- Causing additional stress to your joints & tendons
- Requiring more muscular effort (you get tired faster)
- Increased risk of injury due to poor technique
And while there is never one “magic bullet” drill that will take you from slow to fast overnight, having good snapdowns is definitely a key part of the equation when it comes to having strong, aggressive back handsprings.
But here’s the thing with snapdowns — most athletes work them the old fashioned way. That is, they do a handstand against a wall, then do a single snapdown into a rebound (if they can even manage). While that’s great, the secret is learning how to do it repeatedly while maintaining your tightness.
To help you do that, I suggest trying out the Rapid Snapdown drill. Take a look below…
Disclaimer (Click To Open)
Please keep in mind to watch the drill animations for their theory and mechanics, not execution. Most of my videos are captured during an athlete’s learning phase. Also, please do not perform any drills, prerequisites or progressions unless you’re in the company of a certified coach and have their permission to do so. The information on this website is presented purely for entertainment purposes only. You are solely liable for any injuries that may occur.
Basically, don't be foolish and use common sense.
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A Few Things To Keep In Mind…
- To keep the animation brief (and the file size small), I showed off how my athlete got into position, and how the drill works. In reality, you would do a minimum or 10 reps as quickly and safely as you can.
- As soon as you do a set of Rapid Snapdowns, I suggest heading over to a forgiving surface and trying 2-3 back handsprings to see if you notice a difference. (Note: a forgiving surface is something like an Air Track or Tumble Track)
- If you don’t have a Pac Man block like seen here, you can easily do this drill with a Boulder, an Octagon Barrel or even a Mailbox mat that’s been secured.
As with any drill, be sure to play around with it until the benefits transfer over to your actual skills. And be sure to head over to the comment section below, and let me know what you think!
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For over 15 years, Coach Sahil has been on a mission to help athletes master their tumbling and acrobatic skills in the shortest amount of time possible without sacrificing safety or the quality of their technique. As a former Power Tumbler and Power Lifter himself, he fully understands the inner struggles of an athlete and how to help them get to the next level. To date, he has worked with thousands of athletes around the World and provided training to hundreds of coaches in almost every country you can imagine. He is also a Certified Gymnastics Coach, founder of Addicted To Tumbling, and former co-owner of a gym. He is also the author of the best-selling book The Cheer Diet.
My snapdowns are really good, I just always have bent knees throughout my back handspring. I’ve tried pushing through my toes, using the athletic stance and a spot. Even if the spotter isn’t spotting my legs they just “magically straighten out@ sometimes in my round off back handsprings they are bent too just not as bad. AND I’m squeezing my knees! Help!
When I tumble, I have straight legs but at the beginning of my handspring I separate my legs. They start together then separate for a brief period then come back together at the top and throughout. Is there any drills or tips that could fix it?
You should try using a hair tie around your ankles (assuming you mean standing back handsprings ?) or hold an object in between your legs and try to do a back handspring without dropping it, then do a smaller object and a smaller object until you are just putting a piece of paper in between your legs without dropping it 🙂 also you can use a resistance band (I think that’s what they are called) they look like huge oversized rubber bands. Hope this helps!
My coaches used to have me put a somewhat small foam block between my ankles and this one curved like it had spaces specifically for that but anything works. Even a doller bill. Put it between your feet/ ankles and try not to let it move or fall out when you do your backhand spring.
Hi my daughter does her round off backhand spring and her standing BHS at the gym by herself but she will not do it at home on her mat. She gets nervous and starts to overthink it.