Cannot reach a full split

[alphacat]

I perform dynamic stretches twice a day, and towards the end of each session I do the widest split I'm capable of doing along with static stretches.

However, I don't manage to reach less than 15-20cm from ground.

I did make a large progress with my high kicks though, but I feel that they would become much more natural to me and more powerful if my static flexibility gets better.

Any advices?

Thanks.

 

[searcher]

Be Patient!!!! Splits take time. Keep performing the dynamic stretches and the static stretches, but add in some isometric stretches also.

 

[terryl965]

Like anything that is worth doing it takes time and all we really have is time.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Keep it up and keep practising.

I can't do it either. Not even close. It's the one thing in which my natural flexibility is severely lacking. However, I recently started doing exercises with elestic bands for resistance, and that seems to give real results.

 

[chaos1551]

I'm somewhat flexible. I worked on flexibility specifically for a year or so. My flexibility really jumped shortly after I started doing yoga. I was kinda close to a full split before yoga. A month after doing random yoga moves, nothing even really related to splits, I'm much closer.

At risk of drawing laughter, it's the yoga from Wii Fit Plus. Likely any yoga would work for me. Maybe it would work for you.

 

[Stac3y]

I am tremendously flexible, and I still can't do one. I'm getting closer every day, though.

 

[Phoenix44]

Couldn't do it when I was 5 years old, and I can't do it now.

 

[JDenver]

And as these posts indicate, the notion that all you need is hard work to be able to perform whatever you wish is a fallacy.

Fact is, there are some folks who, despite whatever work, will not be able to properly perform certain difficult postures. Bodies are of different sizes.

I'll never forget actually, my teacher once said that everyone needs to find what it is their own body is naturally built for; endurance, speed, strength, agility. He was speaking of different martial arts, and how you have to find your 'fit' with a system.

Maybe true, maybe not.

 

[Blade96]

I cant do a full split either.

Meh....doesnt matter. I can still kick pretty much up to my head (i'm five foot 2)

So said my sensei when I did it in front of him.

 

[kaizasosei]

If you really work at it, shouldn't be an issue. Basically, stick to the stretch where you sit on the floor and simply spread your legs. Then grab onto something or feed some rope around something solid and use that to pull yourself forward with the goal of touching your chin, chest and belly to the floor. Thing is you want to rock your pelvis forward and not arch the back. Keeping back straight is also really interesting because you really can get a feel for your posture situation.

To avoid any injuries, you really should do kneeling and other stretches too, especially hamstrings, but basically do the above stretch and sometimes if you don't work at widening the legs and rocking forward, then simply sit like that for around 20 min-do work like that or read like that.

Also, when you try to do the splits, believe you can do it and if warmed up, push yourself down a bit further all the time.

If you want to go more nuts with it, then whenever you see anything to put your foot on that is higher than your head, go for it, back in school i would get my feet up on the walls of the toilet stalls everytime.
Works like a charm.




j

 

[geezer]

... back in school i would get my feet up on the walls of the toilet stalls everytime.

j

Hmmm... If people saw you, I'll bet that made for some interesting conversation!

 

[kaizasosei]

Sometimes, sure yeah, i'd usually just shoot the leg out after hitting the urinal, but people knew i was a ma freak, no biggie.
sorry for the bathroom refference.

 

[Touch Of Death]

My advice is to abandon that goal for more usefull ones. I mean no offense.:soapbox:
sean

 

[ATC]

It takes time. I talked to some little kid dancers that have sibling in our dojang. The dancers are all girls and they are no older than 10 - 12 years old. All of them can do full splits, even hyper or beyond splits. I asked how long it took to get there. They all said they could not do splits at first but after one year they were close to splits but after 2 years they had full split. 3 years to get to hyper splits. They also said that they sit and watch TV in splits for upto 2 hours a day.

So time and persistence are all that is needed.

Almost everyone I know that can do full splits talk about sitting in splits while watching TV, everyday.