Do a Herkie

The Herkie (also spelled "Hurkie") is a type of jump in cheerleading named for Lawrence Herkimer, cheerleading innovator and inventor of the pom pom. A great herkie can be dazzling in its own right or as the "clincher" to a complex routine. However, it's easy to forget while watching someone perform an effortless herkie that getting to the level of athleticism required to do a great herkie requires lots of time and effort. See Step 1 below to get started!

Steps

Busting Out an Amazing Herkie

  1. Warm up. As with any form of exercise, it's wise to warm up your body before cheerleading with light cardio exercise and stretching. Elevating your heart rate before beginning your routine ensures that your heart can gradually ease into its high "workout" rate. Additionally, stretching out your muscles is thought to help improve your flexibility during your performance and to protect against injuries from over-flexing (though in recent years this has been the subject of some debate. Warm up for your herkie by doing a few stretches (focused mainly on your lower body and core, the muscles you'll be relying on the most), followed by some jumping jacks or jogging to get your heart pumping.
    • One stretch that's particularly useful for cheerleaders attempting the herkie is the aptly-named "herkie stretch". In this stretch, the cheerleader mimics the mid-air position of the herkie on the ground. Note that this stretch requires you to do the splits, so if you're not flexible enough to do so, you may need to gradually build your flexibility with a stretching routine. To perform a herkie stretch, follow the steps below:
      • Sit on the floor with your back straight and your head up.
      • Shift your stronger and more flexible leg straight out in front of you. Simultaneously shift your other leg so that it is bent out to the side.
      • Gently reach for the toes of your outstretched leg. Hold this position for 30 seconds, feeling a mild stretch as you do so.
      • Switch legs. When you do your herkie, you'll be stretching your stronger, more flexible leg out in front of you, but practicing the stretch for the other leg can improve your overall flexibility and make your muscles feel "evenly" stretched.
  2. Stand up straight. When you're ready to perform your herkie, get into a a proper, erect starting posture. Stand upright with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your back straight, keeping your chin up and your shoulders back in a relaxed, pulled-back position.
    • Don't forget to smile! Cheerleading isn't all about your athletic ability - it's also about your ability to strike an emotional connection with the crowd. Keeping a happy, excited expression on your face as you perform allows the audience to share your outward emotions. Ask yourself which would do more to get the crowd cheering - a routine from a dour, sullen group of cheerleaders, or one from an enthusiastic one?
  3. Start an eight count. Like many cheerleading moves, the herkie is performed in time to a beat. Start counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8", with each number at a regularly-spaced interval. When you reach 8, return to 1 and repeat. Your eight count should become a repeating loop of "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4...". When you do the herkie, you'll time your moves to this beat, ensuring your routine stays rhythmically coordinated. This is especially important if you have partners, as having members of your group out-of-sync with one another can look amateurish on the field.
    • If you're having trouble holding the count in your head as you move, try turning on some dance music! Most modern, club-ready dance music has a nice, steady four count beat that's perfect for practicing to.
  4. Clap your hands together on "1". When you've gotten a feel for the beat and you're ready to try the herkie, count "...5, 6, 7, 8, 1...". On "1", clap your hands together in front of you. Your arms should be roughly vertical and your hands should be clasped together in front of your chin or upper chest.
    • Hold this position for "1" and "2".
  5. Bring your arms into a high V on "3". There are several common variations on the arm motions you can perform as part of your herkie. However, almost all of them involve making this high V position on the ground, as, by swinging your arms from this elevated position, you can gain momentum for your jump. On "3", quickly bring your arms from their position in front of you into a powerful "V" shape, stretching each diagonally above you.
    • Hold this position for "3" and "4".
    • Make your arm movements quick and snappy and keep your arms straight. Pretend you're performing for an audience - you want to look energetic and excited, not disinterested.
  6. Swing your arms downward and bend your knees on "5". Next, on the five count, swing your arms down across your body. They should momentarily cross at the wrists, forming an "X" shape. As you do this, bend your knees in preparation for your jump.
    • Avoid bending over at the waist as you make this motion - this is a common beginner mistake. You'll want to maintain a fairly straight, erect posture throughout the herkie (with the exception of when you're in the air). Remember, you're jumping with your legs, not with your waist or lower back.
  7. On "6", jump and strike a pose! Use your thigh and glute muscles to propel yourself into the air as high as you can go, pushing into the ground with the balls of your feet. As you leave the ground, thrust your stronger leg out to the front so the inside of your leg is at least parallel to the ground (if you're flexible enough, try to have this leg point slightly up and out, rather than straight forward). Thrust your other leg under and behind you. Simultaneously, strike a pose with your arms. You have several options when it comes to your arm motions. A few of the most common are listed below:
    • Swing your arms back up into a high "V" position.
    • "Punch" your arms straight overhead.
    • Swing your arms out to the side so that they are parallel to the ground. This should make a "T" shape.
    • Make a fist with the hand on the same side as the leg bent beneath you and place it on your hip. Raise the other arm up above your head in a triumphant "touchdown" pose.
  8. Land with a bend in your knees on "7". After making your mid-air pose for a brief instant, swing your legs back down underneath you and bring your arms down to your sides. Keep a slight bend in your knees as you make contact with the ground to avoid injury. Keep your arms fairly straight as they hang by your sides. You should land around the "7" count.
    • When you land, hold this position, with your knees bent and your hands by your sides, for the "7" and "8" counts. Spring back into a straight upright starting position on "1". Congratulations! You've completed your herkie.
    • Try to maintain a straight back as you land. You don't want to collapse into a hunched, shrunken stance the instant you touch the ground. Keep a bend in your knees and your arms by your sides, but avoid bending at the waist, hunching, or letting your head hang down.
  9. Put it all together! When you've practiced the individual parts of your herkie to the point that you're comfortable with them, try to work them all into one smooth movement. To recap, you should match your actions to the following eight count:
    • ...5, 6, 7, 8 (optional): Warmup count. Gives you a steady beat for the following eight count.
    • 1: Clap your hands together in front of you.
    • 2: Hold your position.
    • 3: Bring your arms into a high "V".
    • 4: Hold your position.
    • 5: Swing your arms down across your body and bend your legs.
    • 6: Jump and strike your herkie pose in mid-air.
    • 7: Land with knees bent.
    • 8: Achieve balance and hold position.
    • 1: Spring back to starting position.

Working Up to a Herkie

  1. Practice! No one was born knowing how to do a perfect herkie - not even Lawrence Herkimer. To get to the point where doing a herkie feels effortless and natural, a great deal of practice and conditioning is necessary. Be persistent - even if you're barely able to get off the ground at first, you will eventually be able to do a herkie if you work at it for long enough. In this section, a few ideas for building the strength and flexibility necessary to perform a herkie are detailed. However, there's no better way to actually get good at doing herkies than to try to do herkies, so get out there and start trying today!
    • Keeping a good sense of humor about your practice can help make repeated failures bearable. Remember that while the cheer of an audience can feel amazing, you should ultimately working at your cheerleading skills for your own entertainment and satisfaction.
  2. Stretch to build flexibility. In addition to using a great deal of muscular strength, a herkie also requires a fair amount of flexibility. To loosen your muscles up for optimal performance, start practicing a thorough regimen of static stretches. Because the herkie involves jumping and performing leg movements while you're in the air, you'll want to prioritize lower body and core stretches. For instance, the herkie stretch (described above) works well as part of your flexibility routine. This doesn't mean you should completely neglect stretching your upper body, however. Below is a sample stretch routine you may want to use. Every day, hold each of the following stretches for 20-30 seconds at a time, repeating each three times.
  3. Build lower body and core strength for powerful jumps. High-flying herkies require powerful muscles. To increase the amount of time that you're in the air and the speed and power with which you can perform the motions that make up the herkie, start performing strength-building exercises that target your lower body and core. Though the muscle strength in your lower body is primarily responsible for the power with which you'll be able to jump, your core muscles are also important because they are vital for maintaining balance and stability and preventing injury.[1] Below are just a few of the types of exercises you'll want to focus on if you're looking to improve your herkie:
    • Squats. These exercises should form the core of your lower body routine, as they exercise several muscle groups used in the herkie. When performing squats, use caution to avoid injury. Consult an experienced trainer if you're unsure how to do squats safely.
    • Lunges. A wide variety of lunges (like side lunges, walking lunges, and so on) can help build leg strength. Thus, these exercises are a great choice for improving your herkie, especially when you don't have other exercise equipment handy.
    • Deadlifts. These strength exercises not only improve your lower back, glute, and core strength, but also stretch your hamstrings. However, like squats, this exercise carries the risk of injury if performed incorrectly. So, consult an experienced trainer if you're unsure of how to perform deadlifts.
    • Crunches. These basic ab exercises are great for building the all-important core strength that's important for your balance and safety while performing physical exercise. Best of all, crunches come in countless variations, which allows you selectively target muscle groups that need work.
  4. Improve your balance with balance exercises. Since herkies require you to make a high jump, make large, demonstrative motions in mid-air, and land perfectly, balance is an important concern not just for making your herkie look as great as possible but also for preventing injury. Everyone's natural sense of balance is different - if yours leaves you feeling "shaky", consider working to improve it with a regular regimen of balance exercises. Below are just a few balance-improving exercises you may want to consider:
    • Standing on one foot. For an added challenge, try one-legged squats after you've built up leg strength!
    • Performing core exercises with a stability ball.
    • Closing your eyes and keeping your legs together as you perform bicep curls. This forces you to use your core muscles to maintain your balance as you move the weights.
      • Be sure to maintain proper, erect posture as you perform this exercise - don't lean back. Not only does bad posture rob you of the balance-boosting benefits of this exercise - it also can lead to injury.



Tips

  • Before you do any of this you must stretch!
  • Also you should sit down in a herkie position, then reach for your toes.
  • Stretch a little first then stretch after. Get your muscles warmed up first!!
  • Always wear good quality attire when doing any cheerleading activities.
  • Make sure that you don't attempt any of the tricks until you are trained to do them, otherwise you could get seriously hurt.
  • Drinking water is a must, for if you don't drink water you may become dehydrated. Once you become dehydrated, your muscles will cramp up and you run the risk of tearing a muscle.

Warnings

  • Don't drink too much water:it could make your stomach hurt!
  • Don't overstretch; you could pull a muscle!
  • Don't try this just to try it, you should have experience with this.. you could get into a really bad injury!

Things You'll Need

  • a coach or another experienced person, so that you will be able to know if you are doing it right or if you will need help.
  • proper clothing- soffe shorts and a tank top or t-shirt should do it good, so that you will not catch anything on yourself.
  • Having your hair pulled back is a must! This way, you can see what you are doing, and it will not be distracting you which could cause an injury if you are distracted.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/core-exercises/art-20044751
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