Hip flexibility for splits

Hi. I've been working to achieve the front split and I've focused on stretching my hips since that's the part most people struggle on and my pike flexibility is good. Do any one of you guys know any hip stretches I can do?

So far, I only know the stretch where you go into a lunge position and stretch the hips and the full split.

Yea..I did the lunge with the bent rear leg a couple of times, but I felt pain in my knees the next day, so I stopped doing that stretch.

Hi, I guess this will be my first post here at GB.

Let me say by way of introduction that I found myself here through Ido's website. I'm not a capoeista but I find his mix of movement, athleticism, gymnastics, yoga and strength to be inspirational and definately in the direction of where I'm going physically.

I'm not trained in anything specifically but I do quite a bit of advanced yoga so perhaps I can shine some light on the split question.

To build your body into the ability to gain a front split I would recommend the following sequence. Note that each pose is held for a count of 10-20 seconds. 4 poses on the right side then move to the left. Alternate days 4x sets one day then 2x sets the next day. A 4x set should take ~20 minutes, the 2x set half of that. Ideally, the stretching should be done daily at the end of your workout followed by myofascial release on the foam roller (but that's up to you and your god.)

I'm a big proponent of ying-yang to stretching, that is, if you stretch in one direction then you should "counter-pose" in the other direction to offset. Each pose is followed by a close "opposite".

• knee lunge - also called low lunge. This is the first of "elongation" stretches meant to, obviously, stretch out your quads and glutes enough to open your hips enough to get into front split. I don't see any need to do the bent knee version. Seems to place undo stress on the knee.
  
  hurdler stretch. Push back from the low lunge onto your butt and lean over the leg. This stretch works on your hammy. The version shown is the easiest, as your flexibility improves move the foot behind your butt and eventually to a position where you sit on the foot as you sit back and then lean forward onto the outstretched leg.
  
  When you get more flexible this is where you want to be:
  
  lizard pose. Push forward into a pose that is close to low lunge except your hips are more open and you bring your chest closer to the floor. This pose goes back to the quad/glute stretch while also giving a nice torso rotation as you drop your extended leg knee to the floor. As you advance your elbows will find the floor.
  
  half split. push back on to the opposite knee, elevate your butt and straighten the leg, bring chin to knee.
  

Move to the opposite side. The intention here is to stretch out the glutes and hams enough to perform the front split. I would estimate it will take 9+ months from the start to get to the point where you aren't in some amount of pain when you place your body weight onto your outstretched legs.

jl5555, the bent knee version of the kneeling lunge is to stretch out the quadricep. It is not, however, something I use often.

Blairbob said:

jl5555, the bent knee version of the kneeling lunge is to stretch out the quadricep. It is not, however, something I use often.

Yes, makes sense. The quad should get sufficient action in the regular lunge as well as the hurdle stretch and lizard pose. My own personal concern with the bent knee version of the lunge is excessive pressure on the patellar tendon.

It's taken me about 18 months of this routine to get to the point where I'm fully seated while in the front split. When starting you'll find the hip lacks the flexibility and the rear leg tends to rotate outwards. The eventual goal is a straight line so keep that in mind as you work to the full extension. Also, in the position I can lean fully forward chin to knee. In the full pose I prefer foot flexed vs. pointed toe. The benefits in me I've seen are nice in terms of fully released lower back, hips, quads, glutes and hams.

In terms of progression I was very conservative at first and didn't even attempt the full front split until I was very comfortable with the intro poses. Initially you can place a bolster, foam roller or blocks under your groin as support while your hams and quads scream...

I have to say I'm not too eager for the side split. I don't see much use for it but I may be missing something. I much prefer to do my side splits while inverted either handstand or headstand. Seems to feel better that way.

Thanks for the advices, jl! Btw, I'll post a progression of my splits.

It's getting better.

for front split, don't actually try the split much until you can sit in a lunge with the hips opened to 180.

Okay.

nickvb said:

for front split, don't actually try the split much until you can sit in a lunge with the hips opened to 180.

Right! You will get so much more out of what you are trying to do if you follow the progression through lunge. The full front split is actually just a byproduct of being able to perform a very, very, very good low lunge. I find that when I'm loose and feeling good that the low lunge is such an excellent position to "feel" what's happening in my lower body. Take a picture of yourself in a fully extended low lunge and see how you align. That will tell you how your full front split is coming along.

As you progress in your low lunge, start to work in some back bend work. To get a proper back bend while in a low lunge your hips will align correctly so it's a good way to get the feel for it. Remember the first part of a backbend is to lift the torso off the pelvis/hips so you're getting more stretch there. In the 4x set I only do the back bend during the 2nd set. The pic shows basic lunge and then backbend lunge. The dramatic look is up to you. :|

Don't bypass the lizard either. As you progress this involves much more of your core and provides quite a stretch. It's a lot harder than you think to get those elbows on the ground. I like to use this pose for torso rotation as well. Great for that as the roles are reversed here with the hips doing the rotating versus the usual shoulders being forced to turn...

phken4343, front knee bent too much. go higher and keep front leg straight.

Well, I tried some of the stretches listed on this forum.

I'm trying to get splits by mid-February when the gymnastics season starts at my high school.

Good pics, helps to see the alignment.

On your hurdle stretch you want the extended leg to be fully on the ground from hip to heel. Your back looks a bit overarched to me in the pic so work on the flat back stretch and align with the extended leg. Breathing is important here. When you enter the stretch you breathe in fully to the diaphragm purposely extending the stomach. Hold the breathe in as you fold into the stretch. With your stomach against your leg this will cause your back ribs to extend out and flatten. You are aiming to have your forearms on the ground on either side of your leg.

Low lunge needs to be brought forward a bit so the front knee is directly over to slightly forward of the ankle. The intention here is to drop the hips into the stretch. The hips and torso should not be tilted in either direction so take those fingers off the floor. I simply place my hands on my front thigh.

The lizard pose looks good but work to flatten the back here as well. You might extend out the stretch by bringing the front foot forward so the knee is slightly behind the heel, point the forward toes out slightly. Eventually work to flatten the back some, drop the rear knee to the ground and let the rear hip fall towards the ground. Breathe!!!

Thanks for the advices!

I made a quick video of the set of 4 stretches I used to get to front split.

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And here, of course, would be the desired result:

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Keep in mind that you want to definately go through the full warmup prior. I only do the full split if I've had the time to do the 4x set of stretches on each side. That takes 20 minutes. Also, try to hold the stretch for a decent amount of time.

If you can make the warm up stretches quality then you should really have no issues with going to the full split.