Essential for Course 1: Home-Base Safety & Body Alignment To get the most out of your training and prevent injury, your home "classroom" must be set up for success. Review this list before every session.

The hollow hold is often considered the most important foundational skill in gymnastics and cheerleading. It is the gold standard for "total body tension," serving as the building block for everything from handstands and tumbling to high-level stunting.

In both gymnastics and cheerleading, the tuck position is the foundation for rotation. By pulling your knees toward your chest, you shorten your body's "lever length," which allows you to spin faster and more efficiently.

In both gymnastics and cheerleading, the pike position is the hallmark of flexibility and precision. Unlike the tuck, which relies on a compact "ball" shape for speed, the pike involves keeping the legs perfectly straight while folding the body at the hips

In gymnastics and cheerleading, the straddle position is a critical shape used to demonstrate range of motion, power, and control. It involves sitting or jumping with the legs spread wide apart while maintaining maximum extension through the knees and toes.

In gymnastics and cheerleading, achieving "flat" or "oversplits" is considered a hallmark of elite flexibility and a requirement for advanced scoring. Mastering the splits involves both passive flexibility (holding the stretch) and active flexibility (the ability to lift and hold the legs in those positions).

Mastering the handstand is often considered the single most important task for any gymnast or cheerleader. It is the "vertical home base" from which almost all advanced tumbling and stunting originates.