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2015 Splits Challenge
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aaarrrgghgh i feel your pain!! ill have a good day stretching and think wowowowow i am so close now , touchdown here i come!!! then the next day you could drive a bus under me and its like heyyyyyy now what’s going on…??!!!! respond body dammit stop being so stubborn!!
yeah its funny how many different things affect your flexibility from day to day; how warm you are, how hydrated you are, how tired or stiff you are from earlier workouts, how relaxed you are, what kind of mood you are in (seriously! try stretch when you are in a bad mood or upset – aint happening!! =P) -
Also, i’ve tried the stretching after a hot bath and its not good for my body. I know everybody is different but I wanted to throw it out there for those who are trying it and feel like it’s not helping. you are not alone. for me, my muscles have to actually generate the heat on their own and my muscles need to be a little fatiqued to stretch well. A hot bath is better than no warm up at all but I make little progress with that method.
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We do tend to be more flexible around our period, this is why we need to be cautious of knee injury during that time as well. ðŸ‘
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Thanks for the tips guys! In general Im such a tight stiff person, It really takes a lot of time for me to relax into anything resembling something even close to a split, so while we do stretch those muscles in class I just never get to that stretched out point I know I can get to.
I think it’ll improve eventually if I just keep at it. 🙂
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fun fact – running and cycling are two of the worst activities for hampering flexibility…… =S
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Tamarinda, I’m more flexy during my cycle too! haha! must be something about our hormone levels at that time allowing our muscles to relax.:)
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polekat, I notice you using the weights during your splits, do you find that helps?
Any technique tips?
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@Allyson, Don’t use weights until you’ve been stretching constantly for a few months. If you use weights your technique should be spot on and you need to be very warm and know your body well.
@Phoenix, how hot is your bath? I make mine so hot I can hardly stand it, by the time 5-10 minutes go by I’m literally sweating. Hot tub stretching is also amazing, but it has to be hot not comfortable to where you could sit for more than 20 mins. I mean HOT. lol
I have something I’ve been working on and I’m hoping to finish soon, I think you will all love it. 🙂
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Yes I love using weights !! It makes such a difference… I only use a 3 or 4kg dumbell so it gives u a nice deeper stretch but without being too intense =]
amazing resource for tips – either the ‘worldwide splitters network ‘ group on Facebook – it’s a closed group so let me know if u can’t find it and I will post the link. Also on YouTube search for ‘fit and bendy’ – amazing woman called kristina nekiya, she does contortion and has loads of awesome tips – things like when in a deep lunge, don’t sink into your front hip to get lower, instead u want to imagine you are lifting up out of your hips , lift your chest and try to lean backwards whilst at the same time engaging your butt muscle of the leg behind and this will help to open your hips, so u get a better stretch without collapsing deeper into your front hip =] definitely recommend checking out her Q&A vids on you tube they are full of awesome tips like the above, little things to think about to help u get the best out of each stretch pose =] xoxox -
I have the same problem phoenix, I get out of the bath sweating but my muscles still don’t feel loose, it’s like I need to juice up my joints as well by getting them moving, just warming my muscles passively doesn’t seem to help me…
and yes veena is totally right about the weights – I didn’t start off with them but introduced them once I was happy my form/alignment was correct (squared hips). I always make sure to do a lot of active stretching as well as passive sitting in my splits xox -
I should add that I am always really careful with my stretching, I will do insanity class or pole or something as my warm up so I am sweating buckets, and I am always careful not too push myself too much.. It is really tempting to try push yourself that much lower but i am always reminding myself how easy it is to pull something and then that will set u right back ! Progress is made in mm not cm hehe. always take it easy , listen to your body, talk nice to it instead of shouting at it hehe and drink loads of water =]
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I take really hot baths but like polekat says, it’s my joints that need to move and lubricate. I have crickety joints it seems. man! hot tub stretching sounds good!!!
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Surprised about the running being anti flexy! I find I stretch the furthest after running cuz I’m so warm 💆
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Holy crap I never put together my patellar dislocation and my cycle. Literally did it two days before my period o_O
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ahh yeah i think as long as you do definitely have a good stretch afterwards then it’s all good – i am the same; running in particular slays me so i dont do it a lot but it feels delicious to stretch afterwards =P sorry i meant more along the lines of if you run often, like if that’s your thing; that’s your sport and you maybe don’t do a variety of other stuff then you could end up with really strong legs but really inflexible, esp hamstrings – i think its partly to do with your leg being in a slightly bent position pretty much the whole time you are running – you never really fully extend. Cycling i heard is the same; they are two sports which build a lot of strength in your legs but without good stretching they can leave you inflexible. handy to remember! i even stretch after ive walked up the stairs in work now =)
that is mad about the flexibility/period connection?? i heard pregnant women are more flexible due to the body releasing a particular hormone, wonder if its the same when you get your period then?! crazy…. =P -
I’m the same way with running. Can’t bend after a run and my job requires me to run. I know there’s actually some really good science behind the increased flexibility during your cycle. I just can’t find my source at the moment. I think I’m going to bump my flexibility training up to twice a week next month. Pics are every month right?
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Curiously, I’ve found sort of the opposite with running- but perhaps that’s because I have a really good stretch after each run! I’m closer to my splits than I have ever been (which isn’t that close if compared to others 😉 ), and I think a big part of it is that, when I run regularly, I also stretch regularly.
I’m already quite inflexible in the hamstrings, but I have also been trying to stretch those out more often (I do it after every run!), and they have been showing some very slow improvement, as well.
I can see why running would make most inflexible, as you’re working the muscles quite a bit, and if you don’t stretch properly, or very much, it can make you tight. That’s a common thing for the body! After some of my early runs, I was so stiff the next day I had to do “The Raptor Walk,” which is where you’re on your toes, and your knees and everything don’t actually want to fully extend or work properly. I add in the t-rex arms just because it adds to the illusion 😉 I didn’t really like doing The Raptor Walk around the house, so I started stretching more! It’s worked well 🙂I know I keep saying it, but… I’ll have proper pictures up soon. Promise 🙂 This weekend I’m gonna do it!
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Any type of repetitive motion that’s done and not followed with stretching can make you tight. So running can actually be a great way to warm up for flexibility training, as long as you stretch or do flexibility training after running, lifting weight, horse back riding, biking. You will not hinder progress BUT you have to be diligent with it or it can tighten you up.
The science on Relaxin and knee injury in women is out there, but there’s not a definitive answer as to if it truly is an issue. I side on the better safe than sorry end of it.
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So the flexyiness around my period is normal. I thought my birth control was throwing me out of wack and making me less flexy cuz I’m flexiest when I’m taking my placebos aka on my period. You guys have really pacified my fears cuz my BC was making me worry and I was about to blame it. Thank you everyone, I will take it easy on my knees Veena.
Phoneix Hunter I feel the same way about stretching. I need my muscles to generate their own warmth and I need to be fatigued as well. I need to be very relaxed in order to stretch. A 10 minute warm up will not do it for me. I don’t know how some people do that, my muscles can’t relax and I feel uncomfortable.
I do a myriad of things to warm me up. I make jokes to my roomie that my stamina has increased due to flexability training and I have lost weight due to flexibility training. But my flexibility has not increased due to flexibility training… 🙁 My lower body flexibility is the slowest thing to increase for me. Luckily, everything else (back flexy, stamina, strength) gives me enough improvement each practice -even if it’s slight- to keep my moral up and keep me going. While I’m no pole prodigy, those small improvements are enough to keep me content. If everything progressed at the stagnant and slow rate that my leg flexiness did, I would probably have given pole up and resigned to a life of a couch-pototo.
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haha! yes, flexibility training has helped my stamina and cardio too! flexiness is the last to improve it seems. 🙂 flexibility training drains me more than pole! so sweaty and tired by time I’m done.
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The pregnancy thing I believe is true because we were taught it in massage school too/something to keep in mind while working on women who are pregnant. Theres also a disproportionate amount of teenage female athletes (I think the study was on soccer) who get injured and they think its because of the fluctuation in hormones while they are going through puberty so it makes their connective tissue looser/joints less stable
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Okay! I finally got some pictures of my current state with the splits. Getting the middle splits was difficult, as usually when I’m training them I’m sitting down. My legs are slightly too long for my yoga mat, and carpet+sweaty feet = overextension, which hurts like crazy! I’ll figure out a better method as I go (or just get my middle splits, and then I won’t have to worry about it!)
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Yay rune! Happy you’re playing along! I set my phone or computer up on video and let it capture as much as I can. Sometimes I lean it on something across the room to make sure I get the while wall in. The I do my “split” then just pause the video on the point I want and screen shot it. Then I crop as needed. It’s so much easier for me not to worry about holding the camera 🙂
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That actually sounds a lot easier! Thank you for the tip 😉 I’ll have to find a place to set up my computer that will see me on the floor- even with the furniture moved around, my huge bed still takes up a lot of the space 😉 But, I’ll work on it!
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Im so in this! I rode horses for over 12 years from when I was 2-14 years old but we never did stretching before or after, so my leg muscles are incredibly tight. It was also during prime growing and developing years that i was most active on horses, which probably doesnt help the situation at all. I started pole last May at classes but had to stop when uni started back in September as my chedule just didnt fit. I now have a pole in the house I got just before new year so Im hoping with stretches and pole work I’ll get flexy quickly!!
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