to slip.

Wear workout clothes, yoga clothes, or leggings and a t-shirt to safely practice cartwheeling. This way you won't have any risks on your body that will keep you from succeeding or cause you harm.

3. Practice in an Open Space

Whether you're practicing cartwheels inside or outside, you'll need to make sure there's nothing around you. It's easy to hurt yourself crashing into furniture, objects on the floor, or other people when trying to cartwheel.

Find a room with little to nothing in it or practice outside. You'll also need to make sure that you practice your cartwheels on soft surfaces, like a carpet, grass, or a cartwheel mat.

If you have things on the floor or in the grass such as small toys or small sticks and rocks, this could hurt your hands and prevent you from success.

Aim to practice on soft, level, flat surfaces. This will help you maintain balance as you cartwheel.

4. Stretch Your Body First

A good practice to begin is to stretch out your body before cartwheeling. That way you'll prevent yourself from injury or sprains while practicing.

Spend at least 3 minutes relaxing and stretching your body before any physical activity. Try loosening your muscles by stretching your hamstrings, your torso, your legs, your ankles, and your arms and hands.

Take the time to stretch before any exercise and especially before cartwheeling. This will help eliminate the possibility of injury.

 

Use These Tips When Learning How to Cartwheel

If you're working on learning how to cartwheel, try these 4 helpful methods out. You'll see results in no time when practicing these tips!

If you enjoyed this article, check out more on cartwheeling from our blog.