Longitudinal splits: how to sit down in a short time, basic mistakes and sets of exercises

Longitudinal split is an acrobatic, dance and gymnastic element in which one leg is in front of the body and the other behind it, both legs are straight at the knees, located perpendicular to the body or at an acute angle to it.

The ability to perform longitudinal splits shows others excellent flexibility and excellent physical fitness. In addition, movement has a good effect on your general condition. Next, we will tell you how you can do the longitudinal splits at home relatively quickly.

How is longitudinal twine useful and for whom is it contraindicated?

Benefits of longitudinal twine:

improves mobility of the hip joints and sacrum;
normalizes blood flow in the pelvis;
improves the elasticity of the inguinal ligaments
straightens the spine, aligns posture;
prevents pathologies of the genitourinary system (according to experts, as it prevents congestion);
is an excellent workout for the muscles of the inner thigh.

Movement is contraindicated when:

hyperthermia;
chronic joint diseases;
recent fracture or injury;
acute inflammations.

If you experience a buzzing in your ears or feel dizzy during exercise, you need to stop training. The best thing to do in this case is to lie down, relax, and drink plain water without gas. If such symptoms recur repeatedly, it is recommended to go to the hospital. Most likely, there are problems with the cardiovascular system.

What is the article about?

Dear friends, I want to share my knowledge, observations, skills and experience related to stretching twines, longitudinal and transverse.

Next, I will write how I literally “tested” the advice, exercises and approaches, and I will also tell you what conclusions I made based on my experience and the experience of the girls who study with me. And lastly, before getting to the point, I will present the material in my usual manner, which means that you will see humor, banter, and sometimes vanilla-flavored hardcore. Here we go!)

Personal experience as it is. How did you get into sports?

This story began in April 2012, that is, not so long ago (1 year and 8 months). There was no experience. First lesson at Amagi Love studio. I still remember my first coach Katya for pole and Les for stretching. These two girls introduced me to the world of pole and stretching, and Christina’s kindness did not leave me indifferent. I bought a subscription and went to classes with some kind of frantic desire. And I’ll say that I couldn’t do a damn thing on the pole, I was a complete “bottom”, and not even like that, a “bottom”, that’s it. As for stretching, the situation was much more or less tolerable. At that time I was only sitting on the right longitudinal seat, and then I sat for 5-10 seconds and couldn’t stand it any longer. Lesya pulled out everything else for me, this is the fold, the minus and the back.

Turned off the pain.

But what I remember was the girls who worked with me in the group, they loved it when Lesya pulled me and lingered on me longer, because I made some very characteristically sick moans, either from pain, or a buzz, or... I really don’t remember what was in my head at those moments. And now attention, this is very important, what I just wrote, I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT WAS IN MY HEAD. This means that I consciously turned off my reflexes that hold my muscles in a fixed, limited position every day. I forgot who was next to me, what color the floor was, my rug, who Lesya was and what I was actually doing there. And it bore fruit.

I stretched myself not only in training.

Seeing that I was able to not think about anything and at the same time KEEP BREATHING EVEN AND DEEP, I began to stretch out at home. I pulled longitudinal twines DAILY. I didn’t even dream about the diameter, Van Damme has it, who cares, old Van Damme is an idol for me and he did some unreal things. Hence the conclusion that the diameter was unrealistic for me (ahahaha). A couple of weeks passed, I stretched my left longitudinal (read about how below). But the longitudinal ones were becoming not enough for me, and I decided to start torturing myself with the diameter.

His Majesty is the diameter.

Of course, the first months of digging were fruitless. Then I decide to take radical measures at home (it’s better not to read the following for the faint of heart). I lay down with my butt against the wall, on top of the wall I spread my legs to the sides, to which dumbbells of 16 kg each were tied!!! The groin muscles simply had no choice, they were stretched, there was no question of relaxation then, I could barely stand it for 7-10 seconds and left this position. Then I decided again for 10 seconds, and my legs moved apart even more. Then again for 10 seconds and the result is even better. This is how my “five approaches” method was born. By the fifth time, 10 seconds, my legs already didn’t care what was happening to them. As a result, after 4 - 5 months, my diameter was poorly stretched. Of course, I do not encourage you to use such radical methods. Read on to learn how I stretch my girls in class.

Ready-made recipes for stretching.

And now directly about what I did and what I give to my little ones in class. Let's immediately turn our attention to warming up! The body should be warmed up to the point of “sweating”. Stretching cold is fraught with danger. For longitudinal splits, I personally am a fan of static stretching. Breathe deeply and evenly in all exercises, inhale and as you exhale, lower yourself slowly lower, continuing to breathe just as smoothly, relax and endure the pain. The pain goes away, but you need to be patient. There is no stretching without pain, but the pain should be bearable.

Longitudinal twine. 1. Alternately stretch the half-fold for each leg. Sitting position on the floor, one leg extended forward, the other bent at the knee with the foot towards the groin. With a straight back, lower yourself down, the task is to at least reach your chin to your knee, then your chest and completely go to the floor. Do this with the second leg. Stay in this position for a minute or two.

2. Tuck position with both legs extended forward. We stretch our body straight and lie with our chest on our knees. In this fold, the hamstrings, hamstrings, and lower back stretch well. Also 1-2 minutes.

3. Fold with legs wide apart on the floor. Tucking your butt back (all the swag remains behind) the groin muscles almost touch the floor, and through the arched lower back we stretch our chin to the floor, then place our chest and navel. And voila, you are already on the floor in the crease.

4. Next, we lie on our backs and do the “sex ecstasy” exercise. We pull the leg with a straight knee to the chest, the lower leg also remains with a straight knee below. Please keep your knee straight! Check your knees!!! How do you want to learn to dance and control your body if you can’t even cope with such a small thing as your knees!!!)) it’s just knees, and what a mess I made. We do this “inquisition” with both legs.

5. Next, we sit down in a half-split. The front leg is bent at the knee, the heel of this leg is further from the groin, “half-butt”, or the buttock of this leg LIES ON THE FLOOR!!! The back leg is straightened, the knee and thigh of the back leg are turned straight to the floor. And we lie down, as if falling towards the heel. It should pull the half-butt of the front bent leg. Then we raise the body and pull the back leg towards us with the same hand, thereby stretching the front surface of the thigh of the back leg. We make sure that the legs do not move over the side. You should still have a line of longitudinal twine. We do the same for the second leg.

6. Aaaand what do you think next? Certainly. 5 sets on one leg and 5 on the other. We begin to split into longitudinal splits. And there are some characteristic nuances here.

You should not stretch your body towards the leg extended forward, this does not help, you need to place the body perpendicular to the floor and press with your weight with a straight, unbent back. We endure 30-40 seconds. We rest for a minute or two. And there are 5 such approaches. With each approach, the muscles and tendons get tired of resisting and the amplitude of “sagging” increases. After five approaches on one leg, I advise you to stand up and squat 5 times so that the tendons hurt less the next day. This applies to longitudinal twines. Choose your own frequency, as you consider optimal for yourself. At least twice a week. And on average, for a sustainable and progressive result, 4-5 times a week for 30-50 minutes will be just right!

Cross twine. And finally, the transverse splits, for some reason many girls care about it more and more often than the longitudinal ones. So, for the diameter, I prefer both static and dynamic. That is, somewhere you can even sway and swing in order to increase the amplitude of stretching of the groin muscles, and the joints also turn out well in dynamics.

1. Let's take care of the joints first. We lie down on our backs. And with a straight leg, a tense knee and toe, we begin to rotate the leg, describing, as it were, a semicircle, moving the leg upward along the floor, ten times from bottom to top, and ten times in the opposite direction. And the same with the other leg.

2. We sit in the butterfly. We begin to “swing” our knees, trying to touch the floor with them. Swings increase amplitude. Then we statically draw out the body of the body, and, ideally, it is necessary for someone who loves you very much to come up and smoothly, lovingly press on your back and knees at the same time. 30-40 seconds. Be patient!!!

3. We sit in the frog (or crab, whoever calls it). The butt and legs form a perpendicular to the floor. The lower back is bent, we stand on our elbows. You can rock back and forth, passing through the point of maximum tension. We sit for a long time. Again, someone with love can come up and press from above.

4. Wide leg fold. Tucking your butt back (all the swag remains behind) the groin muscles almost touch the floor, and through the arched lower back we stretch our chin to the floor, then place the chest and navel. And voila, you are already on the floor in the crease.

5. Upside down fold, also that “sex ecstasy”. We lie down on our backs. We bend our legs at the knees, bring them to the chest, spread them apart with the knees bent, and the most difficult thing is to straighten the legs so that there is a feeling that the ceiling is sitting on you, that is, the plane is straight, the legs are not at any angle. And you can also first try to lower your legs to the floor by swaying with your hands. Note: If your toes touch the floor in this position, congratulations, you have a minus crease, you can start working on the crossover!

6. And I recommend doing the cross-section itself by rolling forward from the fold, this way the joints themselves turn out correctly. It hurts, but it's real!!! Do such rolls also in 5 approaches for 20-30 seconds. But there is a more humane way, ahaha, well, how can I say humane. We lie down on the floor, move our butt towards the wall, put our legs on the wall and spread them apart. You should lie like this for at least 20 minutes. If there are weights, the process will go even faster. Just pray not 16 kg for each leg. This is certainly effective, but not everyone’s muscles can withstand that much. Then we don’t know how to revive you))

I know that fold and cross is possible. I saw in my classes how annoying the girls were. And believe me, it wasn’t easy for them either, but it was worth it! Now they lie in the fold and sit on the cross section every time we pull it.

Stretching tricks.

I also really want to talk about injuries, pain, warming ointments, “to smear something like this on, rub it in, etc.”, so that it stretches better. And here's some stuff that my girls and I do:

1. I drink regular food gelatin, 5-10 g. from morning until meals. I poured the spoon into my mouth and immediately washed it down and that was it! I forgot until the next morning. Gelatin is a protein that improves the elasticity of soft tissues. The results of stretching will become noticeable after 3-4 months. Let's just say that the pain will not go away, but the stretching itself will get better. Tested not only by me. And another bonus from gelatin is that the condition of the skin of the face, and the skin of the body in general, improves. So even if you don’t do the splits, you are guaranteed good elastic skin. Drink permanently!

2. I take vitamins chondroitin + glucosamine. With heavy loads on the joints, these are very necessary things that should be in an athlete’s first aid kit a priori. Dosages are 1500 and 1200 respectively. Advice: take it from a sports nutrition store, not from a pharmacy. More humane in price with the same dosages. Drink for 3 months, and a month off. And so on in a circle. But these vitamins do not automatically give you results in stretching; you still have to work hard.

3. Another “theme” was tested by me and one of my students and we concluded that it actually relieved the pain from stretching. The bottom line is that before STRETCHING, it is advisable not to eat protein foods (if you don’t know what protein is, Google will help). I will not delve into the ins and outs of “why” protein foods inhibit the stretching process, because I am not able to cover all the biochemical processes in this article. But I will say that it works. Give it a try.

4. Regarding pain and injury. I always tell everyone: “Focus on your feelings! Do not make any sudden uncontrolled movements. Oh, how many girls I saw who, directly following the “Chapaev raids”, at any cost, wanted the splits and got injured. All this is due to the fact that at some point they held their breath, did not relax and jerked sharply downward, without controlling their sensations. Hence the injuries. Feel your body. Trust him and give yourself time.

5. About warming gels, ointments and other similar nonsense. These things help relieve pain ONLY IF YOU, AFTER STRETCHING, REALLY STRETCHED YOURSELF SOMETHING more than usual, and only then apply it to your health. I recommend Ben Gay. I don't recommend Capsics.

How long will it take you to do the splits?

I’ll answer the most frequently asked question right away: “How long will it take me to do the splits?” Theoretically, you can stretch even over several weeks. It all depends on: 1. The characteristics of your body (how soft your ligaments are, how quickly you recover, etc.) 2. The quality of your training (regularity, correctness, effort); 3. Availability of auxiliary assistants (vitamins, supplements. BUT! This is to a lesser extent than the first two points).

Therefore, no one knows the answer to when you will stretch. If you grunt and work, you will sit down faster. Search, find out, ask, be interested in information. And remember, nothing will stretch you into a split like the split itself! I look forward to welcoming everyone to my classes.

PS: It also hurts when I stretch.

Types of longitudinal twine

Depending on which leg is in front and which is behind. It often happens that one option, for example, with the right leg in front and the left leg behind, is easier than the other. In this case, it is recommended to intensify training on the leg on which the splits are worse. It is important to train both types symmetrically.
Depending on the place of execution: on the floor (classic version, on your back and on your hands) or in the air, standing in front of you and behind you, or with support (pylon, crossbar, yoga hammock).

Recommendations

Now let’s outline a few important rules that relate to children’s training:

Remember that the room where the classes take place must be warm. Cold does not have the best effect on muscle elasticity. Exercise becomes less effective and the risk of injury increases.
Choose the right clothes. Too tight or, conversely, loose fit can interfere with exercise and cause discomfort. Cotton T-shirts, leggings, and gymnastic swimsuits are suitable. But with shoes everything is much simpler; we don’t need them. Stretching is traditionally done barefoot, or wearing cotton socks.
Correctly performed exercises should not be accompanied by pain. Only slight muscle tension is acceptable. Observe your child carefully and ask about his feelings. The impact should be constant, but not sudden.

As mentioned above, any stretching should begin with a warm-up. Don't neglect this rule
The key to the success of any training is regularity. It's best to stretch daily.
Any stretching exercise is performed in four stages: assume a pose, stretch, exit the pose, and rest. Be sure to take a break between exercises.
Before you begin working on stretching, consult with a physical therapist. He will help you create the right training program and select the appropriate exercises.

Rules for performing longitudinal split exercises

Before you start doing exercises to stretch your muscles, you need to warm them up well. You cannot stretch without preliminary preparation. To do this, you can perform cardio exercises for about 15-20 minutes.

You should start stretching directly when you feel that your body is well warmed up. To do this, you need to complete the complex described above.

In order for classes to bring quick results, they must be carried out regularly. Doing exercises in the morning is quite difficult, but this way you can achieve better results. In the evening, training is easier, since the muscles are developed during the day. If you don’t train for a long time, it will immediately affect the condition of your muscles and ligaments, and you’ll have to start all over again.

If the room is not hot, then you need to exercise in closed clothes. Muscles quickly lose heat at low temperatures.

It is very important to monitor the sensations and signals of the body. Exercises shouldn't hurt. At first, we will tolerate discomfort, as the muscles stretch, that is, change their structure. However, the degree of discomfort should not be high; if pain occurs, you need to reduce the effort. The muscles should be pulled gradually, accustoming them to the new position.

The series of exercises should be carried out completely first on one side and then on the other. The body is symmetrical, and “one-sided” training will bring much less pronounced results.

The benefits of children's stretching

This article deals exclusively with the amateur type of load. When classes with a child are carried out for his harmonious physical and psychological development. Thanks to such training, children’s backs are strengthened, their posture is leveled, and all muscle groups are toned.

Stretching to the splits helps relieve psychological fatigue and tension. This is especially important for schoolchildren who are overloaded with tasks today. Relieving tonic tension during training helps stimulate brain function.

Thanks to regular exercises for 20 minutes, the child will begin to absorb information more easily, anxiety will decrease, and immunity will improve.