How to Practice Cheer Libs on the Ground

Although the stunt's name refers to freedom, the pose does not require the flyer to position herself as the symbolic lady liberty. A liberty is a cheerleading stunt allowing one person to be lifted into the air by three other cheerleaders. Performance of the stunt requires extreme balance and actively lifting your body weight by flexing specific muscles. Practicing the liberty form and these strategies on the ground, prior to being lifted by your teammates, alleviates the trial-and-error of cheer stunts that may result in injury.

Things You'll Need

  • Half-deflated play ball
  • 8-inch circle of plywood
  • Chair
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Instructions

    • 1

      Practice flexing your trapezoid and shoulder muscles by positioning your arms in high "V" and keeping your shoulders shrugged. Flex your buttocks muscles simultaneously envisioning yourself squeezing them together. The combination of the two sets of muscles flexed allows the flyer to reposition her own weight to relieve the bases of "dead weight." Compare the weight of a sleeping pet or young sibling to holding her when she is awake. It's very similar.

    • 2

      Hit the "V" motion with flexed muscles and lift one knee up. Ensure that the foot on your bent knee is positioned next to your straight leg's knee or higher. Point the toe on your bent leg down to avoid looking like a flamingo.

    • 3

      Practice these movements 10 times, hitting the arm position and flexing your muscles very quickly in an explosion of moves. When lifted by two bases and a back-spotter, the flyer doesn't have much time to hit her positions so she must practice doing it very fast.

    • 4

      Place an 8-inch circular piece of plywood over a half deflated play ball to create an unbalanced support, similar to that of four hands attempting to work together. Unreliable factors exist such as balance, different levels of effort in the preparatory lift and adrenaline that may result in an off-balance flyer. Your balance obstacles may be out of your control so practicing in these conditions assists you in overcoming them to the best of your ability.

    • 5

      Practice the high "V" motion and flexed muscles while standing in the center of the plywood circle over the center of the deflated play ball. Attempt to keep your balance for 10-, 20-, and 30-second increments. Keep your body strong and your chin up. Moving your chin to look down often results in your body following. When your chin falls, you fall.

    • 6

      Continue practicing the explosive liberty motion but advance to a more "true-to-life" situation. Place one foot on the edge of the seating section of a secure chair. Explode into the position while pressing down on the raised foot and lifting your body up onto the chair, lifting the opposite leg into the liberty position. Hold the position for a 30-second interval. Repeat the practice numerous times until your comfort level has increased and you feel secure enough to attempt the stunt with your bases and back spot.