Cheerleading Stunting | Liberty
The liberty is a stunt that is performed quite often in competitive cheerleading. As a competitive cheerleader it is necessary to be proficient with this stunt. The liberty requires leg, hip, and core strength as well as hip stability. To perform a liberty stunt, the flyer will bring one leg up until the foot is at the knee of the stationary leg, and bring the arms up above the head in a high V position at about a 45 degree angle. You must be sure to keep the stationary knee locked in order to be held up by the bases. Also, maintain a flat back to help with balance. A cheerleader must be sure to make movements with the legs and arms quick to avoid losing stability.
How Can I Improve My Liberty
The best way to improve your liberty stunt is by strengthening your hips, core, and legs. When bringing the leg up in the liberty position you are firing your hip flexor. Using Kbands will enable you to strengthen the hip flexor making the liberty much easier and effortless. To make this move go smoothly in the air, there needs to be the least amount of movement possible. The movements you make need to be crisp and precise to avoid losing balance.
Improving your core strength and hip stability will help with this. When you have a strong core and stability in your hips it will be much easier for you to stay balanced and create the best liberty stunt possible. One of the keys to being a great cheerleader is timing. For this to be possible, you must know exactly what you are doing and how to do it correctly. Once your stunts are learned, you will be able to use Kbands to increase strength and flexibility to make these moves easier. When these stunts become easier for you to perform, you will be able to channel more of your focus to staying on time.
How to Improve Balance and Strength
The leg raise is a key element when performing the liberty stunt. You must have strong hip flexors to lift your leg up to be able to perform the stunt effortlessly. Make sure to check out the stretch video to be properly prepared and prevent injury before performing a workout with Kbands to improve strength. The front leg lift is a great exercise with Kbands that can help enhance your liberty stunt. Using the added resistance of Kbands will enable your hips to fire correctly when the exercise is started. Be sure to keep your chest up and back straight to build height while lifting a straight leg out in front.
Also, make sure the leg that is not being raised is staying completely straight with a locked knee. The leg raise on the front side should be held for 3 seconds per repetition with a three second count on the way down. Working gains the resistance with the 3 second count and will strengthen your thigh and hip flexor. A very important aspect of this exercise is to maintain balance and stability throughout each rep. Hip stability and overall balance for standing on one leg will be increased significantly when using the Kbands. Complete these repetitions mentioned above 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets.
Advanced Liberty Training
After becoming stronger to perform the front leg raise then move into the workout video above and complete 6-8 liberty reps with Kbands. Hold the high knee position as high as you can for 4-6 seconds. This will begin building strength in your hips which will allow you to hold this position with ease. The strength gained in your hips will allow you to hold a stronger balance position when lifted by a base. When this is complete, unclip the bands for another 4-6 reps with no resistance. Repeat this process for three sets and begin building a great foundation for upper level cheerleading stunts.