Hey, i can do a front walkover and ive been trying for a very long time to do a backwards walkover, but its not happening. the most i can do is a sort of back head stand tumble sorta thing were im in a bridge on my elbows but most of the time on my head, and then kick over. But i cant do it any other way. Any ideas? please help! xx

If you can do a bridge on your elbows then I would say your problem isn't a flexibility one. It's more likely a strength one. Your arms are collapsing underneath you and thats what you are landing on your head and elbows. I would reccomend working on bridges. Work on holding them for a minute or longer. Also work on being able to do them with one foot in the air. This will help youw ith balance as when you do a walkover you have both feet down and therefor for your weight has to be distributed on to your arms and one foot. Other things you can do do strengthen your arms are pushups, pull ups, lifting small weights etc. Also do you have a coach or teacher who is working with you on this or are you trying on your own?

Yes i have a coach, im not landing on my head its that i can only kick over when im on my elbows. When i do it from a bridge i can only kick halfway and the fall back over

then I would say its more of a strength problem with your legs instead of your arms. I thought you meant before that you were bending back and collapsing onto your elbow and then kicking from there. The reason you can get over on your elbows and not on your hands is you don't have to kick as far. I would recommend doing bridges with your feet propped up onto a folded up mat and practice kicking over that way to develop the strength and technique to do it properly. Eventually you can go on lower mats and then on the floor.

It's sounds to me your problem is you're not pushing in your chest/shoulders.

Make sure you are looking where you're going to land, and you're pushing your chest in that direction as well.
Also it wouldn't hurt to be thinking of your legs at the same time, don't let them just be dead weights while your upper body does all the work.

Hope this helps!
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Make sure that you're leading with your toe and not your knee. I'm a coach. A lot of my girls bend their knees to kick over, but that pulls your weight the wrong way. Make sure that your knee is straight and that the first thing that kicks over your head is your toe. Another thing you can do is get a panel mat and put your feet on top of it. Push up into a bridge and kick off from the panel mat, not the ground. As you get more consistent, make the mat lower and lower until eventually you're doing it from the ground.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice ill be working on it every time i can keep the advice coming if you have any please!

good idea!!!! im gonna try that ive been having the same problem

I hope that your backwalkovers are getting better and better by the day. I noticed you have gotten great advise, and there is not much more to say but one really good drill to work on it to bridge up do not move your feet and try to push your chest towards a wall this helps athletes understand that all of your body weight needs to go towards your shoulders. You can get close to a padded wall, bridge up touch the wall with your chest make sure the feet did not move (when you are getting into your bridge make sure your heel are close to the glutes(butt)) and then go into the bridge and push the chest. Once you do that lift one leg and you can kick over to a handstand against the wall and that is the harders part to a kick over, walkover, step our what ever of those skills. Ask your coach to help you with the push of the shoulders. GOOD LUCK and KEEP WORKING ON THEM.

Try to bring your hands in closer to your feet. The first time I was trying to get my back walkover I started it like a back handspring and kind of "jumped" into it. Try doing it first on a trampoline, or even a matress. Also, don't be afraid to bring your head back.

Try to bring your hands in closer to your feet. The first time I was trying to get my back walkover I started it like a back handspring and kind of "jumped" into it. Try doing it first on a trampoline, or even a matress. Also, don't be afraid to bring your head back.

i probably wouldnt suggest jumping into it, especially if you are prone to landing on your head! but putting your head back and looking for the floor is very important, and also takes away a lot of the fear factor! anyway, it sounds your problem lays more with the kick over part anyway - I hope you have now managed it!

Watch your hangs for as long as you can. But make sure you stretch your back and legs really good before hand. Stay tight! Good luck and I hope this helps!