How to do the splits?
Hello! Today when I was surfing the web, I ran across this back pain question. Check it out!
How many minutes should you stretch?
Should you warm-up or do other stretches before you do the splits stretch?
Should you stretch on carpet or hard floor?
And do you have any tips?
Didn’t you enjoy that? I did. I think I may add my own answer to that back pain question. How about you?
Have a good day!
November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am
You should stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch. I used to take rhythmic gymnastics, and we had to put our feet on benches/thick mats and do over-splits. The coaches even sat on us to make us go lower. Anyways, you should definitely warm up, or else trying to do the splits will be hard. My ballet coach told us that our muscles are like rubber bands, and if we stretch them too fast when they aren’t warmed up (cold), it will snap. If it’s warmed up, it will stretch out longer. Keep practicing.
I have stretched on carpet and hard floor, and I don’t think it makes really much of a difference. If you’re going to go on the carpet though, I recommend wearing leggings or something to keep your knees from getting a carpet burn. Personally, I like carpet though, because it’s softer, and I just don’t like stretching on hard floors as much. I’m just weird like that.
It took me months to get the splits down (I was little back then, and I didn’t really practice much. If you practice everyday, you might be able to do the splits with no pain even sooner). As I said, stretch, stretch, stretch.
P.S. Don’t bounce really fast/hard, if you know what I mean. Like, pressing down, then going back up again. It’s not really THAT bad, because I used to do that a little myself and it helped me go lower, but my coach tells us not to, sometimes. You can bounce slightly, but not to extremes.
Hope I helped.
November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am
You need to stretch 15 minutes everyday and before you stretch jog in place for a minute then do jumping Jakks and double jumping Jakks because if you stretch with cold muscles you can pull something but after warming muscles up stand in 2nd position nd go from side to side then reach over to the right and then put your nose to your knee then hold it for a minute then repeat on other side then after that do a right and left runners stretch a minute on both side after sit on the floor and do a butterfly and flutter them after you flutter for a about 20 30 seconds put your nose to your feet and hold it by your ankles and not your feet the after open your legs and spread them as far as you can the reach for side to side again then point your toe and go over to your right side and put our nose to your knee for like a minute and do that to both sides then do it again but flex your feet after reach for the middle and the when you think your nice and stretched do your right split and hold it for 30 sec. and sit on top of it not to the side then repeat it on your left even if you don’t go down all the way and you should stretch on hard wood floor or hard floor.
November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am
I have NEVER heard that stretching on a carpet is a bad thing and will hurt you. Either surface will work. I stretch at home on carpet because I have no other choice and I have never injured myself or learned bad habits from it. You learn bad habits by not doing something correctly the first time. I would say to stretch for at least a half and hour at a time if you can, 45 mins to a hour is terrific if you can fit it in. Warming up by doing other stretches or jumping jacks stuff like that is a good idea so the muscles are ready to go. Some stretches that you can do to get the splits:
For the straddle–lay on your back with your butt against the wall. Extend your legs up the wall and then let the fall into the straddle stretch, gravity will help pull your legs down. Hold as long as you can. Repeat a few times.
For the other splits–lay on your back, bring a leg into your chest, hold a few seconds, then extend it. Grab your leg and try to pull it as close to you as you can and hold it, repeat a couple of timew bending the knee and extending it. On the last extend, while holding your leg, roll over into the splits. Repeat on the other leg.
These 2 will need another person to help you—stand against a wall, lift your leg, have your friend lift it as high as they can. And hold it as long as you can. Both knees should be straight. The goal is to touch the wall with your foot (I could do it 20 years ago and now I’m back to with a foot of the wall after 3 years of dance and I’m 33 so flexiblity can still be gained as you age) Repeat with other leg.
Next lay on the ground and have your friend push your extended leg towards the ground. Same idea as the stretch above, but it works the muscles in a slighty different way since you are in a different position.
Make sure that you really work both sides as evenly as you can. I never really worked the left leg and it’s no where near as flexible as my right. I have had my right split for about 20 years, even when I wasn’t exercising I could still do it. I never had my left they were about a foot over the ground, now its about 3 inches off the ground. Keep working and you’ll get them.
November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am
To answer your question you should stretch 24/7. I personally stretch in the butterfly sit while watching tv and I do the froggy stretch while I sleep and I take an hour to stretch before bed. You should take a days break every other day.
You should defenately warm up. Run, jump rope, squats, plies, all of those work. You can even take a hot shower.
You should NEVER stretch on carpet. Doing this can hurt you and you can pick up bad habbits.
A tip is to losen up. Don’t think about it and just push your self down as far as you possibly can.