Cheerleading

I have had so much trouble finding the wheat-germ and flaxseed oil for the Hollywood Diet so I have ordered some and will hopefully be able to start the diet next Monday!

:)

I am in a lot of pain today as I had Cheer practice last night and managed to pull nearly every muscle in my body. If only my Uni room had a bath. A long soak with Cosmo and a cup of tea would go down a treat right now!

At the moment we are preparing for a first competition of the year. We'll be competing at Future Cheer in two weeks!

Exciting stuff!! 

Cheerleading has been a huge part of my life for the past four years but I haven't entered a competition with stunts before which makes it even more exciting. 

Lets just hope I don't drop someone.

Although I love my new squad I miss my home squad a lot, it's where I found my passion for Cheerleading. Without my coach I wouldn't be the Cheerleader I am today! 

I'm a coach myself and the feeling of pride and joy I get when my group hits their first stunt or pulls off a full routine in front of their parents and friends is incredible.

Through Cheerleading I made some of my best friends! Having a common interest that you're all so passionate about makes your bond even stronger. They are my family ... My Cheer Family!!

I wish Cheer had been as popular when I was young because I would have taken it up in a heart beat. 

Nothing beats the feeling of putting in your bow and covering yourself with glitter for a competition. The adrenaline rush you get is unreal. 

The pride of competing against some of the best teams in the country and placing in the top three can't be beaten (unless you place first of course!)

I feel that the skill and ability of Cheerleaders is so often over looked. So many people just assume it's girls prancing around in short skirts and lots of make up.

The ability to lift a 20 year old in the air from a squat isn't something that's easily done. 

You have to have an intense amount of trust in each other. The promise that your bases will catch you from such large heights is one that can never be broken otherwise body parts will be as well! 

So many times I've heard people say it's not a sport and devalue the real strength, power and time needed to pull a routine together. 

I agree it's not a sport, it's so much more! 

It really is a way of life.

'Athletes lift weights, Cheerleaders lift people.'

The highlight for me so far is when The Funky Phantomettes (my home squad) provided the half time entertainment for Derby County Football Club at the last game of the season. 

We had endless amounts of people telling us it was the best half time show they'd seen all season. To impress 33,000 people was an amazing feeling.

Basically Cheer is my life and I love every second of it. 

It is worth every moment of pain and every butterfly you feel before a competition whether you place or not.