Help me stretch !!- how long....?

Question

I want to get down to the spits, and have been doing them every night for weeks, still can't get down to them.. even if I warmed up before stretching I would get really stiff afterwoods and be sore, but carried on stretching.

I want to get down to my splitshow??

and how long before I won't beable to get i the slits if I don't stretch??

Answer 1

There's no designated time of when you will get your splits. But the more you dance and the more you stretch you will finally be able to get down. Stretching after a shower also helps because your muscles are relaxed.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Know that achieving a significant amount of flexibility (such as learning the splits) can take up to two years for some people. It can take anywhere from 6 months to two. Anytime before that is rare or it can result in you pulling a muscle or losing the flexibility quickly.

In three weeks, you will see an improvement but you won't be able to achieve full splits unless you're able to go down pretty low right now. I suggest that you stretch 2 to 3 times a day for at least 15min each time. Do NOT do it after you wake up in the morning though because your body is pretty tense and scrunched up from your sleeping.

Every time you prepare to stretch, make sure you have warmed up or you'll pull a muscle (jog in place for 3 min), have thoroughly digested all your food, and that you have enough space because nothing more peskier than having to move from place to place. Also, keep in mind that you should hold stretches for at least 20 seconds and are recommended you repeat it. Also, never do the "bouncing" motion when you're holding a stretch because it causes microtears in your muscles which in the long run is never good. Also, when you're doing all of these stretches (except one) keep your hip bones facing FORWARD. Not to the side.

Before starting, stand up straight and touch your toes. Sit down and touch your toes with your feet flexed and not flexed. For both, try and touch your head to you knee and hold for 20 seconds without bouncing.

For splits:

Get in a lunge position and extend the back leg so that the top of your foot is touching the ground and your leg is straight. The front leg should still be bent in a 90 degree angle. From there, you should try and push your torso straight down and you should feel a nice stretch.

From the last position, bend your back leg so that you're on your knee and put the front leg in a straight position with the bottom of your foot touching the ground. Push your butt back and feel the stretch.

Go back to the very first lunge position with the back leg extended. Bend the front leg completely so that your back leg is almost entirely touching the ground with your front foot under you. Lean your whole body forward to the ground and try to extend your back leg further. From there, get your torso back up straight and pull your back leg so that it's bent and touching your shoulder (for this, your hips should face to the side slightly) You can pull your front leg to the side a little to maximize the stretch.

Go back to the first stretch position again and slide your back leg back so that you will be sliding into a splits position.

Hold all the stretches above and repeat on the other leg. Then if you want, come back to the original side and repeat then again on the other leg.

Straddle:

For straddle stretches, your knees should always be pointing towards the ceiling as well as the top of your feet. Your toes should always be pointing out.

Sit in a V stretch position. If you have an empty wall, put the side of your feet against it and push yourself form the back to get the maximum stretch. From there, reach for your toes and repeat on the other side.Each time you should aim to touch your head to your knees.

Get up, spead your feet wide apart and squat down. Extend one leg straight and lean onto your bent leg side and then repeat on the opposite side.

Go back to the V stretch and repeat the whole routine.

It's easier to get a straddle if you have your splits first for both legs.

Don't expect to be doing splits overnight. Be patient or you'll pull a muscle.

Also, you may be sore because you're pushing your muscles a bit over their limit. Make sure you do not pull a muscle because that's like 50 huge giant steps back. No joke. Be very patient and listen to your body!!!! Make sure you warm up thoroughly before stretching and you might want to do reversal stretches to make sure your muscles don't get too terribly sore. Get in a child's pose (yoga pose) and stretch that way. Get in a butterfly stretch and hold. Strand up on one leg and bend the other leg and pull your bent leg's foot to the bent leg's thigh with your hand and repeat on other side. After that, walk around a bit or warm up again.

Also, try fitting in stretching when you're reading, watching tv, anytime you are able to do it.

And you can lose your flexibility pretty quickly if you don't work on them--even if it's just one day. So keep stretching until doing the splits becomes as easy as sitting for you--as in no tension, no pulling, no stretching feeling. After that, you can relax a little bit with stretching but until then, make sure you stretch everyday.

Answer 3

Well its good your holding your splits every night. Your probably just not holding them long enough. I'd say stay in your right split for 1 minute. Don't get out of it, and try to put your nose to your knee[while still in splits] Hold that for 30 seconds. Now while your still in your right split arch your back and try to look at the wall behind you. This is how my dance teacher got my splits.

Also do this on the left.

And make sure your stretching every part of your body BEFORE doing splits. After you get a really good stretch its normal to be very sore. Just take some medicine right after your splits and you still might be a little sore but thats ok.

My thoughts:

There is NO way to get your splits without stretching.(:

Have fun!