Some benefits of weight training in the sport of Competitive Cheerleading include:
Increased strength: Weight training helps build muscle strength. In combination with TOSS training programming, you will become stronger, more functional and be a more complete athlete. Stronger muscles and improved overall fitness levels from weight training can lead to better performance on the mat, allowing cheerleaders to execute skills with more consistency, precision and confidence.
Improved muscle endurance: Cheerleading routines can be physically demanding, and weight training and our TOSS conditioning days can help improve muscle endurance, allowing cheer athletes to perform at a high level for longer periods of time.
Injury prevention: Building strength through weight training can help prevent common cheerleading injuries by stabilizing joints, improving balance, and enhancing overall body control.
Increased power and explosiveness: Specific TOSS exercises and complexes help you develop explosive power, which is crucial for executing dynamic cheerleading skills.
Boosted confidence & well-being: Building strength and seeing improvements in physical abilities through weight training can boost your confidence both on and off the mat.
Overall, weight training can be a valuable component of a cheerleader’s training regimen, helping them become stronger, more resilient, and more capable-complete athletes.
Short-term, possibly, especially at the beginning of the program. However, in the long term, it will have the opposite effect. Cheer training will feel easier.
Incorporating strength training into your cheerleading training regimen can actually complement and enhance your overall performance on the mat. While it is important to balance your training schedule and ensure that you are not overtraining, adding strength training to your routine can offer several benefits that can improve your cheerleading skills.
More details and recommendation are listed in the training manual of every TOSS training plan.
Yes! Our TOSS Home & HomeGym series focuses on training at home with minimal equipment and still providing a well-rounded and cheer-specific training plan.
Check out more details in the menu “Train at home”.
Our training plans ESSENTIAL, PROGRESS & PEAK is based on a lot of barbell work, dumbbell & kettlebell exercises as well as resistance bands and a bench or box.
The TOSS Home & HomeGym training plans requires minimal equipment. Purely bodyweight, resistance bands and slider exercises. For TOSS HomeGym, we have added dumbbell work.
Mythos #1
“Lifting heavy DOES NOT make you slow in any aspect!”
Strength training can actually make you faster, more explosive, and improve your overall performance.
Mythos #2
“No, strength training can actually make you faster, more explosive, and improve your performance.”
Strength training with full range of motion can actually increase your mobility and flexibility.
While it is a common misconception that building muscles can make you stiff and less mobile, strength training, when done properly, can actually improve your flexibility and mobility.
Bodybuilders often become inflexible due to excessive muscle mass, lacking in training full body movements such as Olympic lifts, overall mobility drills as well as not focusing on warm up procedures that release muscle tension, reduce stiffness, and enhance your overall flexibility.
Mythos #3
When it comes to developing power and speed for cheerleading, lifting light weights may not be the most effective approach. To enhance your power and speed, it is important to incorporate a combination of strength training, power-based exercises, and speed-focused drills into your training regimen. Here’s why:
Heavy Weights for Strength: Lifting heavy weights is essential for building foundational strength, which forms the basis for power development. Heavy resistance training helps recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are crucial for explosive movements and power generation.
Power-Based Exercises: Incorporating power-based exercises such as plyometrics, Olympic lifts (e.g., clean and snatch), and explosive movements like jumps and sprints can help improve your ability to generate force quickly and enhance your power output.
Speed Training: Implementing speed-focused drills, agility exercises, and sprint intervals can help you develop your speed, reaction time, and acceleration, which are critical for performing dynamic cheerleading skills with precision and quickness.
Balanced Approach: While heavy lifting is essential for strength gains, incorporating power and speed training alongside proper technique and form will help you maximize your power and speed potential while maintaining agility and coordination
No, women generally build less muscle than men. Additionally, TOSS is not focused on muscle building (“bodybuilding”) but on cheer-specific performance enhancement.
It’s important to remember that gaining muscle through strength training does not necessarily mean you will become bulky or lose your feminine shape. In fact, building muscle can have many positive effects on your overall health and fitness, regardless of your gender.
Metabolism: Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning that having more muscle can help increase your metabolism and calorie-burning potential. This can be beneficial for weight management and overall health.
Body composition: Muscle takes up less space than fat, so even if you gain muscle, you may not necessarily see a significant increase in size or weight. Instead, you may notice improvements in your body composition, such as a leaner and more toned physique.
No, strength training strengthens your body. This means existing pain will likely decrease, injuries will be less frequent, and you can prevent future pain by having stronger muscle tissue and a more resilient body.
It’s completely normal to feel apprehensive about starting a new activity like strength training, especially if you’re concerned about the potential for injury. However, when done correctly and with proper guidance, strength training can be a safe and effective way to improve your overall fitness and performance.
More information and explaination are mentioned in TOSS training manuals.
