I did a post about how to stretch towards the splits when I first started this account, and thought I’d do one again because people often ask me for recommendations on getting the splits down! I am NOT a naturally flexible person, and although I’ve done ballet all my life, I had to work very hard to get my splits. So trust me when I say that you can do this even if you aren't a dancer or naturally flexible. And doing the splits is always a good way to impress people randomly!
Swipe through the photos for my favorite sequence to stretch for splits! You should always stretch before trying the splits, especially if you do not have them down all the way.
Here are some tips:
In this first stretch, keep your legs straight and think of stretching your "nose to your toes" to keep your spine elongated.
In this stretch, keep your back leg straight and your hips level and square.
Next, drop your back knee and rotate your torso toward your front leg, reaching up to the sky for a spinal twist and quadricep stretch.
For an additional quadriceps stretch, reach your opposite arm back and gently bring your foot towards your butt, keeping your weight forward of your kneecap.
For the last stretch, reach your "nose to toes" again and keep the front leg straight. If you’re feeling up to it, slide into the splits!
For the splits, the most important thing is to keep BOTH legs straight no matter how far down you are, or you will not make progress! It will be somewhat painful until you get all the way down!
How I worked towards getting all the way down was by holding oversplits - prop your front leg up on a stool, pillow, etc. and go as far as you can go in the splits while keeping both legs straight. Hold it for a whole song (or as long as you can), then switch legs.
Now you can go make like a banana and split!!