How to Do a Cartwheel: Steps, Drills and Common Mistakes
A cartwheel turns you sideways through a handstand: you step into a lunge, place one hand and then the other on the floor, swing your legs over the top, and land one foot at a time. The order to remember is hand, hand, foot, foot.
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It is one of the first skills gymnasts are judged on. In the USA Gymnastics Development Program, a cartwheel is part of the Level 1 floor routine and the Level 1 beam dismount, so judges already look for the things that make it look right: hands placed one at a time, legs passing straight over the top, and the head kept between the arms. This guide follows those points, with drills that build each one.
The Cartwheel at a Glance
| Phase | What happens (cartwheel to the right) | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Lunge with the right foot forward, arms up by the ears | Long body, eyes forward |
| Hands | Right hand, then left hand, on a straight line | One at a time, never together |
| Top | Legs swing over the head in a wide straddle | Straight arms and legs, hips over the shoulders |
| Landing | Left foot, then right foot | Finish in a lunge facing where you started |
To cartwheel to the left, swap every right and left. Most people have a favorite side; it is worth learning both.
Before You Try a Cartwheel
A cartwheel puts your whole weight on your hands for a moment, so you need to be comfortable taking weight on straight arms. Bear crawls, kicking up into a handstand against a wall and holding a lunge with arms up are good preparation. Our guide to learning handstands at the wall covers that first step.
Use a soft, flat surface such as a gym mat or grass, with room to travel sideways. Young children learn best in a class, where a coach can spot the skill and keep the hand order right from the start.
How to Do a Cartwheel, Step by Step
- Stand in a lunge. Step your right foot forward with the knee bent and the back leg straight, and reach both arms straight up beside your ears.
- Reach to the floor. Tip forward from the lunge and place your right hand on the floor in line with your front foot, fingers pointing to the side.
- Place the second hand. Put your left hand down on the same line, about shoulder-width past the first. The hands land one after the other, not together.
- Kick over the top. As the hands go down, kick the back leg up and push off the front leg, so both legs pass over your head in a wide straddle with straight knees and pointed toes. Keep your arms straight and your head between them, looking at the floor between your hands.
- Land one foot at a time. Your left foot lands first, on the line, then your right foot. Lift your hands off the floor quickly as you land.
- Finish in a lunge. Push up to stand with your arms by your ears, in a lunge facing the way you came.
USA Gymnastics’ own description of the skill in the Level 4 floor routine stresses the same things: the head stays in line with the arms, the shoulders and hips stay open, and the gymnast looks under the arm to find the floor before stepping down.
Drills That Build a Better Cartwheel
Cartwheel on a line
Put a strip of tape on the floor, or use a line on a mat. Hands and feet should all land on it. A cartwheel that curves off the line usually means the hands landed off to the side.
Hand and foot markers
Mark the four spots, two hands and two feet, with tape or small mats so a beginner can see the order. Saying “hand, hand, foot, foot” out loud helps younger gymnasts.
Over a folded mat
Place a folded panel mat lengthwise in front of you and cartwheel over it, hands on top of it. The mat encourages a higher kick, which gets the hips up over the shoulders.
Bunny hops over the mat
With both hands on the folded mat, hop both feet from one side to the other. It teaches the feeling of taking weight on the hands and lifting the hips before the legs straighten out into a full cartwheel.
Common Cartwheel Mistakes and How to Fix Them
| Mistake | What it looks like | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Hands land together | Both hands slap down at once, more like a bunny hop | Reach the first hand down well before the second; use hand markers |
| Bent legs, hips low | Legs swing around the side instead of over the top | Kick harder from the lunge; practice handstands and the folded-mat drill |
| Bent arms | Elbows give, and the body sinks | Build straight-arm strength at the wall; push tall through the shoulders |
| Head out of line | Chin tucked to the chest or head craned up | Keep the head between the arms and look at the floor between the hands |
| Curving off the line | Landing sideways or well off to one side | Place both hands on the line; practice on tape |
How Judges Score a Cartwheel
In the USA Gymnastics compulsory levels, each skill in a routine is worth a set value and judges take deductions from it. In the current compulsory routines (effective through July 2029, revised July 2025), the cartwheel’s listed faults are:
| Fault | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Hands placed at the same time | 0.10 |
| Failure to pass through vertical (legs not over the top) | Up to 0.30 |
| Head out of alignment | Up to 0.10 |
The biggest one is passing through vertical: a cartwheel whose legs swing low around the side can lose up to three tenths. General faults, such as bent arms or legs, can be taken as well. On Level 1 beam, the dismount is a cartwheel to a three-quarter handstand. To see every Level 1 element on each event, read our guide to Level 1 gymnastics skills.
What Comes After the Cartwheel
A solid cartwheel leads to the one-handed cartwheel, the cartwheel on a low beam, and the round-off, which starts like a cartwheel but brings the feet together and lands facing backward to start back tumbling. Our comparison of the cartwheel vs. the roundoff shows how to tell them apart.
Common Questions
Which hand goes down first in a cartwheel?
The hand on the same side as your front foot. Lunging with the right foot forward, the right hand goes down first, then the left; the left foot lands first, then the right.
How long does it take to learn a cartwheel?
There is no set number of sessions; it depends on strength, age and how often you practice. The basic hand-hand-foot-foot shape usually comes before straight legs over the top.
At what age can a child do a cartwheel?
There is no set age. What matters is arm strength, comfort upside down and the coordination to follow hand, hand, foot, foot. In USA Gymnastics, it is a Level 1 skill.
What is the difference between a cartwheel and a round-off?
A cartwheel lands one foot at a time, sideways; a round-off snaps both feet together and lands facing back the way you came.
Final Takeaway
To do a cartwheel, start in a lunge with your arms by your ears, put one hand down and then the other on a straight line, kick your straight legs over the top, and land one foot at a time in a lunge.
Judges look for the same things a coach does: hands placed one at a time, the legs passing over the top, and the head between the arms. Drill those on a line and over a folded mat, on both sides.