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Splits – How long did it take you?
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@hotchocolate-1x a day for 4-5 days a week. I guess you could do 2x a day for maybe 3x a week or so. Whatever you are comfy for that. If you have the time for that then great!
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@LolaSlaytor – Perhaps you should concentrate on strengthening the surrounding muscles and avoiding lateral movements for now? Then hopefully in time your body will respond to the strength training, good luck xx
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lolalaystar- I have a knee inhjury as well I got more than 10 yrs ago.. I should have had surgery but I opted not to at the time. I cant do any lateral movements w out my knee snapping and causing me to crash to the floor. WHen my knee is acting up or Ive snapped it recently, I cant bend it all the way or straighten it all the way. It does seem to have healed to a point that if I am careful and have no snaps, I have full ROM forward and back so that I cando side splits, any middle slit stretching requires very careful attention w the lateral movement so I usuallly just skip it. I do all my knee holds w my opposite leg. I also previously broke my opposite shoulder severely.. I just modify everything. I can only do spins one sided using my strong arm, then leg stuff one sided… lol… feel all gimpy but manage to do most tricks one way or the other! Since your injury is new it will probably take you awhile to heal and get to the point of really knowing it and being able to safely work around it. Just wanted to give you hope that Ive had 2 serious injuries and I still pole and Ive gotten my left splits! Knowing I probably will never be able to do a circus climb drives me crazy! Switches back and forth from bad knee to bad shoulder!
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Started poling on and off since sept 2011 and started stretching for splits round about dec that year. I had no stretch routine, just attempted ‘splits’ whenever I fancied – managed to pull something in my right thigh – now it clicks 🙁
March 2012 realized my hips weren’t squared and back knee was facing out instead of facing down to the ground, so looked up splits stretching videos on YouTube and came across one by emotioncatcher.
3 days ago, started a proper gym workout session (cross trainer or bike for at least 20min) followed by proper stretching. Managed to get down to the floor on day 1 😀 !!
Can only so splits (side) when I’m nice and warm bur ah well, practise makes perfect.Is it possible to someday drop into splits without this much warming up??
Goodluck everyone xx
Ps. I’m fairly flexi to begin with and before starting my proper routine, was already couple inches from the ground both side and middle splits.
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Started poling on and off since sept 2011 and started stretching for splits round about dec that year. I had no stretch routine, just attempted ‘splits’ whenever I fancied – managed to pull something in my right thigh – now it clicks 🙁
March 2012 realized my hips weren’t squared and back knee was facing out instead of facing down to the ground, so looked up splits stretching videos on YouTube and came across one by emotioncatcher.
3 days ago, started a proper gym workout session (cross trainer or bike for at least 20min) followed by proper stretching. Managed to get down to the floor on day 1 😀 !!
Can only so splits (side) when I’m nice and warm bur ah well, practise makes perfect.Is it possible to someday drop into splits without this much warming up??
Goodluck everyone xx
Ps. I’m fairly flexi to begin with and before starting my proper routine, was already couple inches from the ground both side and middle splits.
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xying88 – As long as you continue to properly stretch with squared hips, you will easily drop split without a longgggg warmup. It takes time. I hit my full splits last October after 6 months. Then hit over splits 5 months later in March and drop splits felt so much easier. I felt comfortable sitting into splits (with arms up) maybe 1-2 months after I hit them. It comes with time and proper stretching. I do yoga 3x/week and one of them is deep contortion-like stretching. Pole 1x/week but the warmups are not enough to get me flexible like yoga.
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I don't stretch consistently, maybe once a week. But side splits came easy… I was able to do them when I was younger so I suppose that helped. Maybe three months to get my right split and I'm not far off on the left.
"Square" splits are knee facing down, right? That's how I do mine. I was always instructed to turn the knee out but that hurts for me… my jade split is awful urghhh
My middle splits are freaking HOPELESS. I'm at least a foot away lol and they just don't seem to budge at all. It just freaking hurts and I hate working on them and I doubt I'll ever be able to do them because I hate stretching for them so much.
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And I will echo that whether side or middle is easier just depends on the person… I have a friend who got center/box splits with very little effort but she had to work quite a bit at her side splits.
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Squared splits on the ground are where your hips are squared and not diagonal or uneven. Perfect square. Front leg with knee straight up, back leg with top of your thigh touching the ground and your knee facing the ground.
Jade splits aren’t really splits. Your knee rotates out along with your outer hip rotating out. Also keep your chest facing up to the ceiling, not towards your leg. This will flatten your jade even if you don’t have perfectly squared full splits.
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Just a question girls, I have found out "knots" on the behind of my knee and another one in the armpit.the one one the armpit is painful, you can actually see there is a knot visually, the one begind the knee is not painful if I touch it, but It hurts a bit in doing some movements. would you use a foam roller to release them or massage?I actually dont know if I have to put pressure on them or leave them alone. the knot on my armpit has been here for a while now, I thought at first it was beacause of me shaving.
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Just a question girls, I have found out "knots" on the behind of my knee and another one in the armpit.the one one the armpit is painful, you can actually see there is a knot visually, the one begind the knee is not painful if I touch it, but It hurts a bit in doing some movements. would you use a foam roller to release them or massage?I actually dont know if I have to put pressure on them or leave them alone. the knot on my armpit has been here for a while now, I thought at first it was beacause of me shaving.
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Just a question girls, I have found out "knots" on the behind of my knee and another one in the armpit.the one one the armpit is painful, you can actually see there is a knot visually, the one begind the knee is not painful if I touch it, but It hurts a bit in doing some movements. would you use a foam roller to release them or massage?I actually dont know if I have to put pressure on them or leave them alone. the knot on my armpit has been here for a while now, I thought at first it was beacause of me shaving.
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I am 46 and got my splits in 8 weeks stretching about 2x week. It is not as though I can now just fall into them, it takes me about 20 min to stretch out before I can go all the way down.
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I’ve never considered myself flexible, but I guess I am. It took me about a month to get my forward splits (left foot leading). I just looked up “how to do the splits” online, and did the recommended stretching excessize every day for four weeks, usually right before bed. I’m working on the side splits right now (I think that’s what they’re called, every time I see them I just think of Carrot Top…) but not I’m not so fierce about getting them as I was with the left foot leading splits.
Also: Keeping yourself super hydrated really really helps. I didn’t drink hardly any water when I learned left. Now I’m learning right, and drinkingwater seems to have made stretching keep it’s….stretch? Longer, and with more effect.
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It took 2 months of a llot of stretching before I got my left side split. It looks like an extra month for my right and my middle splits is still a work in progress.
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The question thus far having been how long it took to get down into doing the split, now my question is how much you have to work in order to keep being able to go all the way down! Not as much, I hope? What's your experience?
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You should be stretching just about every time you do pole. If you do other exercises that may tighten the muscle (running, powerlifting, etc) then you should be stretching then as well. Bottom line, splits aren't something you get, they're something you do. You have to keep working if you want to keep doing them. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
Tongue in cheek: if you don't keep doing them, you could hop on your pole one day and end up like THIS:
https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_photo/513e3789-69f8-429a-9947-2a450ac37250
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Thanks for the answer! We'll see where my motivation takes me, I have other things I wish to train too…
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i have heard that the valentino brother dvd's are too advanced for beginners. is this true? because i planned on checking them out, but i don't know…..i can't seem to find too many reviews.
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Valentino brothers have beginner/intermediate and advanced DVDs. The beginner/intermediate are definately suitable for beginners, for people who can't do the splits yet. They explain a lot there. The 3 beginner DVDs brought my splits from 16 inches down to 4 inches off the floor within 6 months on and off training. At this point I stopped making progress and bought Aletheas DVDs.
If you can do the splits you can use the advanced Valentino Brother ones (at least the ones about leg flexibility).
Re: How long does it take to maintain the splits: For me I need 2 hours per month to maintain a 4 inch oversplit on my good side and normal split on my bad side 🙂 30 minutes per week is ideal, but I don't always do that. Though it would take a lot more work for me to progress from there.
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thanks rosemay! i went ahead and purchased the beginner DVDs. i'm the type of person that NEEDS a routine to follow along. i'm not good at, nor am i consistent with trying to take videos and make up my own routine. i skimmed through them and i think they will be very helpful. i am NOWHERE near the splits. i am about 20 inches from the ground lol. they suggest 3x a week and i have been trying to workout 3x a week so i can do it after my workouts.
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After 30 years of not being able to do the splits at all I just got them last week. As a child I could never do them and kinda gave up trying, however I always naturally had flexible hip flexors ( I often sit in a butterfly stretch when watching TV as I find it comfortable) and can easily put my legs over my head however I learned my hamstrings where really tight hence the reason I can’t do spilts. I tried stretching a few times a week when doing pole for 2 years and got no where. Then I discovered a love for yoga and aerial yoga and I literally got bendy over night! With in my first week of joining a yoga class my splits where much lower to the ground, two months later I can finally do it!!! It’s still a bit of a struggle ( i need to do it after a good pole workout and ease into it slowly and it’s not perfect yet but I’m so happy!) can’t recommend yoga and aerial yoga enough if you want to get bendy for pole!
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Front/side splits took me 3 weeks to get after not doing them for a few years. Middle splits I've never had and am currently struggling with them.
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Front spilt took me 6 months. Middle split.. I'm still working on it.
Putting your hands on your waist instead of ground would be helpful.
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So glad to here that Amber! I just started going to hot yoga as much as I can – I already feel the benefits! I no longer get major pain in my right shoulder. Hopefully I will be down in my splits soon enough! I need to start stretching more as well.
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