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I've been working on my splits lately, the ultimate goal being to be able to do both the centered splits (this is my top priority -- splits with a leg on either side of you) and the side splits (where you have one leg in front of you and one leg behind). Having never been able to do them before, I'm sure it will take quite a while to stretch out the necessary muscles without pulling anything, but I was just curious about a couple things...
1) What do you feel is the best stretch or exercise that will lead me into being able to do splits comfortably?
2) How long did you have to do this stretch before you were able to achieve splits all the way to the floor?
3) Does being able to do the centered splits make isolating the glutes easier, as shown in many instructional bellydance DVDs?
I appreciate you guys' help on this...can't wait to hear responses!
1) What do you feel is the best stretch or exercise that will lead me into being able to do splits comfortably?
2) How long did you have to do this stretch before you were able to achieve splits all the way to the floor?
3) Does being able to do the centered splits make isolating the glutes easier, as shown in many instructional bellydance DVDs?
I appreciate you guys' help on this...can't wait to hear responses!
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Arkansas
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Mon, October 12, 2009 - 2:02 PMjasmine i would love to do this with you.
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Mon, October 12, 2009 - 7:37 PMHere are some older threads on doing the splits:
tribes.tribe.net/healthybe...7988c65a2f
www.bhuz.com/forum/fitne...mpaired.html
I've been doing splits since I was a kid. I was gymnast and was a natural gumby. There are a few exercises that can help, before you start, definitely get warm, do some cardio it will make your stretching more effective.
Start with a runner's lunge, hold for a bit, then straighten your front leg trying to keep your back flat to stretch the front hamstring. From there, you can go up into a standing lunge, and, if you're comfortable, do a slight backbend, this is good for stretching your hip flexors. You can then slide down into normal splits. You'll want to hold for about 2 minutes. Then repeat on the other side.
For center splits, do side lunges. Then go into a straddle, keeping your butt cheek on the floor, lean your upper body to the side, then go forward, trying to keep your back flat. You can also lie on your back, butt against a wall, and open your legs and let gravity stretch you a bit.
There's a burlesque DVD out of Australia that has a good sequence about developing the splits:
sugarblueburlesque.com/_catal...689/DVD
Just be patient with your body and take it slow, don't push yourself too hard. Good luck! -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Tue, October 13, 2009 - 4:04 AMThanks so much!
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Thu, October 15, 2009 - 2:39 PMI just want to point out that everybodies bone structure is different and some people aren't born with the ability to do splits because of compression of the pelvis and femur bones, and not because of muscular/soft tissue tension. Most people's bodies are built either with a bigger internal or external hip rotation. Some people have more equal rotations, with some being big and some not so much. So for some people, even if they get completely stretched out, they still can finish thier split... without breaking their bones. On the other hand, some people can do them, but don't have a good interal rotation ability, so they can sit with their hips between thier bent knees and do a back bend.
You may or may not be one of these people. Since you are so excited and motivated, I hope you are able to reach your goal. I just wanted to let you know, because most people don't realize this, and it can suck to think "I'm not trying enough", when it's not your fault.
Oh and another caution, when building flexibility, make sure you also build the strength to support your joints. Very important.
Good Luck! :-) -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Thu, October 15, 2009 - 5:51 PMWhat you wrote totally makes sense. However, it leaves me feeling very "I hope I'm not one of those people who can't do splits, because that would just be depressing." Still, it'll be a long time before I found out. And I'm actually getting further than I thought just by *trying* to do the splits and seeing how far down I can go, then holding it for 10 minutes. So given my progress so far, considering I haven't been stretching long, I hope this is a good sign.
Thanks for the input! -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Fri, October 16, 2009 - 7:59 AMSomething that we did when I was a kid in competitive gymnastics (I was around 9 or 10 at the time):
At the end of warm-up, we would sit in each split for 5 minutes.
For the Right Leg and Left Leg splits, we started by kneeling then straightening out in front of us the appropriate leg (so that your weight is more on your back leg and your front leg is straight). Then we'd slide down as far as we could go (not pushing so far that we got hurt, but just pushing until we felt the stretch). We'd hold that position for 5 minutes. During that time, if you felt the stretch release, you'd go a little farther until you felt the stretch.
Once we were able to go all the way to the floor, we would just hold that for 5 minutes.
Straddle splits were a little different...I always found myself cheating on them. We put our legs in the straddle position (rear-end in the air, not on the floor) with our knees pointing to the wall (not to the ceiling) and slid down until we felt the stretch. I tended to rest some of my weight on my elbow (my stomach on my elbow), but that was the cheater way to do it. Needless to say, I never got all the way to the floor on straddle. Don't know if that's because of cheating or because of skeletal structure.
But I can still (at 31 and w/o stretching before hand) drop into a right leg split with no issues. -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Fri, October 16, 2009 - 12:19 PMdoes a right leg split mean that the right leg is in front? -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Fri, October 16, 2009 - 12:59 PMYep. :-)
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Fri, October 16, 2009 - 12:59 PMLove this feedback -- makes sense to stretch one leg at a time. Thank you much!
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Mon, October 19, 2009 - 4:48 PMWith side slits (meaning one leg forward and the other extended back) there are TWO different positions one of which is very difficult and only a small percent of the population can fully do- that is the squared off hips to the front (although this is still a great stretch of the hipflexor even if you can't get all the way down). This really depends on the shape of your hips. The other is much more attainable to everyone. Slightly rotate the back leg open. This will emphasis the back hip rotators and the front hamstring. -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Mon, November 9, 2009 - 7:09 AMThis is my favorite 'youtube-yogi' ;)
www.youtube.com/watch
Great sequence, she has tons of other videos that are also great. I love her! -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Mon, November 9, 2009 - 7:52 AMOh, I know her! I've watched her videos a lot and, generally, liked everything I saw. I had no idea she had a splits video, though. Thanks! -
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Re: Can you do splits? Tell me how you learned!
Thu, November 12, 2009 - 10:30 AMI was not able to do a split until I was 27, and that was with the help of Jump Stretch rubber bands and lots of hamstring stretching. Jump Stretch is a pretty hard core athletic training program that uses rubber bands to increase speed, strength, agility, and flexibility. They teach ballistic stretching, which many people are scared of due to possible injury when done improperly, but it is also possible to use the bands in a static way if you don't like the ballistic method. They do not gear their product towards dancers, but I found it works very well for my purposes.
It took two months of stretching for 20 minutes three days per week, but I went from initially laying on my back and getting my leg to a 100 degree angle to getting my toe touching the floor over my head. Of course other lower extremity and hip stretching is required as well, which was all done with the flexibility routine.
www.jumpstretch.com
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