Splits

lwagnitz

So, I used to be a cheerleader, so I was pretty flexible, but I got injured, so now I'm really ...not lol My physical therapist was even making fun of how tight my hammies are It was a sad day lol. But anyway, for some reason I've always found doing middle splits the easiest, left was okay, and right took sooo long. But, I'm trying to get my flexibility back after surgery, and it's super hard. I don't remember all the stretches from cheer, but I obviously need some help on my hammies, that's clear. Anyone have any stretching advice? )

Yogi_Carl

Hi - you will soon have your splits back if you take your time and fon't force things - a couple of things I can think of:

1) Contract the muscle you are stretching. So if that is hamstrings, pull all the muscles, quads, hamstrings into the thigh bone, pull your knees up, fire up your things and with that contraction going on, ease into the stretch and hold it for a minute or more. This ensures you are stretching the muscle and not just pulling on the tendons at each end. Active, not passive stretching.

2) Definitely take up yoga with a good teacher, you will love it. There are far more stretches that involve more of the body which will help in your splits indirectly.

Good luck getting down!

SashThompson

I used to cheer as well and my flexibility has seriously gone down the crapper but I remember from my cheer days that I was stretching twice a day every day for at least half an hour. Hold your stretches until the pain starts to ease and then push a little further. NEVER stretch cold, that's an injury waiting to happen. I used to do 100 jumping jacks to warm up first.
Also don't forget to stretch your calves, tight calves can lead to knee injuries. I found that using a hard foam roller on my ATB (your outer quad) hurts like hell but really helps loosen up your hips.