Make sure your outdoor practice space is clear of rocks, twigs and other debris that could cause a painful mishap. See if you can spend the afternoon learning the front walkover in your school gymnasium or the local community center. Parks and playgrounds with rubberized flooring make great places for safely trying out new skills. [2] X Research source
To properly spot a front walkover, have your spotter place one hand across your lower back and give you a lift as you stand up out of the bridge. [5] X Research source Your spotter should be someone who is tall and strong enough to help hold you up.
You can buy fold-up tumbling mats designed specifically for gymnastics and cheerleading at most sporting goods stores. These will lay over any flat surface and store easily when you’re finished with them. If you don’t have mats available to you, use folded blankets, pillows or couch cushions to break your fall.
Create short-term goals for the day, such as “I’d like to be able to hold a bridge by the end of the afternoon,” or “I’ll try my first walkover without a spotter after dinner. " Don’t forget to take rest breaks occasionally. Tumbling is a strenuous activity, and you won’t perform as well if you’re tired.
Raise both arms up high, then reach across your body as you lean from side to side at the waist. Lie face down on the floor and push your torso up and back to limber up your lower back. Flex both wrists to get them ready to hold you up. Don’t neglect your warm up and stretching routine. You’re at a much higher risk of injury if you force your body to perform difficult movements before it’s ready. [11] X Research source
Practice your handstands against a wall until you get used to being upside down and supporting yourself on your arms. [13] X Research source Try taking a video and putting it in slow motion to see your mistakes. Instead of returning your feet to the floor beneath you when you exit the handstand, lower yourself forward into a bridge. This technique is called a front limber, and it will help get you more comfortable with transitioning to your feet. Aim to spend an hour or two drilling your handstand, then start working on transitioning into the bridge and follow-through.
Squeeze your butt muscles to help you stay tight in a bridge. You won’t need to be able to hold a bridge for very long in order to do a walkover, so focus on standing up from the bridge to help you practice coming out of the technique easily. [15] X Research source
The technique of landing on the same foot you kick with is used in both the cartwheel and front walkover. When doing a front walkover, you’ll only be tweaking your cartwheel technique slightly so that you’re moving straight forward rather than sideways. Adjusting your cartwheel technique to practice kicking up into a handstand can help you get the hang of getting inverted by the end of the day.
Start with your weight in the heels of your palms and shift it to your fingers as you raise up into the handstand. Your hands should stay in the same position throughout the walkover.
You’ll need to kick forcefully in order to rotate around with enough speed to walk out of the backbend. Front walkovers are all about confidence. If you don’t commit to the movement, you won’t have enough force to carry you over.
Press your fingers into the floor to stabilize yourself and control your speed as you bring your legs over the top. Unlike a normal handstand, resist the urge to bring your legs together. They should stay split from the time you kick to the time your first foot hits the floor.
While your body is tilting forward, keep your eyes on the floor just in front of your hands to maintain your center of gravity. If you try to look too far up or down, you may fall out of position. Use a raised surface, like a bed or the seat of a couch, to get a feel for landing with your first leg. [20] X Research source This is the most difficult part of the skill, and will likely take a few hours to practice before you get it down.
Keep your legs split until the moment your first foot touches the floor. If they’re too close together, the transition won’t be as smooth and it will be much harder to stand back up. Practice front walkovers regularly until you start to see improvement in your technique.
