How to do a gymnastics cartwheel

This is an animated gymnastics tutorial for the cartwheel. Use the controls to pause, slow down and follow along with detailed step by step text instructions that match up with each movement. This instructional gymnastics video is incredibly in depth and a great guide for learning the cartwheel.

Gymnastic Cartwheel

In this gymnastics lesson you will learn how to do a cartwheel. The cartwheel is one of the first gymnastics skills you should learn, and before you give it a try, you should be able to hold the handstand for more than 2 seconds and learn the front & back rolls. After learning the cartwheel you should start practicing the round-off, which is technically very similar and is used to create momentum for back handsprings and back flip variations.

Trainer advice: Gymnastic Cartwheel

* The gymnastic cartwheel is very wide, while the wushu cartwheel has to be really short and fast.
* Draw a line on the floor. Only plant hands and feet on that line. The distance from where you start, to the spot where you plant the first hand is 1 body+arm length.
* Learn how to da a cartwheel before you try the round-off.
* Your cartwheel should be very straight and stiff.
* You should be able to do the cartwheel in a very narrow corridor without letting the legs hit the walls.
* Keep your arms and your legs fully extended during the entire technique.
* You can also land the cartwheel with spread legs (straddle stance) and the arms spread horizontally to the sides.