Do a Back Tuck
Have you always wanted to do a standing tuck? This article explains how to do one but please make sure to do it with help, as doing it alone can result in a bad injury.
Contents
Steps
Preparing For a Safe Back Tuck
Make sure you have experience in some kind of acrobatic sport before attempting the standing back tuck, otherwise injuries may result.
- Stretch out your muscles. Do backbends, butterflies, along with leg and ankle stretches, too. When you're ready you can warm up by doing a couple standing back handsprings. Be careful: if you don't warm up, you could hurt your muscles.
- After you get used to this, try to do Do Roundoff Double Back Handsprings. These exercises will help stretch you out and prepare your muscles for the standing back tuck.
- Practice doing it in your mind. Research has proven that visualizing something helps in doing the same thing physically. So practicing a back flip in your mind would help you to do it physically.
- Get a spotter. A spotter is someone, usually a trainer, coach, or experienced gymnast, who will help hold you and give you good posture while you try your first back tuck. Not only will they help you jump more into the air, but they'll also be able to give you great advice on anything you may be doing wrong, as well as safeguard against injury.
- Get a mat. Mats ensure that any accidental falls won't be devastating for you. They're also a great psychological motivator: If you're not worried about falling down (don't worry, you shouldn't fall!) you'll jump higher and have better posture.
- For beginners: try folding a mat up and standing on top of that for your first couple back tucks. This will give you a little extra space (you'll be higher than the ground) to do the back tuck in the air.
- For advanced gymnasts: try jumping back onto a folded-up mat. Instead of having more space in the air to tuck and land, you'll have less. This is a great technique if you're already pretty good at tucking and want to improve your technique!
Doing the Back Tuck
- Start with your arms up and your body completely straight. Pretend that there's a string tied to each of your hands that's being pulled upwards. This will help you extend your arms all the way up and straighten out your body.
- Lower your arms, bend your knees, and then swing your arms back up as you jump straight up into the air. Before you do a back tuck, practice swinging your arms upward as you jump. This will give you the momentum you need to get high enough to actually do the back tuck.
- Remember to jump up first and not backward. Many beginners believe that because the back tuck is a backward somersault in the air, they need to backward first. The proper technique for back tucks is jumping up first. This will give you the height needed to tuck your legs and then move backward.
- Tuck your legs as you jump up into the air. Bring your legs nearly up to your chest as you jump upward. The momentum of bringing your legs into your chest will help make the backward jump much easier.
- Try practicing the leg to chest tuck on the ground first. Lie down with your back on a mat and your arms up above your head, as they are in the starting position. (Have a spotter hold your arms there, or pin them underneath something heavy but still comfortable.) Then practice, as quickly as you can, lifting your legs up to your chest, simulating the same motion of the back tuck. Bring them up quickly and then back down, repeating.
- Tuck yourself into a little ball in the middle of your mid-air jump. You've bent your knees, jumped up, and then brought your knees into your chest while starting to lean back. If you can, try to make yourself small at the top of your jump.
- Land with your knees bent. Never land with straight knees. This will seriously hurt, and could put you at risk for hyperextended knees. Try to land with your knees bent so that they can absorb some of the shock of the landing.
- Snap up with your body into starting position right after you land. Quickly get your balance by straightening your bent knees and thrusting your arms back up into the air. Your final stance should look almost identical to the way that you started.
- Practice the whole thing by putting all the parts together. That's pretty much how you do a back tuck. Not too hard, is it? After practicing all the small fundamentals — jumping, tucking, landing, snapping up — you should begin to get the feel for what a back tuck feels like as one fluid motion. Don't be afraid to work with a trainer or spotter in the early going; never attempt these tumbles alone if it's your first time.
Tips
- Keep practicing and never give up because that is when you will fail.
- Try it on a trampoline first so that you have a softer surface and if you fall, it won't hurt.
- First practice into a foam pit or on a trampoline before you do it on the ground.
- Make sure you have a mat! If you don't, you could hurt yourself if you fall.
- Just be confident. Anyone can do this kind of basic gymnastics move if and once they're confident and sure about it. Once you've succeeded, it'll feel so good. Good luck!!
- Try practicing your position it really helps. Also, have a spotter that can help you through the positions slowly. don't go to fast take your time and be confident because if you are not confident you will be scared to do this.
- Make sure you have a spotter to spot you.
- Make sure you do this in a gym.
- Before you start this skill you must be able to do a back handspring and a front flip (front tuck).
Warnings
- Always commit to a skill before you go. If you commit you must go.
- Don't do this flip on your own unless you are completely ready or you can really injure yourself! Even then, you should always practice with others around.
- Always have a coach with you when you flip especially if you have a fear.
- Think, what's the worst that can happen? If you get hurt there always is someone that can help you and nothing can really happen.
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