The Speed Stacking Challenge - #MakeYourMove
Looking for a new party trick that keeps your brain and body agile?
This challenge is a fun way to improve your hand eye coordination as well as impress your mates.
The aim is to smoothly stack a pyramid of cups without knocking them over, and then dismantle your pyramid with no disasters.
This will test your nerves as well as your dexterity, but the cups are only plastic, so don’t be afraid to try and get speedier as you go along. Fear of failure doesn’t apply when things aren’t breakable.
Follow Lee in the video as he takes you through the 3-3-3 formation and the 3-6-3 formation. When you are feeling up to it, try to follow Lee’s demonstration of The Cycle in the advance section below. These are actual Speed Stacking formations that are used in competition.
The idea is to have some fun while learning something new and getting your upper body moving. If you become an internet sensation at the same time, we applaud you.
The challenge in a nutshell
| Your | Why |
|---|---|
| Aim | To become proficient in the art of Speed Stacking. |
| Benefits | Improve your movement and hand eye coordination by building structures out of cups as quick as possible. This exercise will offer you both physical and mental benefits as you improve your accuracy and movement. |
| Goal | Practice the routine daily to master this physical activity. Commit to giving yourself 10 or 15 minutes a day to the routine and you will see the benefits. Practice really does make perfect with this so don鈥檛 let yourself give up until you are happy with how far you have come. |
| Next steps | Got the 3-3-3 and the 3-6-3 routines under your belt? Well, don鈥檛 stop there. You are now ready for The Cycle. See the Advanced Speed Stacking section below and get practising. There are Speed Stacking Clubs across the country if you want to get into some serious stacking. |
Your daily routine
Step 1 - The 3-3-3
- You’ll need nine cups to begin with, with the aim of building three pyramids of 3 cups.
- Lay two out on the bottom, the top it with a row of 1 cup.
- Once you’ve built your 3 small pyramids, dismantle them into 3 columns using both hands, smoothly stacking the cups into each other.
Keep practising this until you can pick up the pace, then move onto the 3-6-3.
Step 2 - The 3-6-3
- Add 3 more cups to your middle column of cups.
- Using both hands, make a small pyramid of 3 cups like you did in the 3-3-3 formation.
- Then build a larger 6 cup pyramid in the middle, with 3 cups as the bottom row, 2 cups as the middle row and 1 cup on the top.
- Now using your third column of 3 cups, build another small pyramid on the other side of your larger one.
- Dismantle them as quickly as possible back into their three original columns.
Advanced step - The Cycle
This is a complicated formation that uses some of the moves you are already familiar with in the 3-6-3, but then takes it up a notch.
- Continue using 12 cups, start with 3 columns of cups. Make sure the middle column is made up of 6 cups and the two either side are made up of 3 cups each.
- As with the 3-6-3, make a small pyramid with 3 cups, a large one with 6 cups and another small 3 cup pyramid
- Dismantle them as quickly as possible back into their three original columns
- Move the outside columns together and assemble them into a large pyramid (i.e. 3 cups on the bottom row, 2 cups in the middle row and 1 cup on the top)
- Assemble the left column into another large pyramid
- Dismantle the first pyramid
- holding the column of cups, dismantle the second pyramid as well until you have one column of cups
- Take a cup in each hand from the column and put them to each side, one facing up and one facing down
- With the remaining column of cups, create an extra-large pyramid made up of 4 cups on the bottom row, then 3 cups, then 2 and then 1 at the top
- Take the two cups at either side of the pyramid and use them as you dismantle the extra-large pyramid
- Make sure you leave the table with your 3 original column of cups
Don鈥檛 forget
- Track your results - motivation looks different for everyone, but nothing helps you to see progress like looking back at how much you have achieved.
- If you would like to keep a manual diary, print and keep notes on how many mistakes you make.
- Show us how you are getting on. Use #MakeYourMove on , or to join the conversation and see who else is stacking cups and improving their movement.
Need more convincing?
This is an easy challenge you can do at home, and you’ll get immense satisfaction the first time you run through the routine with no mistakes. Hand eye coordination is a great skill to improve. You’ll feel the benefits in places you didn’t expect.
Not all Cups were born equal
Fans of Speed Stacking use special cups that are made of hard plastic, have holes in the bases and ledges on the inside that prevent the cups from sticking together. If you start to build speed and want to up your game, consider getting yourself these Speed Stacks. Particularly if you have decided to go pro!
To help build your hand-eye coordination and to challenge yourself a little, ordinary disposable cups will do the trick. We found some heavy duty party cups at a local supermarket for under £1 that worked a treat.
