Staying active with the pom squad

By: Julissa Garcia / Alpha Media Intern

Being active and exercising is a huge part of being on the Texas tech Pom Squad. Training like an athlete helps us be able to perform at our highest level and increase our stamina and endurance. Working out and strength training helps the pom squad members stay fit to be able to get through a 4 hour football game, a 2 hour basketball game, and an intense powerful national’s season.

The pom squad lifts two times a week along with all of our dance practices, appearances, performances, and school hours. Last semester we used to lift and workout at the Sports Performance Center but with the new football facility renovations going on we switched over to the Womble basketball facility. These lifts start at 5:30 a.m. and end around 7:15 a.m.

We start with a quick activation for our muscles in the weight room and then move to the court for a dynamic warm up that consists of stretches and small sprints before we start our actual lift. Our lifts include hang cleans, squats, all sorts of jump training, and several other beneficial workouts. We end every lift with a small run. These runs vary from quick intervals to sprints up and down the court. After our cardio session we meet for a recap of our workout before we break and have a 5 minute cool down stretch.

These lifts are designed specifically for us as dancers and help improve our reaction time, build power for our tricks, turns, and jumps, and push our stamina to the next level. Dancing takes a lot of coordination, balance, power, and grace. With the help of our athletic strength coach, we are able to become better athletes and dancers.

Whether it is lifting weights, interval runs, mile test, or bike cardio, the Texas Tech Pom Squad trains at a high intensity to be able to maintain and improve their athletic abilities. Staying active is a key factor in training properly to be the best athlete.