Congratulations! You survived another year in this crazy sport we call tumbling. And while most people are making the same old resolutions such as “lose weight”, “eat healthy”, “work on my passion” etc., you as an athlete have the opportunity to strive for something truly unique — new skills!

Plus, I have a feeling that unlike the average Joe, you’re in a much better position to actually achieve your New Year Tumbling Goals because chances are, you’re already training at a gym multiple times per week.

Which means you don’t need motivation, fancy new equipment or another TikTok tip.

All you need is a proven strategy to follow, and that’s what I’m going to give to you today!

So let’s get started…

Step 1: Pick A Progressive Goal

For example, if you’re currently working on a back tuck — or you have one, but it’s not perfectly executed — then making your New Year’s goal a double full or a double tuck would be a bit of a stretch.

I’m not saying it’s impossible… but when you focus on something that far head in your learning curve, you are bound to take shortcuts on skills that are fundamental to your future success. And this will do more harm than good.

I’ve seen this happen all too often; little Suzy who can barely do a back-walkover to save her life makes it her mission to “get” a back handspring. And because she’s so focused on just throwing it over without adequate progressions, she has no choice but to take very dangerous shortcuts, resulting in a skill that looks like a hot mess.

Ever seen a back handspring that looks like an upside down frog? Not pretty (or safe).

Sure, you can say little miss Suzy “has” a back handspring, but it’s barely worth watching (let alone scoring). Here’s the worst part: it’ll take about three times longer to fix. Which means she is three times further away from the next logical progression, which would be a series of connected back handsprings.

Whoopise!

So to help you avoid the same pitfalls as Suzy, I’ve listed a few logical, progressive goals that you can use below.

Do note that this is by no means a complete list. There are plenty more progressions missing and I haven’t even touched on front tumbling (which you shouldn’t ignore). If you want a complete list of progressions that take you from basics like cartwheels to layout double fulls, consider checking out my Progression Poster.

But the infographic below should give you a good idea of HOW to set your goals intelligently. If you’re still having troubles, feel free to ask your coach. In fact, I’ve even put together a word-for-word script that you can send VIA email or text:

“Hi Coach Sally, I want to aim for a new tumbling goal for this year but I’m not sure where to start. I already have <XYZ> skill and <ABC> pass. What do you think would an achievable goal for me? I trust your judgement, and look forward to your guidance. Thanks!”

Step 2: Round Up A Few Drills

Now that you’ve picked an intelligent and progressive goal, it’s time to put together a some drills that will help you achieve it in a safe manner. Luckily for you, I have a massive library of over 300 drills for you to check out… all available completely free.

But before getting started, I’m going to assume that you have the foundations necessary to actually do these drills. For those of you familiar with my Tumbling Training Pyramid, this would be the bottom two layers. 

Never seen the pyramid before?

No worries, just click the button below to check out the video walkthrough. This pyramid is the exact tool I teach to coaches when I visit gyms for staff training, so its worth knowing!

A Few Things To Remember About Drills

Don’t get too stressed about trying to pick “the best” drill. There are literally hundreds of ways to learn any tumbling skill you can imagine. I do my best to provide drills that I feel are the most effective for the way I coach — you’ll see this if you read any of my guides.

But if something doesn’t work for you, don’t stress. It’s more important to find drills that work for your body type, skill level and equipment that you have at your disposal. After that, it’s just a matter of repping them out until they are perfect.

A good drill not only helps you master the shapes needed, but should also allow you to FEEL what it will be like to execute the skill you want. If it doesn’t achieve those 2 things, find another drill.

This is also a good time to get some input and advice from your coaches. I love it when my athletes ask me what drill they can use to help them with a technique problem they’re having. It shows ownership & initiative, which are two traits I’ve found to be common among all great athletes.

Step 3: Create A Weekly Plan Of Action (Use My Template)

Once you have your drills ready to go, it’s time to come up with a weekly training plan that’s easy and simple to follow. Most gyms have their training schedules published online, so use it to find out when the Open Gyms are, when you can schedule in some private lessons, and when you can go in for extra practice.

To make your life easier, I’ve created a simple Plan Of Action (POA) Template that you can download and print off as many copies as you need. Just click the button below to access it for Free!

How To Use This Template

While I’ve tried to keep it as straight forward as possible, I want to make sure you can use it to its full potential. So open it up (or print it out) and follow along. The first thing you’ll notice is that the entire template is broken up into 4 sections — A, B, C & D. I’m going to go over each section in detail below…

Section A

This is where you’ll check off the days you can train towards your goal (team practices don’t count). For example, at my gym we used to run Open Gyms on Monday, Tue & Thurs nights. If you were able to make those days, you would check the “Mon”, “Tue” & “Thur” boxes and write down the start times. We also had two locations, so you would write down which one you’d be visiting. Apply this to your situation as needed.

Section B

Since you’ve already selected your drills, write down the 3-5 that you plan on working (be sure to include the specific drill numbers so you can look them up in the future). You also want to include the number of quality reps to aim for. Finally, don’t forget to write down the surfaces these drills will be performed on (e.g, AirTrack, Floor, TumbleTrak etc.) . A good way to progress towards your goal is to pull off drills on a soft surface first (such as an AirTrack), then take it to the next available harder surface. This means going from a trampoline to dead mat is not ideal.

Section C

Oh what, you thought we’re just going to be doing drills and throwing skills? Nuh uh, sister! You can’t gain new skills without getting stronger (remember the Pyramid?) As my friend Jessica Zoo likes to say, “Body Before Skill”. With the help of your coach (or my Conditioning Plan) select 3-5 exercises that will help you get stronger for your chosen skill, along with the reps, sets & weight (should the exercise need it). If you’re struggling to select the right exercises, be sure to visit the Exercise section of my drill library. My suggestion is to target all major muscle groups of the body.

Section D

Once you’ve spent a good amount of time on your drills, I assume you will eventually want to try attempting the skill you’re working so hard towards. That’s what section D is for. You have a total of 14 attempt slots to track your progress and consistency. Here’s how to fill it out: write down the date you plan on attempting the skill, the exact surface you’ll be trying it on and whether you got a spot (select Y or N) and if you (or your coach) would consider it a success.

This is where you will have to apply your own standards. If your definition of success is that you make it over with “pretty good” technique, then so be it. It’s your goal, and your plan.

Realistic Example: If you’re trying your back tuck for the first time and you got it spotted but you under-rotated it, you’d select “Y” under the Spotted column and put a “N” in the Success column.

You job is to rack up as many Y’s as possible during the 2nd half of the table. The first 7 attempts (left side) might have a bunch of N’s and that’s ok! No one is perfect when attempting a new skill. That’s why we practice!

Pro Tip: I highly suggest your first attempt be on forgiving surfaces (such as a pit) and with a spot. Don’t be afraid to ask your coach for further guidance. Trust me, we ALL want you to get your new skill. It only helps the gym and team look better. But rushing it will only get you hurt.

How Long Will It Take To Achieve Your Goals?

If you use the Template and actually put in the work, there’s no doubt in my mind you will achieve your tumbling goals for the new year (or mid year if you’re a late starter). Unfortunately the exact time can never be known. The only guarantee is that if you keep at it, it will come. As long as you’re focused on improving (even by 1%) week after week, success will be yours!

And once you achieve your goal, I want to hear about it!

Be sure to post about your journey on Instagram and tag me (@addictedtotumbling). I’d be happy to feature you, as I love sharing success stories. Also, you might end up helping another athlete build up the motivation they need to achieve their own tumbling goals. It’s a great way to inspire the next generation of cheerleaders, gymnasts and dancers!

Best of luck and happy training!