30 Day Splits Training Challenge

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xelsoo
xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
edited April 2018 in Challenges
Hi everyone!

This is the first time I post a challenge, so bear with me if there's something incorrect along the way. I've actually never done a full-blown challenge myself, just 10-day goals group or a weekly progress -and-follow up group. Doing the splits is something I've always wanted to do but never found the time to get down to it and posting a challenge feels like a nice way to force me into accountability. I had good-average flexibility throughout my teens as I attended dance lessons for over 7 years (but never splits!) until I moved away for college and never got back to it.
I do stretch my arms, back & legs after every gym session (I guess it's a reflex by now) for around 5 minutes. I feel the time has come to really commit to finally getting those desired splits and feeling accomplished and good about myself!

I have named the challenge "Splits Training" instead of just "Splits" as I know I might not get a full blown split in a month. Everybody is different! So the point is to take pictures and track our progress and see where we're at by the end of the 30 days.

I'm going for 10 minutes of stretching each day (hopefully some days more) and want to get my side splits for now. Below are some links to a couple YouTube videos with the most useful exercises I've found.

This first two videos are from Blogilates and are actually a 30 day challenge (explained in the first 3 minutes of the first video) and the second vid goes through the movements.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xdB7MyMHtpA

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GTBB3IekEwY

Exercises: (as explained in the first video)
Each move 30 seconds-1 minute
  • Stretches 1 -5: Foundational stretches. Do every day.
  • On day 6: Stretch 6 + Foundational 5
  • Day 7: Stretch 7 + Foundational 5
  • .
  • .
  • .
  • Day 30: Stretch 30 + Foundational 5

Below is the table she mentions in the first video:

1b1nb5w5l5qz.png


This other video tutorial includes a warm up and three movements to slowly ease into a split:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E8rC3nXBMiI
  • I'm starting today! I'll take pictures this evening when I get home of my nonexistent side splits.
  • If you join late in the challenge, feel free to post an alternate goal.
  • If you already can split or some form of it, feel free to post your own higher goal and share your tips! For example, I have a friend who recommended doing something else when holding positions for 1 minute, such as homework, reading, drawing or just watching TV to help keep your mind off the stretch until your alarm goes off and you can change position.

I know it's a random date to start a challenge almost towards the end of the month, but it's Monday and why not?! This way there's a small margin at the end of May to get closer to perfection :)

Let me know your thoughts and share tips, articles, past experience, videos, anything!
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Replies

  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
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    I'll join you! I can already do splits but I want to improve them/make them prettier and accomplish #28-30 on the chart above! I really need to improve back flexibility. I also want my heel stretch to look more like this girl's than mine lol

    1yf1muulzx8j.png
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    Yay!! This way I'll have you as a judge of progress. :#
    I took some photos yesterday, apologies for the lighting as it was night and I've had to edit them so you can actually distinguish my pants from the sofa behind. As can be seen, my flexibility right now is..lacking.

    I've already stretched this morning after my workout and it's painfully satisfactory to do it, weird. I'll try to post progress pics along the way :)

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  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
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    Hi! I'll post pics later (I'm at work)

    For pics #1&2 when you're going into your split try to keep your shoulders square to the front with one hand on each side of your leg (I'm guessing you practice like that but lifted your hand to the leg for a better picture) but that will keep you from sitting into one hip too far.
    For pic #3 try to bring your leg to you instead of you to your leg (i.e. force yourself to keep your shoulders pressed into the floor) you may have to grab lower down on your leg behind your calf or knee for now and keep both your "standing leg" (the one stretched out on the floor) and the extended leg straight.
    Pic #4 Keep doing what you're doing there! I would also recommend reaching forward with a flat back and trying to reach past your feet so you're not rounding your shoulders up there too. I'll take a pic of that one later if my explanation doesn't make sense lol. I always have my students reach as far as they can with pointed toes, even rounding forward, like you're doing above and also practicing flexing their feet with a flat back and hinging forward.

    I hope you find the feedback helpful! Tell me if I'm being too nitpicky haha but really you are already very flexible!! Especially for an adult, your splits are better than half of my students already!
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    Thank you!! The feedback is extremely helpful - just what I was looking for and not at all nitpicky, I'd rather get the base technique right if I'm going to be doing this everyday.

    I did notice in the first 2 figures my 'back' knee tends to open up, so I'll concentrate on keeping the shoulders and hips facing forward.

    Today I used a resistance band to hold my leg up in figure 3 to keep my leg straight and not lift my shoulders as you mentioned, way better!
  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
    edited April 2018
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    Aw glad I could help :) I didn't make it to my workout/stretch yesterday because we ended up going out to dinner and that threw off my whole evening. Oops!
  • wezreeeee77
    wezreeeee77 Posts: 12 Member
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    Oh thanks for these stretches! I''d like to join this challenge please - I am no where near a split at the moment and would be brilliant to see some progress. Especially for box split, Here's a starting photo of a horribly wonky Russian split, lets see if I can get this looking better by the end of the month!

    won5c4zxfhbh.png
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    @xelsoo, I think I'll join you too. My flexibility had gotten so much better, but with all my recent injuries I haven't stretched in months. I think I can safely get back into it. I'm scurred of how much I've regressed, but will try to post pictures soon.
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    @wezreeeee77 @mom23mangos I'm glad you guys are joining! It's a great way to motivate each other to push further, or get back to where you where @mom23mangos.

    It's so cool you're doing acrobatics @wezreeeee77! I'd love to try that out (it's called acrobatics, right?). A few months ago I tried acroyoga and loved it even though I'd only done actual yoga once haha.

    I didn't have time during the morning's workout to properly stretch so I'll be doing it tonight, I need to catch up to you guys :wink:
  • wezreeeee77
    wezreeeee77 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks @xelsoo, It's called aerial - I do silks and hoop disciplines. I think in the US hoop is called 'Lyra' but never heard anyone in the UK call it that! I used to love acroyoga.. maybe next challenge will be finally getting that headstand :) x
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    wezreeeee77 wrote: »
    Thanks @xelsoo, It's called aerial - I do silks and hoop disciplines. I think in the US hoop is called 'Lyra' but never heard anyone in the UK call it that! I used to love acroyoga.. maybe next challenge will be finally getting that headstand :) x

    We do call it Lyra here. I think that's what they call it in France too @xelsoo (you are in France now right?). My 14yr old son does both Lyra and silks although I think harness is his favorite. I'll take the occasional silk class when I'm not injured (which seems never), but I've never progressed much beyond beginner.
  • wezreeeee77
    wezreeeee77 Posts: 12 Member
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    It took me a LONG time to get anywhere with silks and now I still find I get knackered with all the climbing quickly which limits the moves. Hoop/Lyra is So much more forgiving! Kudos to your son! Harness is awesome!
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    wezreeeee77 wrote: »
    It took me a LONG time to get anywhere with silks and now I still find I get knackered with all the climbing quickly which limits the moves. Hoop/Lyra is So much more forgiving! Kudos to your son! Harness is awesome!

    He's been doing it for about 4 years and I've been so proud of him for not giving up on it, especially once he became a teenager. I don't know how it is in the UK, but here there's not many boys that do it. It's not something that he advertises at school, but his friends all know he does it and one of his brother's friends even started taking classes with him for a while because he thought it was cool once he saw Ari do it. He doesn't even mind doing performances. It'll be interesting to see if he continues to stick with it once he goes into high school next year. I think it helps that his teacher is a 6'4" man who is married with a baby. His instructor is such a good role model. Very much a renaissance man. He also owns a dance studio, bakes cakes, does graphic design, paints....
  • wezreeeee77
    wezreeeee77 Posts: 12 Member
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    mom23mangos wrote: »
    wezreeeee77 wrote: »
    It took me a LONG time to get anywhere with silks and now I still find I get knackered with all the climbing quickly which limits the moves. Hoop/Lyra is So much more forgiving! Kudos to your son! Harness is awesome!

    He's been doing it for about 4 years and I've been so proud of him for not giving up on it, especially once he became a teenager. I don't know how it is in the UK, but here there's not many boys that do it. It's not something that he advertises at school, but his friends all know he does it and one of his brother's friends even started taking classes with him for a while because he thought it was cool once he saw Ari do it. He doesn't even mind doing performances. It'll be interesting to see if he continues to stick with it once he goes into high school next year. I think it helps that his teacher is a 6'4" man who is married with a baby. His instructor is such a good role model. Very much a renaissance man. He also owns a dance studio, bakes cakes, does graphic design, paints....

    Wow! Your son and his teacher sound awesome!
    Yeah, there are very, very few men at my studio. Though there seem to be more in core de lisse and trapeze than Hoop and Silks which for some strange reason people seem to think of as 'girly' - I have seen dudes quickly seem to revise that opinion when they see how many pull ups their girlfriends can do when they come to pick them up from training!

    Sadly MFP doesn't have an exercise for aerial at the moment - I'm sticking it down as a mix of calisthenics and aerobics...
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    mom23mangos wrote: »
    wezreeeee77 wrote: »
    Thanks @xelsoo, It's called aerial - I do silks and hoop disciplines. I think in the US hoop is called 'Lyra' but never heard anyone in the UK call it that! I used to love acroyoga.. maybe next challenge will be finally getting that headstand :) x

    We do call it Lyra here. I think that's what they call it in France too @xelsoo (you are in France now right?). My 14yr old son does both Lyra and silks although I think harness is his favorite. I'll take the occasional silk class when I'm not injured (which seems never), but I've never progressed much beyond beginner.

    I agree, your son and his teacher sound like a very complete duo! I love Renaissance men and multitalented people in general. I've tried silks and liked them too, but here in Paris everything is soo expensive and I'm on a budget so I can't afford to spend on classes (for now). I'm at this cheap French chain of gyms that are full of young people so after work you simply cannot use anything. The good thing is it has turned me into a morning person (there's way less people) and I'm finding morning workouts so much more beneficial!

    How are the stretches and exercises going? I'm finding particularly *uncomfortable* the hamstring stretches, especially going from a long lunge back and stretching one leg in front..ugh.
  • wezreeeee77
    wezreeeee77 Posts: 12 Member
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    wbca99d5v8st.jpg

    Ok, so this is the starting point! I will get my fella to photograph other stretches tomorrow - the ones I took myself were terrible as trying to hold phone at same time proved impossible :D Improvising with a pile of old diaries for a yoga block

    (N.B my usual work out gear is NOT this skimpy! I just threw a sports bra on top of my pyjama shorts this morning)
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    @wezreeeee77 using books as a yoga block - I hadn't thought of using props, good idea! I took my photos by propping the phone against a chair and using the 10 second timer so it was a bit of a rush getting into position haha, hopefully I'll get someone to take them next time as well :D
    As for the split, I'm sure some of the other ladies can give you advice, I'm a newbie..
  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
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    wezreeeee77 wrote: »


    Ok, so this is the starting point! I will get my fella to photograph other stretches tomorrow - the ones I took myself were terrible as trying to hold phone at same time proved impossible :D Improvising with a pile of old diaries for a yoga block

    lol I feel you. I'm trying to improve heel stretches and splits so my outtakes last night were pretty funny. I'll post photos on lunch if I have time.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Ok, I took pics this morning! Oh man, that's hard on your own. I had to turn on the video and then do screen shots from there. I'm always so self conscious about videoing myself in the gym, but I figured stretching after leg day was better than cold at home later tonight. My right side is my less flexible side and it was even harder today because the pressure on the top of my fractured left foot was not pleasant. I couldn't really slide it back and it tended to turn out to relieve the pressure.

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  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    @DananaNanas, can I ask you about stretch #4 (lizard pose) up above? I don't feel much of a stretch when I lean forward like that or on my elbows. Where I really feel it is if I bring by torso upright and really sink into my hips. then I feel it in my groin which is super tight. I tend to spend time in both poses, but it seems that the vertical would have more carryover to the splits. Is that right?
  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
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    @mom23mangos great posture on your split pictures!! I've also fractured my left foot lol so be careful and patient with yourself on that one!
    And I agree with you on pose #4. Keeping the shoulders over the hips would translate into splits better but I think the progressive nature of the chart above has that early on because many people probably can't do it off the bat holding themselves upright... I'm guessing? I'd say keep doing what you're doing, if you don't feel a stretch it's probably because you're already past that level :)

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