Cheer asks for more flexibility than most sports: toe touches, heel stretches, scorpions, bow and arrows, splits and back walkovers. But when you stretch, how you stretch and how long you hold matter as much as which stretches you do. This guide covers the basics of stretching well. For specific goals, see our guides to getting your splits and scorpion flexibility.

The Three Main Types of Stretching

• Dynamic stretching: controlled movement through a range of motion, like leg swings, arm circles, walking lunges and walking kicks. It suits the warm-up because it keeps you moving and warm.
• Static stretching: moving into a stretch and holding it still, like a split, butterfly or seated pike. This is the main tool for building long-term flexibility.
• PNF stretching: short for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. You stretch a muscle, tighten it against resistance (often a partner’s hand) for a few seconds, then relax and stretch again. It works, but it needs care: the partner should be trained and should never force the stretch. Do it with a coach.

Avoid bouncing in a stretch. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) warns that ballistic, bouncy stretching can cause injury.

When to Stretch: Before vs. After Practice

A 2016 systematic review in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism (Behm and colleagues) is one of the best summaries of the evidence. Its main points:

• Dynamic stretching right before activity produced small performance improvements.
• Static holds right before activity caused small drops in performance, and the drop was bigger with holds of 60 seconds or more per muscle group than with shorter holds.
• When the stretching was followed by more dynamic activity, there was no clear effect on performance.
• The authors recommend stretching within a warm-up that also includes dynamic activity after the stretches.

What that means for cheer: warm up first, use mostly dynamic stretches before practice, keep any static holds short, and finish the warm-up with active, cheer-specific movement. Save long holds for after practice or a separate flexibility session. Our warm-up routine puts this into a ready-made sequence.

How Long to Hold and How Often

• Warm up first. AAOS says to always warm up before you stretch, because stretching cold muscles can cause injury.
• Hold time: AAOS suggests holding stretches 10 to 30 seconds while relaxing and breathing, and its sample stretches use holds of at least 30 seconds.
• Total time per stretch: the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) position stand for healthy adults recommends a total of about 60 seconds per flexibility exercise, for example two 30-second holds or four 15-second holds.
• Frequency: the ACSM recommends flexibility exercises on at least two days a week. Cheerleaders working toward a specific flexibility skill usually stretch more often than that. Consistency matters more than any single long session.
• Intensity: stretch to mild tension, not pain. AAOS says stretching should not hurt.

A Post-Practice Flexibility Routine

Do this after practice while you are still warm. Hold each stretch about 30 seconds, and repeat each side so you get roughly a minute per stretch.

• Seated pike: hamstrings and calves. Hinge from your hips with a long back.
• Kneeling lunge: hip flexors on the back leg. Squeeze the glute of the back leg and keep your hips square.
• Standing or side-lying quad stretch: front of the thigh.
• Butterfly: inner thighs.
• Straddle: inner thighs and hamstrings. Reach to the middle, then to each leg.
• Splits (right, left and middle): only as far as you can go with control. Use yoga blocks or your hands for support.
• Overhead triceps and cross-body shoulder stretches: shoulders, which bases, backspots and flyers all need.
• Chest stretch in a doorway or with clasped hands behind you: opens the chest and front of the shoulders for heel stretch, bow and arrow and scorpion positions.

Bridges and back bends are back-flexibility skills, not just stretches. Do them with your coach’s guidance, since repeated arching of the lower back is linked to stress injuries in young athletes. Our scorpion guide explains how to share the bend between the upper back, shoulders and hips.

Tips for Better Results

• Work on your tighter side. Most athletes have a better split or heel stretch on one side. Give the tighter side an extra set.
• Breathe. AAOS says to breathe into the stretch and relax. Holding your breath makes muscles tense.
• Track progress. A photo or short video every couple of weeks in the same position shows changes you won’t notice day to day.
• Don’t expect stretching to fix soreness. A Sports Medicine review (Cheung and colleagues, 2003) found stretching did not relieve delayed muscle soreness. See our guide to reducing soreness after practice for what does help.
• Stop if it hurts. Sharp pain, pain in a joint (especially the hip or lower back), numbness or tingling are signs to stop and talk to your coach or a health professional.

Flexibility works best alongside strength. A strong core and hips help you control the flexibility you have in jumps and stunts. See our guides to strength training and improving jump height.

Sources: AAOS OrthoInfo, Warm up, cool down and be flexible and Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis; Behm et al., Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence, 2016; American College of Sports Medicine, position stand on quantity and quality of exercise, 2011; Cheung et al., Delayed onset muscle soreness, 2003. Last checked October 1, 2026.