How long should it take to get your splits? What stretches should I do?
Side splits or scissor splits?Side splits are virtually impossible after puberty if you have never had them before.Scissor splits- anyone and everyone can achieve.The important things to remember when increasing your flexibility are:Stretch every day.Stretch to the point of severe discomfort, but NOT pain.Stretch EVERY DAY.Keep your hips straight. Do them in front of a mirror. When you place your hands on your hips they should be at the same height and pointed forward.Splits have a number of components mainly hip flexor and hamstring flexibility.The best stretches target these two.The best stretch for splits is known as over splits. Even if you can’t get down very far pile some 5cm mats - 2 or 3 and place your front foot on that. Attempt the splits, let gravity do its thing. Keep this up til you are flat on the ground and you will have beautiful splits.
If I stretched everyday, how long does it take to be able to do splits?
It really depends from person to person.How genetically gifted are you and how bad do you wanna achieve your goals.Always remember hard work beats genetics, no matter what you can always change your genetics with dedication-drive-discipline-determination nothing is impossible, everything is achievable as soon as you put your mind and hard work to it, when your mind burns your body follows, you get controlled by your mind, so start working on them splits and stop thinking about it, stop thinking of how much time it is going to take you rather start making an effort about it a change.Stretch after your workouts always, not before your workouts, because if you do you will end up injured and you will lack your workout performance because of the micro traumas you cause on the muscle tissue by your stretches, which will hurt you in general.Some people genetically possess really high muscle elasticity they are hypermobile from their genetics, while others are hypomobile.It took me around 1 months to reach a full split, i was genetically gifted with high muscle elasticity and i was really hyper mobile.
Why is it whenever I try to go farther in center splits, my butt cramps?
Sounds like you are anticipating the pain of stretching further and therefore gripping your glutes (Gluteus Maximas). So, make sure you are very warm before you start stretching. Pile on the layers and do a few minutes worth of cardio (walking, etc.) to get those muscles loosened up. As for the knees, you're going to need to make sure your hamstrings are strong but balanced with your quads. I always recommend taking up Pilates or Yoga as a supplement for dance training to make sure your muscle groups are balanced. Until you get to that point, don't push yourself too far, okay? Joints are precious things and you need to take care of them. Best wishes to you and happy dancing!
When you do the middle splits don't your knees need to face up?
Sounds like you're doing really well, keep it up! Yes, your knees do need to face up and your feet should be turned out or else it puts unnecessary, harsh pressure on your knees which can cause severe injury. Stretches for Middle Splits: 1. Lay flat on your back. 2. Bring both legs up at a 90-degree angle, so that from the side your body makes an L shape. Make sure they are turned out. 3. Spread your legs out to the sides as if you were doing a straddle in the air. Your body should make a T shape on the floor. Hold that position. 4. Flex your feet to feel the stretch even more. 1. Lunge sideways to the right and hold it. Turn to that direction and hold for two counts of 8. 2. Repeat with the left leg. 3. Go into a very low grande plie with your legs apart, in a wide second position. 4. Slowly lower into a straddle. When you get as far as you can go, support yourself with your elbows. Hold this position. 5. Lower your body the rest of the way so that you are lying belly-down on the floor. Your body should look something like a Y shape, with your legs as far as they can get to going into a middle split. Hold this position Site for Stretching Essentials: http://www.dance.net/topic/1113205/1/Stretching/Stretching-Essentials.html Another post for splits: http://www.dance.net/read.html?postid=507392 The websites above will have all you need, plus more. They have many posts on stretching and strengthening, and are very detailed and helpful. Hope I helped :)
When learning the side splits, should I have my toes pointing forward or up?
Like someone else said here, there are more than just two options on how your feet can be positioned, but I didn't have to look it up to give you an answer because I have actually been teaching Taekwondo for the past 39 years, and this is common knowledge among genuine Taekwondo instructors.You should do the splits with your feet in each of the several positions - - up, forward (down), extended, flexed, and cocked sideways. Each position stretches different muscle groups, and allows for more free range of movement while kicking to rotate from one hip position to another, and from one kick to another. You should stretch slowly, and to a point of slight discomfort, but not pain. The front and side splits should be practiced, as well as rotation between each position for greater agility of the hip sockets, but strengthening exercise are equally as important to reduce the risk of injury, overly loose joints, and to give you better control, accuracy and power with your kicks.I have participated in several stretching seminars with 'Superfoot' Bill Wallace, and he provides many DVD's on the subject. I don't usually recommend learning anything about the Martial Art from youtube videos, but Bill Wallace is a trusted source and has several videos uploaded to youtube that you can search.
What is another name for the butterfly stretch?
The reason I ask is because that is one of our stretches for football and I like it a lot but it sounds so wimpy and I don't want to yell it out at practice
Is it true that some people will never be able to do a middle/center split? (10 points)?
please read and answer my question it's really important. thanks <3 I heard somewhere that depending on the type of hips you have, some people will never be able to do a middle split no matter how hard they try because of their bones. is this true? I'm asking because i think this might be happening to me. Whenever I do wall split stretches, my hips and knees really hurt instead of my muscles. is this normal? the outside of my knees hurt a lot, and my hips hurt a little bit too. i can do my right and left splits, and i'm pretty sure I have the flexibility to a middle split, I just can't for some reason. I can go all the way down in my butterfly stretch but when i do the frog stretch, i am about a foot off the ground. I am the exact same distance away from my center split (about a foot) do you think it's just impossible for me to do a middle split? all answers will be appreciated and if you know any stretches for hips and splits besides the typical straddle, wall stretches, left/right leg split stretches, butterfly etc. that would be really helpful
Stretching everday.. feel like i'm not improving?
so i stretch everyday and i feel like i've plateaued and i'm not improving anymore. also, when i stretch everyday i feel like i'm not that flexible (if that makes any sence?) like when i stretch everyday i'm so sore that i don't even benefit from it because i'm too sore to do things like spirals, catch foots, split jumps, ect. but if i take a couple of days off of stretching and i try a split jump or a spiral i feel flexible.. i don't know if i'm not getting a proper warm up for my stretching, if i'm not stretching enough, if i'm not stretching as hard as i should be, if i'm not holding my stretches long enough, or if i don't have enough of a variety of stretches? i try to get a pretty good warm-up before i stretch and i hold each stretch for 30 seconds, and i do about 15 different stretches that i do on each leg. i pretty much have my left splits and i'm a couple of inches away from having my right splits (no where NEAR having my middle splits lol.) soo whats my problem? why aren't i improving? if you could tell me how often you stretch, what kind of stretches you do, how long you hold each stretch, and what your daily stretch routine is like i would REALLY appreciate it!!!! thank you so much to anybody who answers i really appreciate it! :)