Is a Backflip or Front Flip Easier? What About a Side Flip?

For most people, a backflip is the easier flip to land, while a front flip feels less scary to try. The backflip starts with a natural jump straight up, and the floor comes into view before the landing. The front flip goes in a direction that feels comfortable, but the rotation is harder to create and the landing stays hidden until the very end.

Contents

Front, Back and Side Flips at a Glance
Why a Backflip Is Usually Easier to Land
Why a Front Flip Is Harder Than It Feels
Where a Side Flip Fits
The Order Gymnasts Usually Learn Flips
Learning a Flip Safely
Common Questions
Final Takeaway
Main Sources

Gymnastics doesn’t treat either one as a beginner skill. In USA Gymnastics’ compulsory program for girls, both flips arrive at Level 5, after years of rolls, handstands and handsprings. A side flip isn’t a shortcut either: it swaps the fear of going backward for a sideways rotation most people find unfamiliar.

In gymnastics a flip is called a salto, and the tucked versions are known as the back tuck and the front tuck. This page compares the three flips, explains why each feels the way it does, and shows the order gymnasts usually learn them.

Front, Back and Side Flips at a Glance

Flip	Gymnastics name	What makes it easier	What makes it harder	Where it appears in USA Gymnastics compulsories
Backflip	Back tuck (backward salto tucked)	A jump straight up starts the rotation, and the floor comes into view before landing	Going backward without seeing where you are going	Level 5: at the end of a floor tumbling pass, and as the beam dismount
Front flip	Front tuck (forward salto tucked)	Moving forward feels natural, so it is less scary to try	The rotation has to come from lifting the hips, and the landing is blind until late	Level 5 floor, from a run and hurdle (an aerial cartwheel or aerial front walkover can replace it)
Side flip	Side somersault; the closest gymnastics skill is the aerial cartwheel (side aerial)	No backward fall	Sideways rotation is unfamiliar and needs a strong takeoff	Not a compulsory skill; the aerial cartwheel is a Level 5 floor option

Both tucks are worth the same in the Level 5 floor routine: 0.60 each. The routine treats the front tuck, the aerial cartwheel and the aerial front walkover as equal choices for the same place in the routine.

Why a Backflip Is Usually Easier to Land

The movement that starts a back tuck is close to an ordinary jump. USA Gymnastics describes it as a punch off the floor with the body straight and the arms reaching up. As the gymnast rises, the knees lift toward the hands into a tuck, and the hips rotate over the head. The jump goes up, not back; leaning back too early costs the height the flip needs.

The second advantage comes in the air. Once the hips pass over the head, the floor comes into view, so the gymnast can see the landing and open out of the tuck at the right moment. Coaches call this spotting the landing.

The hard part is mental. The first half of a backflip is blind, and the feeling of falling backward stops many people before they jump high enough. That fear is why gymnasts build up to it with a coach rather than throwing it on their own.

Why a Front Flip Is Harder Than It Feels

A front tuck feels safer because the body moves forward, the way it does in running and jumping. The trouble is that the rotation doesn’t come as naturally. In the Level 5 routine text, the gymnast punches off both feet with the body upright, then lifts the hips upward while rounding the upper back into a tight tuck. Beginners tend to dive forward or throw the head down instead, which shortens the flip.

The landing is the other problem. In a front flip the floor stays out of sight until the very end, so it is hard to judge when to open out of the tuck position. Opening too early lands the flip short, often sitting back; opening too late over-rotates it forward. Because it feels less scary, people also tend to try a front flip before they have the jump and the tuck to finish it.

In gymnastics, the Level 5 front tuck is done from a run and a hurdle onto both feet, and the back tuck comes straight out of a round-off and back handspring. Both entries add speed and height, so neither flip is done from standing at this stage.

Where a Side Flip Fits

A side flip is a somersault that turns sideways, like a cartwheel with no hands. In parkour and tricking it is usually done in a tuck. It is still a flip, not a twist: a twist turns the body around its own long axis, while a side flip rotates head over heels to the side. Our guide to flips and twists shows the difference.

Gymnastics has its own sideways flip: the aerial cartwheel, also called a side aerial. The gymnast takes off from one foot, keeps the legs split like a cartwheel and lands one foot at a time, without the hands touching the floor. Our guide to walkovers, handsprings and aerials explains how to tell these skills apart.

Is a side flip easier than a backflip? It removes the backward fall, which helps nervous beginners, but it isn’t a shortcut. Sideways rotation is a movement most people never practice, and the takeoff has to be strong. USA Gymnastics puts the aerial cartwheel at the same stage as the front tuck, as an equal alternative in the Level 5 floor routine.

The Order Gymnasts Usually Learn Flips

The compulsory levels show the usual path from the floor to a flip. Each level adds a piece the flips need.

Level	Related skills on floor	What it builds
Level 1	Forward roll and backward roll (tucked)	Rotating in a tuck with the hands and head protecting the body
Level 3	Back handspring (flic-flac) to two feet, rebound	Going backward through the hands with power
Level 4	Front handspring step-out; back handsprings to two feet	Going forward through the hands; linking skills
Level 5	Front tuck (or aerial cartwheel or aerial front walkover); round-off, back handspring, back tuck	The first flips without hands; a back tuck dismount on beam too

The back handspring comes before either flip because it teaches the backward rotation and the rebound that a round-off–back handspring–back tuck pass depends on. Our back handspring guide for beginners covers that step, and the Level 5 requirements list everything else in the routines.

Coaches break each flip into smaller drills before the full skill. USA Gymnastics’ Level 5 beam material, for example, suggests a cartwheel into a back tuck off the end of a low beam as preparation for the dismount. Outside the compulsory program, the order can change: some recreational and tumbling classes teach a back tuck first, others a front tuck. The guide to gymnastics levels explains how the levels fit together.

Our gymnastics moves library has step drawings of the front tuck and the back tuck, with what coaches look for in each.

Learning a Flip Safely

Learn any flip in a gym, with a qualified coach and proper matting. The coach sets the progressions, decides when each step is ready and can spot the first attempts by hand.

Don’t practice flips on a home trampoline. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping kids away from trampolines except in settings with professional coaches and specialized equipment, and its rules for home trampolines include: “No flips or somersaults, since these cause the most serious neck, head and back injuries.”

Feeling nervous about a backflip is normal. Most gymnasts build the confidence one coached step at a time, from drills on soft mats to the full skill on the floor.

Common Questions

Is a front flip harder than a backflip?

For most people, yes. A front flip feels less scary, but the rotation has to come from lifting the hips and the landing is blind until the end. A backflip starts from a natural jump, and the floor comes into view before landing.

Is a side flip easier than a backflip or a front flip?

Not usually. It avoids the backward fall, but sideways rotation is unfamiliar and needs a strong takeoff. In USA Gymnastics compulsories, the aerial cartwheel sits at the same level as the front tuck.

What is the easiest flip to learn?

For most people it is the back tuck, once the fear of going backward is under control. None of the flips is a first skill, though: gymnasts learn rolls, handstands and back handsprings before they flip.

What level do gymnasts learn a back tuck?

In USA Gymnastics’ compulsory program for girls, the back tuck and the front tuck both appear at Level 5. The back tuck ends a floor tumbling pass and is also the beam dismount.

Do front flips work your abs?

The core works hard to pull the body into a tight tuck, but a flip is a skill, not an ab workout. Our article on front flips and core strength explains what the muscles do.

Final Takeaway

A backflip is usually easier to land: it starts with a jump straight up, and the floor comes into view before the landing. A front flip is easier to attempt, but harder to rotate and land. A side flip removes the backward fall without being a shortcut.

In gymnastics, both tucks come after rolls, handstands and handsprings, at Level 5 in USA Gymnastics’ compulsory program. Whichever flip comes first, learn it with a coach and proper matting, never on a home trampoline.