angygirl started this discussion ·
http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html Hi Ladies, I sent this awhile back to a fellow poler and she has had great progress with it as I have. Check it out and see what you think and post your results. Angy
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I was looking through old posts last night and i found that link somewhere else too I think. It looks really interesting and if you read about how it works, it really makes sense! I guess we'll see six weeks from now! Splits will be mine!! haha
Thanks for this link! I have been working on my flexability and am not there yet ..someday! ( with a lot of time in)
I just printed that out yesterday and was planning on adding it to my stretches.
Thanks so much for the link!!
Oh, it would be so awesome if it worked! Thanks! 😀
There is a thread under splits progress where it is mentioned by another poler with positive results.
the link was given to me from a women whom had never done the splits in her life, at 30 something did this 6-week split program and in 6 weeks was doing the splits and is now a contortionists! It would be even more awesome if there was a video. Some of these moves I'm not sure I understand what they look like just by reading them. Congrats on your progress!
This is a great program--I'm sure anyone who sticks with it will see major progress. I started it a while ago and then tapered off toward the end, which I shouldn't have done because I think I would have had my splits if I'd just kept at it. Even so, I went from being several feet off the ground when I first started, to being just a couple of inches off the ground on my good side. I have been about as bendy as a plank of wood my whole life, even as a teenager, so this was pretty much monumental progress. I've been doing it again these past few days or so, and I can actually touch the ground now--I can't just slide straight down and touch the ground, but if I slide down as far as I can, then do some of the isometric squeezes the article talks about, I can actually go all the way down into them with only mild discomfort, so I'm sure in a couple of weeks I will have them all the way.
EvaRut ·
Nice. I am trying this out! Just finished my first stretching session. But I have a few questions if anyone can explain to me 🙂 He talks about doing 3 reps. Should I do 3 reps on one leg and then 3 on the other. OR Should I do once right leg, once left leg, once right, left, right and left until I have done 3 on each leg or doesn't it matter? And I can't figure out how the Karate Stance stretch is. If someone could post a link with a photo would be so great! 🙂 In some of the stretches my muscles that Im stretching shake while I am stretching. Am I stretching too far or should I try to relax more and not stretch o far or wait til the shaking stops?
I actually took karate for several years, and I'm pretty sure the karate stance he is referencing is one of the basic stances we used in class during katas and whatnot. I'll take a picture once I get some new batteries and post it; at the very least, if it's not quite the stance he had in mind, it definitely helps with hip flexor and hamstring flexibility. If you don't see a picture from me within a couple of days or so, just give me a little nudge.
Hi EvaRut I'm not 100% sure but when he talks about the muscles getting too tired at contracting that they release, that sounds like what's happening when your muscles shake, they're getting tired of contracting? I'd hold it and see if they relax...
EvaRut ·
Thank you for the advice. Have been stretching everyday since sunday. Exept yesterday because I accidentally fell asleep. Hehehe. But still havent figured out the karate stance. So still doing other stretches instead. So glad I started this now because I just got accepted into Battle of the pole wich is in January and splits are required. 😛
Help! Why does this not make sense to me?? All you have to do is position yourself in a deep lunge with your front foot pointing straight a head, your front leg bent at 90 degrees at the knee and the foot of your back leg should be pointing directly behind you with the instep facing the ground and your calf flat on the floor. How in the world do you get your calf on the ground in a lunge??
Yeah same here chemgoddess. Is there any possibility that somebody here who has had progress with this exercise be able to post a video of them doing these stretches?
Kira ·
http://0.tqn.com/d/dance/1/0/j/2/-/-/split2.jpg that's the stretch it is talking about :) when you lunge make sure the front knee stays over the ankle and try push your hips forward and down and that will bring the back calf down to the floor. You might not be able to get it straight away but doing this stretch will definitely help. The aim is to have that back calf totally flat on the floor.
kasanya ·
Hmmm... If that's the case, then the description is using some completely wrong terminology. The instep is the inside (arched) side of the foot and the calf is the back of the lower leg. This picture shows the top of the foot (not the instep) facing the ground and the shin (not the calf) flat on the floor. I would be inclined to ignore the description--which sounds like an incredible feat of contortionism--and go with the picture. 😀
Lol, kasanya - exactly what I was thinking! It made sense to me, but with a bit of internal translation going on :P I'm going to have a proper look in a minute, but is it just for front splits? I'm kinda okay with those, not there yet but I know that if I keep going I'll get there. It's really side split that I have problems with, it feels like I'm just not built to go that way - that's how bad my side split is! Need some help with that ><
Yeah, I know what a lunge is but again I was having issues with the calf and the instep on the floor. I am bound and determined to get these this year. It has only been my resolution for the last 3 years!!!
So, everyone else is thinking splits for the New Year's Resolution too? 😉 I started following this 6 week plan to and have no idea what the karate stance is, and the lunge (thanks for the pic!!) I was doing all wrong - I had my legs out to the sides instead of in front and back of my body. Oops. The Supine I can only do using a rubber band, I can't reach my ankles. And the very last stretch - stretching for the actual splits, I don't understand. I don't know if the goal is to do side splits or front splits? It seems like the goal is front splits? I have been stretching for a whole three days straight (woo-hoo!) and when I started, I couldn't even bend over and touch the floor with my fingertips (while keeping a straight leg and straight back) and three days into it and I am able to go palms flat on the floor!!!!! I doubt I am any closer to the splits, but just touching the floor is accomplishment enough for me. I've found it actually enjoyable to stretch - but probably don't do it correctly. I don't warm up or anything, I just do it while I am watching TV at night. I also had to draw a little stick figure key to remember the stretches. He-he. http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww233/abosco17/027.jpghttp://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww233/abosco17/027.jpg
This program definitely works--I've been following it again for the past few days and today I just got all the way down in the splits on one side and was able to hold it without using my pole for support, which I haven't done before. It is still quite an intensive stretch for me, so I need to work on getting to a point where I can just drop straight down into them and not have to lower myself carefully, but this is a huge accomplishment for me, the amazing wooden-legged pole dancer. Also, my splits on the other side are much bendier than they were before--I can't almost get my front leg straight now. Just keep at it, everyone.
EvaRut ·
I have been following the 6 weeks program and my last day is tomorrow. But I am not in the splits yet. But very close. Been stuck at the same place for 2 weeks now and not getting further down =/ I even added every stretch for the splits that I could find and stretch for an hour at a time so I am doing 12 stretches instead of 6 like are in the program. I do 3 sets of each and holding for a minimum 30 seconds. Maybe I would have them down if I wouldnt have missed about average 1 day of stretching a week? Is it really that important to stretch every single day ? I need my splits in 3 weeks for Battle of the Pole :S Oh my! Stretching twice a day from now on when I can fit it into my schedule... Hehehe
sazzle ·
So excited to find other people working on splits for the new year! You know the lunge exercise that is being discussed? Is it possible that the instructions mean that the back leg has to be behind but the hip is rotated outwards? In that case, if it was the left leg back, the toes and the knee would point to the left wall, and then the instep would be on the ground. The "inside" of the calf would also then be pointing towards the ground (the inside of the calf being the bit that would be in contact with the other leg if you were standing straight up) and I'd guess with work would eventually rest upon the ground. Does that make any sense to anyone else? It is a baffling description! The main thing that made me wonder is that there are two ways of positioning your back leg for a split - either the "normal" way which is where your knee and top of foot rest on the floor and the "alternate" way where your instep rests on the floor and your knee faces out to the side. The second way is a stretch more through the inner thigh, and puts more work onto your knees, but is more comfy for some. It just seems like that particular exercise is pushing towards the second style of splits.
It explains in the beginning pages that the splits they are trying to achieve are what is considered jazz splits, which is the only kind you can really do while wearing heels. It is with the back leg to the side. Momma...the karate stance is basically this: http://vckarate.com/files/Basic_info/stances/Zenkutsu-dachi.jpg
That picture is exactly the way I've been doing the stretch. The way it was described sounded like just a basic zenktsu dachi, which is something I did a looot in karate. It definitely gives a nice stretch if you do it the way you describe.
Jemmie ·
OK! I started the 6 weeks program and didn't even make it through one week (my excuse is that I like to strech when nobody can see me). So this is a great new years resolution! Stick to it for 6 weeks, and I finally have a camera so I can track my progress
