How long did it take you to do the splits? tips!?

Question

I was in karate for 2 years and I learned to do the splits but i lost it because I wasn't using them ..:(

I really want to do them again and become flexible like i used to be :)

How long did it take you to do the splits, and any tips on stretching or how to warm up and stuff like that?

Thanks

Answer 1

Few weeks... watch youtube videos, on stretching, they help a lot!!!

Hope this helps!! :) Good Luck!! :)

Answer 2

It took me about a month of constant stretching - I did some exercises every day until one time, I was so surprised that I could do them! When I started I was about a foot off the ground (I'm talking about the ones where you just open your legs directly to the side, not the one where one leg is in front), and now, I'm only about 1 inch off the ground (when I'm warmed up I can go all the way down).

Here's some of the exercises I did every night and every morning (takes only a few minutes!):

1. flat figure 4 stretch. sit on the floor, both legs in front of you (in the touch-your-toes position). bend your right leg until the bottom of your right foot is touching your left kneecap (keep that leg on the ground, you'll make a flipped figure 4). keeping your leg there, bend forwards and try to make your body touch your left leg. hold for 8 seconds, and shake out your legs for about 5 seconds. repeat 2x. switch legs.

2. butterfly stretch. a little hard to explain, so

http://www.in-motion.ca/common/images/ph...

hold for 8 seconds, shake out legs, repeat 2x

3. v stretch and w stretch! it's a little harder than the rest, but definitely the best.

http://www.fitness.com/exercises/uploade...

v stretch

http://www.wwwin.com/books/endofinjury/I...

w stretch

4. try the splits yourself after all these exercises!

don't forget to WARM UP. I like to run in place for 5 minutes to make sure my muscles are ready. one time I skipped this and boy, did I regret it! I ended up overpulling a muscle and couldn't stretch for a week.

lastly, have faith! I'm positive you can do it, as long as you stick to your plan. good luck!

Answer 3

It took me a full year of dance classes + yoga, but it will differ according to the individual. You will probably take much less since you knew how to do them prior.

Ballet helps the flexibility of the hip and leg muscles.

The Butterfly and Frog yoga poses are great.

Do static lunges and hold them on each leg for about 30 seconds, 3 each leg. And I'm sure that you already know this: don't attempt the splits as the first warm-up exercise.

Answer 4

if you hold your split for 1 minute everyday for a week, your split will be 1 inch closer to the ground.  2 min/day= 2 in/wk, etc.

Answer 5

it took me awhile actually, ive been dancing since i was born pretty much, and when i was really little i didnt care about dance, because my mom owns the studio i dance at, and i was always there and it kinda just got old after awhile, but ever since ive been in competition ive started to truly love dance, and ive pulled my flexibility level up from like a zero to an eight on a scale of one-ten, so technically it took me about a year to get my splits after i was actually trying. sorry fot the life story, haha. but as for tips on getting your splits, well lots of stretching is obvious,pushing your self and holding them really long help. an exercise i like to do that hurts alot, but i see a difference is, find a chair and sit on the floor in front of it, facing it, place your front leg on the very edge of the seat and keep your back leg on the floor, and push until you feel a stretch, make sure not to push yourself too far, until your body is ready, maybe start by holding it for like 15 seconds, rest then hold it for 20, then 30, slowly but gradually get bigger, but make sure your resting. good luck =)

Answer 6

Splits can be very hard, but recently I got some tips from some professional dancers.

For front right and left splits, keep your knees straight and try to push your back backwards, like in a back bend. This will hurt, but it will pinpoint your weight into your hips to push you down into a split. When you are any where between 3-5 inches from the ground, you can drop into the split. This will also hurt and you do not have to hold it for long, but after 3-4 times of doing this, it will not hurt anymore.

For center splits, it is also necessary to use your own body weight. Try a box split, it is the quickest way. All you have to do is do your center split with your back and legs against a wall, then put your chest onto the floor and let your body weight push you down.

If you do all of these stretches at least twice a day, you should achieve your splits in about a month.

Answer 7

I could actually do a split the first time I tried it, along with putting both of my legs behind my back.

But when I was in dance class when I was younger my teacher would tell the kids that couldnt do splits to go as far down as they could go while they were watching TV or something and to hold it for like 5 mintues and go lower that position for a while and keep doing that until you could do a full split. Surprisingly that works cuz my mom tried it and it worked for her!

Remember to wear sweatpants or somthing loose when trying to do the split and to keep you hips square and your legs straight. And no matter how much stretching your legs out like that may hurt, you have to keep holding it in order for you to be able to do the split.

Good luck ;-)

Or just stretch, like try to touch your toes with your legs straight out or out to the sides. :-)

Answer 8

first off make sure that your hips are square and straight to the front. also go down as far as u can but make sure u straighten the backs of ur knees.

:]