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Splits tips?!
I’ve been stretching for my front splits since Christmas, but I didn’t stretch consistently April to June as I was concentrating on competition training, but I’m back on it! I’ve made a little bit of progress.. blue PJ pic was last night.. the white and pink PJ’s was January.. any stretch tips? I’m always confused on how often to stretch is best 🙈 I’d love to be able to split by Christmas… We will see 😋
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7 Replies
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Fantastic progress! And I love your PJ pants! Splits are sooo tricky and I’m still trying to get mine consistent and comfy. I started training them in May 2017 but did a lot of things wrong so it took forever. I try to flexibility train every other day, and do at least gentle stretching to maintain my flexibility every day. I highly recommend using the stretching program on here. If you’re like me and have 0 body awareness, then you might benefit from finding an instructor that specializes in flex training to help you. For almost a year I was stuck at the same spot because I didn’t know where my hip flexors were or how to stretch them properly. 🤦â€â™€ï¸
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Thank you 😊 PJ’s are my favourite clothes 😂 I know what you mean! For example I’m pretty sure my hips need to be more level/square but I’m not sure how to make that happen 🙈x
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I’m super open when I do my split. I always hear “square is better” but most splits I see on the pole are open so I don’t worry too much. I may one day achieve a perfectly square split and I may not! I do try and square my hips up when I stretch my hip flexors just so I can get the most out of the stretch. I’m still trying to figure out how to square up my hips, though – haha!
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Consistency is key for flexibility training so maybe if you stick to it you’ll see better results 😉 What I usually do is to stretch after my pole training, cycling between front splits, middle splits, back, etc. I’m usually too lazy to schedule a flexibility session alone, not to mention going to flexibility class. After your pole session you are already warmed up so your flex session can be shorter and more efficient as you don’t need to fully warm up, maybe just some areas where you want to focus more.
Regarding square vs. open: I’ve just learnt that an open split is not a poorly executed split. It’s a different exercise that requires different muscle elongation. Open splits require more inner thigh flexibility and less hip flexor flexibility. For some people, square splits may be easier than open splits. Not me but tough!!! I have my open front split and I’m very close to my middle… My back flexibility is lackluster so there you have it, tight hip flexors. I think it also has to do with your body composition, hips structure, etc.
Good luck!!
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LatinPoler – you are right about square vs. open and I really appreciate you pointing it out. I’m getting a little tired of the “splits snootery” and some folks acting like open splits are inferior, to be honest. Also getting tired of feeling like I have to apologize for an open split, or point it out. It’s really freaking hard to do ANY split! My pole instructor pointed out the same thing – it all depends on the structure of your hips, and your goals.
Another bit of advice: for most of us flexibility training takes forever and sometimes it looks like nothing is happening. Keep stretching even when you’re not getting lower to the ground and try and pay attention to how it feels (is it easier to get to your max ROM? Does it feel more comfy?) I’ve gotten frustrated and given up a couple of times and I regret it. I also paid attention to other areas my flexibility training was improving so I could stay motivated. Earlier this year I was so upset I didn’t have my splits, but my jade was getting closer to being flat, which made me happy.
Also, I try and make my goals something I can control like “I will stretch every other day for at least 15 minutes” and not something I have no control over like “in 6 months I’ll have a split.” My body didn’t care much for the latter types of goals and moved at its own snail’s pace. All those types of goals did was make me crazy frustrated and prone to injury (I pulled a hammie and both of my hip flexors!!!)
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All awesome tips and much appreciated. I’m doing Veenas front splits routine now so hopefully this will help! Xx
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Varying the stretches helps too, because the body gets too used to them. It’s too easy to always do the same stretches haha (I know I’m gulity of that)
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