Mastering the Cartwheel: A Step-by-Step Guide to Gymnastics' Foundational Skill

The cartwheel, a fundamental movement in gymnastics and cheerleading, is more than just a fun trick. It's a building block for more advanced skills, requiring strength, flexibility, coordination, and agility. While often associated with childhood, adults can also learn and benefit from cartwheels by addressing their individual challenges and building confidence. This guide offers a comprehensive approach to learning the cartwheel, from basic steps to advanced variations, ensuring a safe and effective learning experience.

Understanding the Cartwheel

A cartwheel involves a sideways rotation of the body, with alternating hand placements on the ground while the legs pass overhead in a straddled position. According to Harrell (2018), a cartwheel is defined as ‘’one in which you begin with your right leg forward and your right hand is the first to contact the ground. Conversely, a “left” cartwheel is one in which you begin with your left leg forward and your left hand is the firstto contact the ground (note that a “right” cartwheel is a left-twisting skill. A left twist is one in which the left shoulder travels backward relative to the body in motion.)’’

Getting Started: Essential Preparations

Before attempting a cartwheel, proper preparation is essential to prevent injuries and ensure success.

Finding the Right Environment:

Safe Space: Choose a spacious area free from furniture, walls, or other obstructions.
Soft Surface: Practice on a soft surface such as a carpet, a lawn, or a gymnastics mat to minimize impact and reduce the fear of injury. If practicing outdoors, ensure the area is flat and level.

Warming Up and Stretching:

Stretching is vital before practicing a cartwheel. Gymnastics instructor, Tanya Berenson, encourages you stretch down to your hands, and to wear a brace if you feel weakness in your wrists. She says, “Always stretch before and after any kind of strength training.

Wrists: Gently bend your wrists back and forth to loosen the muscles.
Hamstrings: Sit with your legs spread apart in a wide V and bend your torso forward towards the ground, reaching with your hands towards your left foot.
Overall: Spend at least 3 minutes stretching before starting.

Building Strength:

During a cartwheel, you must support your entire body weight using your arm muscles. If they’re not strong enough, you may have trouble completing the move.

Read also: Step-by-Step Cartwheel Guide

Biceps: Do bicep curls using free weights.
Triceps: Learn to do a dumbbell kickback, which will help build and strengthen your tricep muscles.

Proper Attire:

Comfortable Clothing: Wear clothing that allows a full range of movement for your arms and legs. Compression clothing, yoga clothing, and gymnastic leotards are all great choices. Sports clothes are great too. Avoid non-stretchy fabrics like denim.

Step-by-Step Guide to Performing a Cartwheel

Stand Upright: Begin by standing up straight with your feet together.
Pick a Side: Decide which side you are more comfortable with - either your right or left side. Our favorite trick is interlocking your hands together and your first index finger to come up will be your cartwheel leg. Your dominant hand you write with is not always the leg you will tumble with.
Lunge and Arm Raise: Lunge forward with your lead leg, slightly bending your front leg at the knee while keeping your back leg straight. Keep both feet pointing forward parallel to your imaginary line. Raise your arms straight above your head, close to your ears. A common mistake is to start a cartwheel while facing sideways. Make sure you’re facing forwards as you prepare and start for your cartwheel. Either leg can be your lead leg. Sometimes, however, it's more comfortable to use one leg instead of the other-you can try to figure out which one by doing a series of handstands, some starting with your right leg in front, others with your left.
Lower Arms and Initiate the Movement: Keep your arms straight by your ears as you lower them down to bring your head and torso down as well. Only lower your arms about halfway to the ground. This step requires balance. Don’t worry if you’re having trouble balancing.
Hand Placement: Put down the arm on the same side of your body as your lead leg first. Then put your other arm down so they're spread about shoulder width apart, similar to the way they would be positioned for a handstand. Place both hands along the imaginary line.

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Leg Lift and Body Rotation: Straighten your front leg as you push so your legs end up in the air, pointing straight upwards. Balance your weight on your arms with your hands shoulder-width apart on either side of your head. You won’t hold this position for long. Make sure to keep your legs straight the whole time. Swing Your Arms and Leg: As you step forward, swing your back leg up and over your body, following the path of the same arm you are using. Your Hands: If you have your right leg in front of you then your hands will be facing the right side of your body, if you have your left leg in front of you then your hands will be facing the left side of your body.
Controlled Descent: To complete the cartwheel, put your leading leg down first along your imaginary line. The first hand you placed on the mat will lift up naturally as your foot comes down. Your other leg will follow the first as it comes down. Make sure to place your back foot behind your leading foot along the same imaginary line so both feet point back in the direction you came from. A common mistake while cartwheeling is leaving your hands on the ground for too long.
Stand Up: Once your first leg touches the ground, bring your arms up and your other leg following down.
Finish: Position yourself so your original back leg is in front and slightly bent, while your original leading leg is behind you and straight, just like a lunge. Keep both feet pointing in the direction you came from.

Mastering the Technique: Tips and Drills

Visual Aids:

Imaginary Line: Use a line as a guide while you perform your cartwheel. You can even use painter’s tape to create a real line across a carpet or a mat. Make this line several feet long. Try to stay on the line, as if the line is a balance beam. Make sure the area around your line is free and clear.

Key Form Points:

Straight Limbs: Keep your arms and legs straight throughout the movement to maintain a stable and controlled form.
Body Alignment: Strive to keep your body in a straight line as you rotate, avoiding bending at the hips or waist.
Hand Placement: Ensure your hands are placed shoulder-width apart and slightly turned outwards for optimal support.

Drills and Progressions:

Handstands: Practice handstands to get comfortable being upside down. Or, try handstands on the wall. Get comfortable with safely exiting a handstand by pivoting on one arm and landing with your feet to the side.
Wall Handstands: Kick up into a handstand against a wall with your back facing it.
Handstand Kick-Ups: Practice kicking up into a handstand from a standing position.
Wall Cartwheels: Perform cartwheels against a wall to help with alignment and balance. Use the wall for support and gradually reduce reliance on it.
Partner Spotting: Have a coach or partner assist you by providing support as you practice the cartwheel.
Foam Pit Cartwheels: Practice cartwheels into a foam pit or cushioned area.
Freestanding Cartwheels: Perform cartwheels without wall or partner support.

Common Mistakes and How to Correct Them

Bent Arms or Legs: This leads to a wobbly form. Focus on keeping your limbs straight throughout the movement.
Tight Wrists or Hips: This can lead to a painful and incomplete cartwheel experience. Incorporate wrist and hip stretches into your warm-up routine.
Not Reaching Down Far Enough: Make sure to lower your hands completely to the ground to maintain balance and momentum.
Insufficient Push-Off: Engage your leg muscles to generate enough force to rotate your body fully.
Leaving Hands on the Ground Too Long: A common mistake while cartwheeling is leaving your hands on the ground for too long.

Overcoming Challenges and Building Confidence

Addressing Fear:

It is highly unlikely. If you are scared of doing a cartwheel, just know that your brain is thinking of the worst case scenario. Think of the positives instead: for example, you can show all your friends your cartwheel.

Read also: Understanding the Heart

Practice and Patience:

Remember that mastering a cartwheel can take lots of practice, so be patient and keep working on it. Continue to practice your cartwheel, alternating back and forth between leading legs, until you get the hang of it. It may take some time, so don't give up! The form will not matter at first, as long as you are supporting yourself in the air with your handstand getting the hang of it, it's a cartwheel! One direction may be easier than the other for you-most people have a dominant leg. But practice both to get comfortable cartwheeling on either side. Nailing a cartwheel is all about confidence so just go out there and keep trying it.

Seeking Guidance:

If you’re new to gymnastics or cheerleading, always seek guidance from a coach or instructor who can provide personalized feedback and help ensure you’re performing the cartwheel safely and effectively. Victory can always help and we love a good cartwheel. It is the foundation for all of your skills in gymnastics.

Advanced Cartwheel Variations

Once you've mastered the basic cartwheel, you can explore more challenging variations:

One-Handed Cartwheel:

As you practice a lot and improve your strength and flexibility your cartwheel will become strong with good, you may try to form one arm cartwheel named also one hand cartwheel. What differentiate one handed cartwheel from two handed one is that you are supposed tolift your less dominant hand off the ground during placing your strongest hand on the ground and lifting up your leg and kicking your other leg in the air as you place down your other hand. But before you start practicing one hand cartwheel make sure if you are really comfortable doing two hand cartwheel!

Master the Regular Cartwheel: Ensure you are comfortable and proficient with the two-handed cartwheel.
Strengthen Arms and Shoulders: Focus on exercises that build arm and shoulder strength.
Practice Footwork and Hand Placement: The footwork and hand placement are similar to the regular cartwheel, but with only one hand used.
Get into Position: Pick your lead foot up off the ground and raise your hands in the same way as in two hand cartwheel and put your internal arm (it would be a right if your lead leg is right and inversely) out or behind your back. Remember about not using your internal hand.
Plant Your Hand: Now it’s time to bend forward and plant your hand. If your lead foot is right, place your left hand on the imaginary line and ensure if your lead hand is found vertical to your direction of move with your fingers pointed toward lead foot.
Push Off and Kick Over: Push off with your back leg and kick your legs back over. Try to land in upright line. At the end you can add some speed and as with regular cartwheel… practice a lot! There’s no better way to master your cartwheel.

Cartwheel Without Hands:

OK, but what if you have already mastered your one hand cartwheel? Would you like to start a new challenge? Try cartwheel withouthands! Sound scary? If you feel comfortable with one hand cartwheel, it won’t impossible, though you will need a lot of training and patience.

Balance: Start from standing with legs and shoulder width- apart and try to find your balance. Remember about previous tips concerning soft surface and spotter. This time it’s even more important!
Running Start: Then take a few running steps. That’s because you’ll need more speed.
Leg Lift and Hop: The next step will be bringing up your lead leg which must be parallel to your chest. As far you do this, do a little hop with your other leg and keep your hand away from torso and plant your leadleg into the ground.
Torso Position: Keep its knee bent and put your arm down and make them in the same position as your waist. Keep your rear leg. Pay attention to your torso which must be horizontal to the ground and swing both your legs over your head.
Landing: Land onto your rear leg and put your lead leg on the ground.

Aerials:

Aerials - A cartwheel with no hands.

Teaching Cartwheels to Others

Are you a cartwheel master but you’re not sure how to teach your students? Here you’ ve got some tips. First of all, let’s take care of good equipment and place. You will need a lot of space- for example area or room with high ceilings as well as soft surface. It can be exercisesmat. There are a few methods- using cushion, sticks trick, straight line trick as well as hula hoops and chalk.

Methods:

Using Cushion: If you are a teacher you are supposed to place a cushion on the mat, have your student stand on one side of the object and tell him/her to hop over the other side of it and repeat the exercises.
Sticker Trick: If you prefer sticker you need to place it on lead leg and instruct his/her to plant her/his sticker foot in front and place her/his hands on the floor in form the side position. Make sure if your student ends with her sticker foot behind him/her.
Straight Line Trick: If you choose the straight line trick, you should place a mat down in an open area and take a two pieces of masking tape and put them on the mat in order to form a vertical line. Let’s have your student stand on one of ends of the line and instruct her/him to plant hands down onto the line. Your task is also to support her and check if she/he lands with both feet on the line.
Cartwheel Mat: This is where a cartwheel mat is helpful for learning a cartwheel as a beginner, especially for young children. The foot-prints and hand-prints make it easy for preschool age children to figure out where their hands should go. You can also help determine which side, right or left, will be your gymnast’s dominant side when they are tumbling with this tool. If your gymnast automatically turns her hands 90 degrees to the left, she should probably do a left cartwheel with her left foot in front in her lunge.
Cartwheel Block or Mat: My favorite way to teach a cartwheel is to teach it over an object. And this cartwheel block or mat is perfect for learning this way. Learning a cartwheel with a cartwheel mat is a great method for preschool children.

Additional Tips

Determine Dominant Side: Note: If you aren’t sure if your gymnast should be trying a cartwheel with their right leg going first or their left, there are a couple things you can do. You can have your gymnast do a cartwheel on both sides and see which side is easier and more natural. You can also have your gymnast do a cartwheel over a mat or a block (like here below) and see which way their hands turn. If they naturally turn 90 degrees to the left, they are most likely going to be doing a left cartwheel.
Practice on a Beam: Once your gymnast has learned a cartwheel, it’s time to make it perfect! One of the ways to make sure your gymnast is doing a straight cartwheel is by doing it on a beam. A sticky beam strip is a great way to help your gymnast practice on a line, when you don’t want to put chalk or tape on the floors in your house. You can put this strip down, use it to practice, and take it right back up. Check out the home gymnastics equipment we recommend for practicing gymnastics at home.

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