How to Do a Front Flip, Step by Step

A front flip, also known as a front tuck, is an advanced gymnastics move. If you want to execute an impressive front flip, you need to have the strength, flexibility, and determination to pull it off. Thankfully, even beginners can master this move with a few weeks or months of practice. First, you’ll want to master the front roll, then practice jumps and other flipping drills. Once you’ve learned those, you’re ready to put it all together in a front flip! Keep scrolling to learn how to do it all, with expert insight from a gymnastics coach and fitness instructors.

Doing a Front Flip: Quick Steps

Run forward with long, powerful steps.
Jump up with your legs closed and your arms raised over your head.
Land and jump forward again, swinging your arms forward and inward.
Keep your hips high and grab your shins to roll forward in the air.
Let go of your shins as you complete the flip and see the ground in front of you.
Land squarely on both feet to finish the move.

Section 1 of 4:

Starting with a Front Roll

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1
Stand in a tall, straight line with your arms raised. Stand straight up with your legs together and raise your hands straight above your head. Your body should form one straight line. Stretch your arms up as high as you can so that your hands and feet are as far apart as possible.
- When are you ready for a front roll? You need to be able to lift your body with your arms to execute a safe front roll (this keeps excess pressure off your neck during the roll). If you can do a push-up, you have the strength for a front roll.^{[1]
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Tanya Berenson is a gymnastics instructor and the General Manager of the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics. She has over 25 years of professional gymnastics experience.

Frank Blaney is a certified Tai Chi and Qigong instructor with over 15 years of teaching experience.

Richa Jauhari is a BollyX regional trainer, NASM-certified personal trainer, choreographer, and fitness author with over 10 years of teaching experience.

Justin Conway is an American Ninja Warrior competitor, consultant, and owner of World Ninja Sport, a ninja obstacle course company.
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Lean into the roll so your head and hands are on the ground. Keeping your knees as straight as possible, move your arms, head, and trunk down as one unit, bending at the waist (you’d normally squat down to start a front roll, but entering the move from a standing position is more helpful for doing a front flip later). Plant your head between your hands (not in front of them), but use your arms to support yourself to keep pressure off your head and neck.^{[2]
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- Visualize yourself reaching toward the ground as you lean into the roll. Your hands will connect with the floor as your body goes down as one unit.
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3
Push your hips forward when your hands touch the floor. Your hands should touch the floor with your fingers pointing ahead of you. Your upper body should be all lined up with your hips slightly elevated. Push your legs straight into the ground to bring your hips up and forward. Make sure to keep your legs straight.^{[3]
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- Don’t fling your legs over your body.
- Tuck your chin towards your chest to protect your neck and avoid landing flat on your back.
EXPERT TIP

Frank Blaney
Certified Tai Chi & Qigong Instructor
Frank Blaney is a Certified Qigong and Tai Chi Instructor with over 15 years of teaching experience. Passionate about making Qigong more accessible to people, Frank is the author of "Qigong: The Quick & Easy Start-Up Guide." He also holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Jujitsu and trains executives and staff of corporations, NGOs, and communities in self-care, personal performance and conflict resolution. He holds an MA in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Peacebuilding from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Frank Blaney
Certified Tai Chi & Qigong Instructor

Tuck your chin on your chest. This protects the head, skull, and neck muscles. When you're doing this, at all times, keep that chin glued to the upper area of your chest so that you can protect your head.
4
Roll forward onto your back. Keep your legs straight and your chin tucked as you flip over on your hands in a slow, controlled motion. Use your legs to push into the roll (and raise your hips higher if you’re struggling to move forward).^{[4]
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Research source} Bend your arms slightly as you roll onto your back. As you roll onto your back, tuck your knees towards your chest. Grasp your shins or your knees as you roll forward.
- As you complete the roll, grab your shins and pull your knees apart so they can’t hit you in the face (this will be helpful for flipping later).
As you roll from your back to a vertical position, roll flat onto your feet. As soon as your feet are flat on the floor, lift your arms over your head as you stand up. Try to stand without using your hands for support.^{[5]
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EXPERT TIP

Richa Jauhari
BollyX Regional Trainer, NASM certified Personal Trainer, Choreographer, Fitness & Mental Health Author
Richa Jauhari is BollyX Regional Trainer for Southern California based in Glendale, California. With over 10 years of experience as an instructor and choreographer, she specializes in Bollywood fusion dances. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy from Brandman University. She has also earned a certification as a personal trainer from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and an Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) certification in group exercise. She has published articles on fitness & mental health in notable online publications such as Brown Girl Magazine, Medium, BollyX Life, and India Currents.

Richa Jauhari
BollyX Regional Trainer, NASM certified Personal Trainer, Choreographer, Fitness & Mental Health Author

Engage your core for a smooth, safe roll. Basic abdominal crunches and exercises that engage the oblique muscles can strengthen your core in preparation for doing both a forward and a sideways body roll. Stretch your lats and do chest openers to also help the torso flow more smoothly during a roll.
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Try a dive roll after you’ve mastered the front roll. Doing a dive roll will help you transition to a front flip. It’s similar to a front roll, but you jump before putting your hands on the ground (instead of slowly lowering yourself into a roll). Practice by squatting down with your hands in front of you (ready to catch yourself), leaning forward, and then jumping into the roll to get a sense of the balance and coordination you need.^{[6]
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- Once you’re comfortable with that, continue repeating the move, starting each roll with a slightly bigger and bigger jump. Think about lifting your hips higher and higher each time to make your roll more like a flip.
- Finally, practice running forward and jumping from the balls of your feet. Keep your knees as straight as possible.
- When you jump, jump forward as you reach your arms forward toward the floor. When your hands touch the floor, go into the normal front roll you’ve already mastered.
- Try dive rolling onto higher and higher surfaces (like tall stacks of mats at a gym) to get used to flipping your hips up and over yourself.

Section 2 of 4:

Working Up to a Flip

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1
Stretch your ankles, wrists, hamstrings, and neck. Having good flexibility in these areas will help you execute a front flip safely. Stretch your ankles by sitting down on the floor and rotating both feet in full circles in both directions. Next, loosen up your hamstrings by standing up and pulling first your left foot and then your right up so it touches your buttocks. Hold the stretch on each side for about thirty seconds. Finally, rotate your wrists and neck several times.
- Be gentle when rotating your neck. Go slowly and don’t push your neck in any direction that causes pain.
- Stretch before every practice session.
2
Take a few running steps and then “punch jump” straight upward. This move will help you gain vertical momentum for a flip. Focus on jumping upward with as much vertical force as you can. Practice taking a few running steps, bending your knees slightly, and then jumping straight up. Your hands should be high in the air with your elbows by your ears, like you’re “punching” up to the sky.^{[7]
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- Land with your knees bent at about 1 foot (30 cm) lower than your regular standing position, with your arms up straight in front of you.
- Move your arms up and forward to prep for the forward motion of the flip.
- After you land with your feet on the ground, straighten your body and lift your arms in the air for a graceful finish.
Once you've developed the basic punch jump, repeat this move while tucking your knees up toward your chest instead of keeping them straight as you jump. This will prepare you for the rotation part of the flip.^{[8]
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Practice the rotation of your flip on a trampoline. Start with the punch jump and then tuck your knees as you rotate forward, landing with your knees bent before you straighten up. The trampoline will help you feel safe and secure while you perfect your rotation.^{[9]
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- Have a knowledgeable spotter stand by you as you practice the flip. The spotter should keep their hand on or near your stomach so they can help you rotate forward.
- “Always look for the center of gravity” when you’re on a trampoline, Berenson explains. “Start jumping up and down to start feeling your balance. Increase your height as you're comfortable; I would recommend a minimum of 6 feet (1.8 m) for an adult to complete a frontflip.”^{[10]
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  Tanya Berenson
  Gymnastics Instructor
  
  Expert Interview}
- “Start with at least seven minutes of just up and down movement,” Berenson continues. “You can do big arm circles to gain your balance, and always look for a point that's directly in front of you so that you can maintain your balance.”^{[11]
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  Expert Source
  
  Tanya Berenson
  Gymnastics Instructor
  
  Expert Interview}
5
Do a front flip off a gymnastics block that faces a soft mat. The mat and block will help get you even more ready to do the flip on the floor. It’ll be a bit harder to do your flip because you won't have the extra upward bounce that the trampoline gave you. You'll have to work on gathering your own momentum.
- Good momentum comes from a really good jump, so be sure to keep doing your “punch jump.”
- Warning: Do not try this drill until you feel very confident in your ability to land on your feet when practicing on a trampoline.^{[12]
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  Research source} The mat (or the ground) is not as forgiving!

Section 3 of 4:

Executing the Front Flip

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To start the flip, you should run forward as you keep your body as straight up as possible. Run fast enough that you get enough momentum to really jump up high, using long and forceful steps.^{[13]
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Go into a pre-jump. You will do a small jump before you jump into your flip. Jump forward as you keep your arms lifted over your head and your legs closed.^{[15]
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Research source} Continue looking forward with your head straight and do not bend your head; this will cause you to bend your back, which can mess up your flip.
- Keep your abs contracted.
3
Jump as high as possible. Jump into the air from the balls of your feet and swing your arms forward and inward.^{[16]
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Research source} Don’t bend your knees to jump. Keep your body straight and reach as high as possible to gain height for your flip.
- Bending your knees or bending your body down at the wrong time can mess up this flip.
When you are in the air, tuck your knees to your chest to make yourself into a ball. Keep your hips high and grab your shins as you move into the rotation for the flip forward.^{[17]
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Once you feel your body complete the rotation, let go of your shins to stop flipping. You don’t have to hold on to your shins for very long to get a front flip; you can let them go as soon as you can see the ground in front of you again.^{[18]
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Research source} Holding on for too long can cause you to start another flip, which at this point will cause you to mess up.
6
Land on your feet. As you complete the flip rotation, extend your legs down so you can land on your feet in a stuck position. This means that you shouldn’t bounce or have an extra step after you’ve landed. As you land, bend your knees slightly but try to keep your body as straight as possible.^{[19]
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- Be aware that a front flip requires a blind landing. You may not be able to see the floor before your feet touch it. But don’t worry! Keep your knees bent and your body straight and trust that you’re coming back down for a good landing.
- American Ninja Warrior competitor and consultant Justin Conway says, “Landing is very, very important. You want to practice jumping to something, sticking the landing, and just feeling secure in that landing ability.”^{[20]
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  Justin Conway
  American Ninja Warrior Competitor & Consultant
  
  Expert Interview}

Section 4 of 4:

How long does it take to learn a front flip?

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It’ll take a beginner about 6-8 weeks to master a front flip. “Front flips are much more natural for us because we can see what’s in front of us and the motion is not as challenging or scary,” Berenson explains. “If [you] cover the flexibility, coordination, and strength components [of the flip] and are comfortable with the drill, [you] can probably learn [a front flip] in a couple of weeks in a class environment or from YouTube videos. It’ll probably take 6 to 8 weeks.”^{[21]
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Tanya Berenson
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Question

How long does it take to learn to front flip?

Tanya Berenson
Gymnastics Instructor
Tanya Berenson is a Gymnastics Instructor and the General Manager of the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics. With over 25 years of professional gymnastics experience, Tanya has also served as a consultant to USA Gymnastics, has served as the USA World Maccabi Games Head Coach, USA Gymnastics Meet Director, and RAS counselor. She holds a B.Ed. in Early Childhood Development from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Tanya Berenson

Gymnastics Instructor

Expert Answer

If you practice routinely and make sure that you're getting all the moves down correctly, you can learn a flip in approximately 6 to 8 weeks.

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How do I land on my feet?

Community Answer

To land on your feet, you'll have to tuck during the flip for max rotation. You'll then have to open early to land evenly on both feet.

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How go get over the fear of doing it?

Carl1998

Community Answer

Have confidence in yourself. Breakdown the flip in your mind and picture yourself doing it over and over; this will boost your confidence.

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Tips

If you are having trouble, have someone record you doing the flip and review the clips to find out what you need to fix.

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Jump up, not out.

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Make sure your legs are straight on your pre-jump.

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Warnings

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to learn how to do a front flip safely unless you have access to a gym with mats and trampolines. See if there’s a local community center that offers gymnastics classes in your area.

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Never flip on a trampoline if other people are on it.

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