30 Day Splits Training Challenge
xelsoo
Posts: 194 Member
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
Below is the table she mentions in the first video:
This other video tutorial includes a warm up and three movements to slowly ease into a split:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=E8rC3nXBMiI
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!
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:
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
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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
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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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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!
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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!0 -
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! 0
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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!
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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.0
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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
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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 0
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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.0 -
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!0
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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....0 -
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...
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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.0 -
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
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)0 -
@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
As for the split, I'm sure some of the other ladies can give you advice, I'm a newbie..0 -
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 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.0 -
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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@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?0
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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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Thank you for the feedback @DananaNanas! I can tell you are going to be super helpful to this group. Sadly there isn't much we can offer you except support. Do you come from a dance/gymnastics/yoga background? Were you always flexible? I'm just wondering how much a really stiff 40-something can really improve.0
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mom23mangos wrote: »but I figured stretching after leg day was better than cold at home later tonight.
Yesyesyes.
I want to reiterate this for everyone. The best time to stretch with the goal of increasing flexibility is after your muscles are already warm, not as a warm up! At the very least warm up your large muscle groups before attempting stretching for flexibility... in my classes we run in place, do jumping jacks, high knees, squats, etc. before sitting on the floor and really getting into our stretching.
I'm not a PT or anything like that but I have been dancing for 25ish years, I have a bachelor's degree in dance in education, and have been teaching at local dance studios, in theatre productions, and high school dance/drill teams for about 8 years
I was actually just offered a position (on Sunday!) in a new limited engagement dance production in our city's theatre district. I want to work on my flexibility and try to make some things I can already do look easier because my splits and heel stretches don't come without effort! So I'm just here for support and accountability to myself 0 -
@DananaNanas - do you ever do Yin Yoga? I've heard that you actually WANT to be cold for Yin since it targets the connective tissue vs. the muscles.0
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@mom23mangos I just read a study on it because I wasn't aware of it! I really only come across Hatha yoga in my area..targeting connective tissue vs. muscles is something I should look into but I certainly wouldn't want to be going into my splits cold!0
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DananaNanas wrote: »@mom23mangos I just read a study on it because I wasn't aware of it! I really only come across Hatha yoga in my area..targeting connective tissue vs. muscles is something I should look into but I certainly wouldn't want to be going into my splits cold!
Nooooooo. And you never push to end range movements with Yin either. You just find that spot where you feel it and kind of just sink into it. It's crazy to feel the muscles just relax after a couple of minutes. I LOVE Yin. It's actually made me really in tune with my muscles and I can pretty easily relax them on command now. And it's so relaxing and meditative. Perfect for right before bed. You can do some searches on YouTube. There's a couple by Fightmaster Yoga I really like. I also just signed up for Mobility WOD because my upper body mobility is trash.0 -
^^ I’ll have to look into that!! I’m always up for trying something new.0
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@xelsoo finally got around to taking pics of #13 for you... like I said I stretch both ways but try flexing your feet and keeping a flat back and you can get a really good hamstring stretch!
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Sooo splits are ok but my faces in the overhead heel stretches are pretty great. I look scared
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DananaNanas wrote: »Sooo splits are ok but my faces in the overhead heel stretches are pretty great. I look scared
WOW
DAMN GIRL
That's fantastic!0 -
I am no where near a heel stretch, I think I might be bit too old to ever get there now! Regretting quitting ballet at 50
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