How to sit on a side split in 30 minutes a day

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Important rules and a half-hour set of exercises that will allow you to achieve your goal and avoid injury.

What you need to know before doing the splits

1. Warm up well … Only small flexible children skip the warm-up without consequences. If you don't want to limp to the emergency room, warm up for at least 10-15 minutes.
2. Don't rush things … Some people may need more than six months to do the splits. Others, due to the peculiarities of the hip joint, will never be able to do this (but this happens quite rarely). Take your time anyway. If you have to endure severe pain, then your body is not ready yet.

Follow these guidelines and you will be able to avoid injury during stretching, regardless of age.

What should be the warm-up

Before you start stretching, you need to warm up your muscles well. Start with 10 minutes of cardio.

If you work out in the gym, you can run, pedal on an air bike or other cardio equipment, and jump rope. A mix of exercises is suitable for home:

1.20 jumps Jumping jacks.

2. 40 exercises "Rock climber".

3. 15 jumps from the squat.

4. 20 steps on a hill with the knee extended forward (can be done with or without dumbbells).

Exercise as vigorously as possible without stopping to warm up well. After that, do some dynamic stretching movements:

1. Circular hip movements - 10 times for each leg.

2. Deep squat with knees turned to the sides (sumo squat) - 10-15 times.

3. Deep lunges to the side - 10 times on each leg.

After these exercises, you can move on to static stretching.

How to do static stretching

Butterfly

Sit on the floor, bend your knees and fold your feet together. The back is straight (you can do it against the wall), the knees lie on the floor or tend to do so. Do not put your hands on your knees or let someone else do it. Try to push your knees to the floor with the strength of your muscles.

Stay at the extreme point for 0.5-2 minutes.

Frog

This exercise opens the hips well. Get on all fours on the floor with your knees as wide apart as possible. You can bring your feet together or keep your shins at a 90-degree angle to your hips.

Place your forearms on the floor and descend as low as possible. Ideally, your hips should be flat on the floor. Maintain this position for 30 seconds to two minutes.

Half-spine

You can move into this pose directly from the frog. To do this, raise yourself a little, straighten one leg and continue to lower. The straight leg looks clearly to the side.

Sit in this pose for 30 seconds to two minutes and switch legs.

Forward tilting corner

Sit on the floor, spread your legs as wide as possible, straighten your knees and pull your toes towards you to protect your knee joints.

Begin to gradually lean forward with your back straight, feeling a stretch in your groin and under your knees. If stretching allows, place your forearms on the floor, just do not bend your back. Ideally, you should lie on your stomach on the floor, but this can take several months.

Find your maximum incline height and stay in the pose for 30 seconds to two minutes.

Corner near the wall

This stretching is often practiced in choreography. Lie close to the wall, raise your legs and rest them on it. Spread your legs to the sides to the extreme point, relax and stay in this position for five to 20 minutes.

During this time, your legs will descend very slowly under their own weight, improving your stretch. Just do not stay in the pose for too long, otherwise it will be difficult for you to collect your legs without assistance.

Leg-split

After all the exercises, it's time to try the cross twine itself. Place your palms or forearms on the floor (depending on your stretch) and gently split into a split.

Pull your socks over yourself or place your feet on the floor with your knees looking forward. Try to relax and breathe evenly.

Stay in this pose for 30 seconds to two minutes. If you hold the split for 30 seconds, you can rest and repeat 3-4 more times.

How to breathe while stretching

Unaccustomed muscles contract automatically during stretching to prevent injury. This tension limits your range of motion and prevents you from properly stretching your muscles and connective tissues.

Breathing correctly will help you deal with tension and deepen the stretch. Use it in any position.

Inhale slowly through your nose, filling your chest and abdomen. Imagine that there is a balloon in your stomach that needs to be filled with air. As you exhale, deepen the pose a little, if possible.

How much and when to stretch

To maintain and enhance the effect of stretching, you need to do it regularly. As the scientists found out, after exercise, the muscles of the back of the thigh remained maximally lengthened for 15 seconds, and in general, the effect lasted up to 24 hours.

So that you don't have to stretch again every time, don't take a break for more than 24 hours.

It is best to practice at the same time every day to help form a habit.

As for the time, it is better to choose the evening for stretching. Michael Smolensky, professor of bioengineering at the University of Texas and co-author of a book on biorhythms, says joints and muscles become 20% more flexible in the evenings, which means less risk of injury.

You can stretch in the morning too, just warm up well and be careful about deepening your poses.

That's all. Write in the comments how long you stretched before sitting on the splits.