Good Pike but crappy splits.

Hey everyone,

Having a flexibility problem that has been bothering me for a while and just thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone has any ideas.

I have a pretty flat pike. From sitting/standing with feet together, my nose will almost touch my shins. I also have flat MIddles.

However, my hamstrings seem nowhere near as flexible during split legged flexibility. My Front splits are not great (about a fist from the ground) and my single leg raise doesn't like to go far about 90o (Although I can dynamic front kick my shin to my face).

The only thing I can think of that might attribute is I have an Anterior Pelvic Tilt. Stretching the crap out of my quads and hip flexors helps majorly with the splits, but not so much the split leg raise.

Any thoughts?

Jules

Have you seen this thread Jules? Maybe it can help.

http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewto ... 825867d59d

Hey Fred,

Thanks for the input, but unfortunately not what I am after. That discussion is primarily about 'active flexibility'.

I'm more concerned why there is such a difference between my legs together hamstring flexibility and my legs split flexibility.

Jules

Chances are you are correct, the problem lies more in the back leg, i.e. the hip flexors. For me lunge style stretches work best as well as what is known as Supta Virasana in yoga.

This can be done with just one leg as well.

Straddle stretch also stretches the muscles on the inner side of your thighs, so the adductors and stuff. Those muscles are tight, so they limit you in the straddle stretch.

Cole: That was my intial thought, and stretching the hip makes a world of diff in front splits, but not so much leg raise.

When I do the leg raise I get a really tight feeling in the hamstrings just above the knee. The stretch feels very odd however, almost like something is holding at back (Im guessing an imbalance somewhere, maybe in ext/int rotators?) and not like a normal stretch.

Rik de Kort: I doubt it has to do with tight adductors. My middle splits are balls to the floor.

The front leg raise done with control is totally different, an example of something that requires true active flexibility, so it's no wonder it feels different and doesn't go as far as your splits.

Any kind of movement that includes a leg raise can assist that, V-Ups, HLL, L-Sit family for example.

Sorry guys, I mustn't have been clear enough. I am not necessarily talking about active flex. Even with a partner assisting me, my leg doesn't like lifting far above 90o, (either standing, or laying supine on the floor) BUT I can dynamically kick to my face.

Very odd. :shock:

I doubt it's as odd as you think, I'm going to guess you flex through the hips and body a lot more while kicking and maintain a more upright posture in the lift. This along with the ballistic nature of the kick easily accounts for the difference.

Quite possible. I might film myself tomorrow and have a look

jules said:

Rik de Kort: I doubt it has to do with tight adductors. My middle splits are balls to the floor.

Oh, my apologies. I missed that.

Hey no worries.

Still, I appreciate the input

When you are doing this leg lift, either standing or prone, is your foot flexed or pointed?

For testing purposes - Pointed foot.

Thanks for all your help everyone. I did a couple of filming and tests today and noticed a few things.

When I was practicing front kicks, I was raising one side of my pelvis (to take advantage of my uber-middle splits) and also raising up on the ball of my foot. When I stopped both of these my front kick reached head height.

I also had a bit of fun with a friend testing my assisted front raise. After SMR and super stretching my quad and hip flexor, I managed to get increase my front raise by a foot!

Now at least I know what to focus the most on!

Thanks again for everyones input

jules said:

For testing purposes - Pointed foot.....

If you are trying to increase your splits and you feel that restriction behind your knee you must flex your foot to stretch out that area. It must be an active flex with your toes coming back towards your face and your ankle pushing away from you. I'm sure Cole can explain it a bit more clearly in yoga-ese.

In the words of Arnold: "Thanks for the tip"