But the truth is, having lots of equipment is not a necessity. Most of the great coaches I’ve talked to can produce amazing tumblers with just 3-4 pieces of equipment.

And the foldable incline mat happens to be one of those items that nearly all coaches agree is a MUST HAVE.

This thing is so versatile that I could spend days coming up with different ways to use it.

But I wanted to skip over the obvious drills you’ve probably seen for the millionth time (such as back handsprings downhill) and instead, wanted to share a few setups which are not only effective, but a bit “outside the box.”

Hopefully you find them useful!

Quick Note: be sure to bookmark this page, as I’ll be updating this list as I find new ways to use the foldable incline mat.

Drill #1: The Rebound Pass

As the saying goes: “What goes up, must come down!”

Well, the same goes for your tumbling pass!

The reason I love this drill is because it’s a great way to develop the two big factors in an athlete’s tumbling: Control & Power

Without control, they won’t land their back handspring properly, nor will they be able to hold their hollow shape for an efficient rebound.

And if they lack power, they will not be able to finish the 2nd part of the pass since you need power to actually make it uphill in the first place. (Note: the animation is playing at half speed so you can see what’s going on)

But wait, there’s more!

This drill is also a fantastic way to “test” an athlete’s tumbling pass to see if it’s competition ready. So if little Suzy is BEGGING for her brand new RO BHS Tuck to be thrown in the routine, see if she survives the rebound test.

You are literally nailing three birds with one stone here. This uphill/downhill setup is also infinitely adjustable, so don’t just stop at back handsprings. Try everything from walkovers to whips and even fulls!

Drill #2: Standing Tuck Height Test

Whenever I ask coaches and athletes what tumbling shapes are involved in a standing back tuck, about 99% of the time everyone almost always forgets the superman (arch).

That’s because they think it’s only useful for a back handspring.

Not so!

The arch doesn’t just represent a “bend” in the body, it also signifies a hip drive — since a good superman shape requires the squeezing your butt (glutes) as hard as possible. Take a look below…

By folding the incline mat and tipping it on its side, you have the perfect set up to test an athlete’s standing tuck height.

Now I know what you might be thinking: “Woah that’s huge, there’s no way my younger kids can make that jump!”

Well as always, I have a solution. First, realize that because the athlete in the animation is basically adult size, I’m using one of the biggest incline mats you can get (5ft x 10ft). But these mats come in plenty of other sizes as 5×7, 4×8, 3×6 and so on.

Second, if I had to make this exact set up work with one of my more pint-sized athletes, I’d simply put them on a block. Here’s another bonus tip: if you can have a partner hold/stabilize the mat, athletes can even initiate their rotation and roll of the other end (on a safe landing surface, of course).

Drill #3: Blocking Full Twist

I came up with this drill because I needed an efficient way to solve 3 of the major issues that athletes face during layout twisting:

1. Not blocking (you need feet behind hips)
2. Not setting (instead of wrapping the twist off the floor)
3. Slow rotation (not wrapping tightly or with correct arm technique)

Generally, I would use one specific drill to solve each of those problems. But when you have limited equipment or space, ain’t nobody got time to set up three individual stations.

You need something that takes care of all 3 issues at once, and this drill is it!

A few caveats to be aware of when it comes to this drill:

One: You will generally need to use the largest incline/wedge mat you can get away with and will also most likely need some kind of sting mat on top to soften the impact. The reason I never used one is because the foldable incline you see in the animation above is much softer than usual due to years of use and abuse.

Two: This drill does have a bit of a learning curve to it, so be sure to break it down piece by piece. This is not for inexperienced and under-conditioned tumblers. But then again, layout twisting isn’t for noobs in the first place… so just be careful.

Drill #4: Backbend Snapdown

One of the most common questions I get asked by coaches is “how do we train back handsprings without the Boulder?”

Look, I won’t deny that the Boulder is a great training tool. But it has become so commonplace that everyone seems to forget that it is not a necessary piece of equipment. As much as I love it, I’m telling you guys — it’s still a luxury!

So if you don’t have access to one, don’t stress. A large foldable incline can help you get that back handspring with the setup you see below.

For beginners, this drill will provide the perfect starting place so they can become comfortable going upside down. Once an athlete gets good at the backbend snapdown, you can unfold the incline and get them to do limbers. If you’d like more drills like this, be sure to check out all my complete back handspring guide.

Drill #5: Front Tuck StepOut Drill

The unsafe landing of a front tuck causes more knee injuries than I care to count. And while I don’t have exact data available, I’d be willing to bet that injury rates increase even further when you add step outs into the mix.

The drill you see below is one of the easiest and safest ways to work the step out.

(Note: There are a few small corrections this athlete needs to make. I’ll leave that up to you to discover)

While technique has a lot to do with injuries, another unfortunate fact I’ve found is that most athletes (and even some coaches) think that front tuck and step outs are innocent.

Most don’t realize the cost of this gross underestimation and lack of respect for the skill until the knees end up going through severe hyperextension, and it’s too late.

So if you’re a coach, don’t let someone just “throw” the step out just because they’ve mastered the regular front tuck. You must take the extra time to work SAFE step-out technique itself. Below is another safe progression you can use when the athlete is ready to start putting things together.

If you’d like more drills like this, be sure to check out all my complete front tuck guide.

Drill #6: Air Track Ramp

While this is a “combo” set up, it’s one of my favorites because it removes the running or hurdle entry into the round off — which can take up valuable space when you want to maximize skills on the Air Track.

What’s more, starting from the Passe shape allows athletes to develop power by forcing them into an aggressive needle kick, which is never a bad thing!

If you want more set up ideas like this, be sure to check out my article on Air Tracks.

Drill #7: Wall Push Back Handspring

This is one of my favorites as it can be used for SO many different situations.

The first and most obvious is for newer athletes that are learning to get over their fear of connections (such as in the round off back handspring).

But it’s also a useful tool to help speed up connections. Whether they’re coming out of a round off, whip or another handspring, the wall push drill is a great way to reduce fear so athletes can focus on developing speed and power (this is the variation you see in the animation above).

Enjoyed This Article? Don’t Forget To Share With A Friend!

If you know someone who could benefit from these drills, please take a moment to share this article with them! It would mean a lot and you’ll be helping someone improve their skills, for which I’m sure they’ll be grateful for.

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