How to Do Splits

Update: Nov 2nd, 2010

Splits are a great way to work on your flexibility for more advanced – awesome looking – techniques such as the cheerleading move called Scorpion, leaps, arabesques, and grand battements. I’ve gotten into a groove with my splits drill sequence. Check it out below! 

*Important note: Before the drill, don’t forget to warm up your body for 15 minutes to prevent injuries – I do a mix of light cardio and basic warm ups. Also, never bounce when you are stretching for flexibility as the muscles may tighten up in reaction

 Drill Sequence: 

  1. Front, Side, Back Stretch on Bar
  2. Stretch in Second on Bar with Slide, Hold Leg Up to the Side
  3. Straddle Stretches – Center/Side
  4. Froggy Leg Stretch
  5. Abs work such as 20 Jack Knife Crunches – to keep things interesting :)
  6. Repeat 1-4 twice
  7. Kneeling Lunge Stretch, Reverse Lunge Stretch, Front Split, Side Split
  8. Abs work
  9. Repeat 7-8 twice
  10. Do 10 Grand Battements front, side, back on both legs for final active stretch

Every stretch is done for 30 seconds and on both legs. The entire sequence probably takes ~40 minutes. I recommend doing it 3 times a week to increase your flexilibty.

Front, Side, Back Stretch on Bar

Front Stretch on Bar

Side Stretch on Bar
  • Make sure to square your hips to the front
  • Keep your foot flexed for a deeper stretch
  • Try to keep your back flat
  • Push yourself until you feel stretch pain
  • Be careful not to stretch too far
  • Hold for 30 seconds
  • From the Front Stretch, you can turn to the Side
    for a the Side Stretch
  • Keep your foot flexed for a deeper stretch
  • Try to reach your arm as far as possible

 

Arabesque Stretch on Bar

Arabesque Stretch on Bar with Knee Bend
  • From the Side Stretch, you can turn your foot
    slowly for a Back/Arabesque Stretch on Bar
  • Try to keep your back straight
  • Try not to flail your hands like me :)
  • Keep both legs straight
  • On the Arabesque stretch, work on knee bends
  • Bend your knee and hold for 10 seconds
  • Straighten your Leg
  • Repeat 3 times

* for a bigger challenge, find a higher bar!

Stretch in Second on Bar with Slide, Hold Leg Up to the Side, Straddle Split Stretchs (Center/Side)

Second Position on Bar

  
  • Face the Bar
  • Lift your leg onto bar in 2nd position
  • Slide as far down as you can
  • Do both legs
  • ToBe Added Later

Straddle Split Side Stretch

Straddle Center Stretch
  • Sit in a straddle split position
  • Stretch your arm as far as you can
  • Keep your butt on the floor – it’s easy to let it lift
    and do the stretch, but don’t!
  • Point your feet
  • Do both sides
  • Stretch your legs as wide as possible
  • Without bending your knees, stretch to the center
  • Keep your back as flat as possible
  • Try to have your chest touch the floor

Kneeling Lunge Stretch, Reverse Lunge Stretch, Front Split, Side Split

Kneeling Lunge Stretch

Reverse Lunge Stretch
  • Make sure your knee does not go past your toe
  • Make sure your hips are facing forward
  • Push your hip down as much as possible
  • Push your body forward
  • For a deeper stretch, you can pull your back leg up
  • With your leg stetched, lower your body
  • Flex your feet

Front Split

Side Split
  • Use your hands to support you if you can’t
    reach the floor
  • Let go of your hands for a deeper stretch IF you
    feel comfortable
  • Do both legs of course!
  • Use your hands to support you
  • If you want to work on your strength, slide down
    to the split slowly – see how far you can go w/out
    your hands!

Share
  1. acne treatment
    Jul 25th, 2010 at 08:06
    Reply | Quote | #1

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  2. Bonnie
    Jul 25th, 2010 at 17:04
    Reply | Quote | #2

    Thanks for the nice comment! Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions.

  3. natural health
    Jul 27th, 2010 at 15:16
    Reply | Quote | #3

    Find this page from digg when searching.
    Really informative post, already bookmark for re-visit.
    Thanks for giving informative article

  4. Bonnie
    Jul 27th, 2010 at 15:31
    Reply | Quote | #4

    Hi Natural Health,

    NP! Would you mind telling me search you did on digg? Or link me to your search results?

    Thanks!

  5. mesothelioma
    Aug 16th, 2010 at 23:13
    Reply | Quote | #5

    I can’t figure out how to subscribe to the comments via my reader . I want to keep up to date on this, how do I do that?

  6. Bonnie
    Aug 21st, 2010 at 22:55
    Reply | Quote | #6

    Hi mesothelioma,

    Do you want to subscribe to the entire blog or just the comments section?

    If you want to subscribe to the blog, there’s a RSS feed button with the RSS link on the top right corner of the blog. What RSS reader do you use? You should be able to just add http://dance25.com/feed/ to your reader.

    If you want to just subscribe to the comments, I’ll need to add a plugin to enable that kind of functionality.

    Let me know if you want me to add something like that!

    Thanks,
    Bonnie

  7. Angelneedshelpdoingsplits!
    Oct 19th, 2010 at 09:03
    Reply | Quote | #7

    please natural health help me to do the splits
    tips?
    i did it when i was about 4 yrs old and i didnt know what i was doing so i just didnt care about it cause i was little so now im 11 and my bones are all strong so i cant do a thing now!
    please help me!
    thanks

  8. Bonnie
    Oct 29th, 2010 at 04:34
    Reply | Quote | #8

    Hi Angel, what have you tried doing to help with your splits?

  9. Jarmaiya
    Dec 29th, 2010 at 16:12
    Reply | Quote | #9

    splits are cool but im nowere near being able to do one so whats the easiest way to do it?

  10. Bonnie
    Dec 29th, 2010 at 16:43
    Reply | Quote | #10

    @Jarmaiya

    Hi Jarmaiya,

    First, getting to splits takes some time. Don’t try to overdo it because it’s easy to get injured. My recommendation is to start doing simple stretches 3 times a week.

    Do you have a bar where you can do the bar stretches? If not, you can use a chair or the bed to stretch your hamstrings. Do the split as far as you can go and hold it for 30secs to 1 minute, but make sure you are NOT in pain.

    Again, just be careful especially if you haven’t done a lot of stretching and flexibility exercises. Let me know if that helps!

    Thanks,
    Bonnie

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