How do you get a higher toe touch?

HELP HOW TO GET A TOE TOUCH HIGHER AND MORE FLEXIBLE ¿!?!?!?

• Cheer tryouts are soon and my toe touch looks like a star fish! I need help on how to get it to look nice and high and have my legs alot higher! Help fast

• Answer:

  Sit on the floor in a straddle and reach for your toes. That is the shape that you want in the air. You need to push the ground away hard with your feet to jump up high. Quickly swinging your arms up as you rise from your squat can also help you jump higher because of the transference of momentum to the rest of your body. Your head should be up and you should be looking ahead of you. Even if you do a really good jump you don't have a lot of time in the air so you need to snap into your straddle shape and back out again quickly. That takes strong core muscles. Practising japana (where you sit in straddle and reach straight down the middle to try and get your chest on the floor) can help your flexibility but it is likely the problem is more to do with a lack of strength. Box jumps or repeated tuck-jumps can help, especially if you do tuck jumps on a soft, non springy surface, like a crash mat or a sofa cushion. V-sits, and dished hold are good to improve your core strength. Standing, or better yet, hanging leg-lifts are a good way to target hip flexors.