Working Towards Your Splits
Hi all! So I am making progress in getting my front splits:
http://imgur.com/Wd8OqFj
I want to share with you my method of practice for those who are beginning the process I train in aerial silks and was taught many of these techniques by my fantastic instructor. Hopefully they are of use to you lovely people.
Before I get into my series of stretches leading up to the splits, I want to say two things: 1. it is absolutely imperative that you warm your muscles up to avoid injury and, 2. don’t push yourself into something that hurts. These will happen over time, and it will take a lot of patience, so don’t try to force yourselves into anything that could potentially damage your progress via pulled groin, etc… I’ve been there before and it is NOT fun. Okay, now the good stuff.
Start in a standing position, feet a little wider than shoulder length apart, toes pointing forward. Keep a flat back, and bend over as far as you can – do not roll your back over, keep it flat! Hold it as low as you can go and just hang there, maybe sway back and forth a bit. You are warming up and stretching those lower back muscles as well as your inner thighs and hamstrings.
While in the same position, walk your hands over to the left, grab your leg toward the ankle and hold, then repeat on the right.
Next you’ll go into a Downward Facing Dog. If you are not familiar with this pose, you will have your body in a triangular position. To enter, close your feet and walk your arms out in front of you so that your butt is up in the air and your head is between both arms. Play around with peddling your feet out, extend your shoulders as much as you are able to, push your upper back toward the ground. All of this will help open up your back, plus it just feels fantastic.
Next, remaining in that position, take either your right or your left leg up so that your toes are pointed toward the ceiling – or as far so as is comfortable. You will repeat all of these steps on your other side when we are done, so for the sake of the descriptions, let’s say you take your right leg up. You’ll be warming up the glutes in this pose as your quads. Pulse for a little bit at the top to engage those muscles. You can even make circles, small and big, with your leg to help warm up your hip sockets.
Your hands should still be on the ground in front of your head. The next step will be to take your right leg, which is up in the air, down through the middle of your arms, and come up into a standard lunge. Hang out for a bit, play around with holding your arms up in the air; try not to rest your hands on your legs.
Your right leg is forward now. Come back onto your left heal in somewhat of a crouch so that your right leg is straight out in front of you. You’ll want to reach for your toes, keeping your back as straight as possible. When I’m in this position, I like to flex and point my foot as well as foot flexibility also plays a major role in the form of your splits.
This next part is tricky to describe, but I’ll do my best. From the previous position, you will bend your right leg (front), and push your pelvis and hips forward. Your left leg (back leg) is going to be bent so that only your knee is on the ground. To reiterate, right leg is bent with knee facing the ceiling and foot flat on the ground. Hips are pushing forward. Left leg is bent behind you with your knee on the floor. Take your right arm up and around and grab your left foot behind you, and pull your foot to your back as you push your hips into your right leg. Again, sorry, so totally confusing – let me know if you want actual pictures of any of this.
Next, keep your right leg bent in front of you and straighten out your left leg behind you. You are going to bring your elbows down to the ground directly beside your right foot. Your left leg does not have to be perfectly straight; just do what you can with this one. When you have your elbows and forearms flat against the floor, begin slowly dropping your right hip and knee toward the floor away from your hand. Your right foot will roll over onto its outer-side. Do NOT sickle your foot. Keep it flexed. It will feel super weird, so definitely don’t push this one too hard – but it is opening up those hips and groin.
Come back up and bend the left leg back again, straighten your right leg and….. here we go…. SLIDE INTO YOUR SPLITS! Only as much as you can, do not go so far as to be in pain. If you need to keep the back leg bent, it’s totally normal and fine. That bend will straighten out over time. If you are still pretty high up in the air and are unable to support yourself with your arms, I highly recommend using two yoga blocks (or some homemade version of them), one on either side of you, so that you can prop yourself and maintain good form.
Next, as a little cool down stretch, bring your right leg (front leg) into a Pigeon pose. If you are unfamiliar, basically it’s bending your front leg flat with your knee at a 90 degree angle and the bottom of your foot facing toward you. The inner-side of your foot should be facing the ceiling while the outer-side of the leg rests flat on the ground. Your back leg should be straight. This is my absolute favorite hip stretch.
And VOILA! I imagine there are many different methods to this madness, but this worked for me and my splits have definitely come a long way. Let me know if you want me to post pictures of any of this.
NOTE: I recommend treating stretching/flexibility similarly to strength training in that you must give your muscles time to recuperate after you stretch so that they don’t injure. What I mean is, don’t start doing this routine once/twice daily just to get your splits – especially if you are just starting out. Do this once in the morning, maybe once the next day, take the day after off to rest a bit and stretch something else - like your back. Give muscles time to heal and gain elasticity.
NOTE 2: I said it before, but I want to reiterate – be so patient with your body. I have seen some posts on here about 90 day splits and, while that might work for some of you awesomely bendy people out there, it can be potentially dangerous for those just starting out. My splits took me a year and I was pretty flexible going into them. They will come, but you have to be diligent about stretching.
There we have it, now put on some music or your favorite TV show, get on the floor and start stretching!