Doing the splits?

shakenbake

I took up taekwondo a few months ago but had to quit for a while due to a leg injury I wanted to let heal.

I basically injured my 'knee area' because when I was doing side stretches my body weight was starting to rest on my elongated legs and my left knee wasn't having any of it ! It's taken months to heal naturally. But I think I'm just about to get ready to head back.

Eventually I'm aiming for 'the splits' for maximum stretchyness but what's the safest way of doing this? I don't want to be out of a class for another few months again.

metaoblivia

With any stretch, if you want to build flexibility, I would suggest going as far down as you can into the position (you should feel the stretch, but it shouldn't hurt) and hold it for at least 30 seconds. Then shake it out and repeat. Do this several times a day, probably best at morning and in the evening.
What splits are you aiming for? If it's the side split, try to keep your body as symmetrical as possible, and don't twist your hips or torso. Try to hollow your back and keep the angle between your spine and hips at 90 degrees; it's the best position for the hip joints. Support yourself with your hands and keep the soles of your feet flat on the floor (by keeping the outsides of your feet closest to the floor, it takes pressure off of your knees). Obviously, your knees should be fully extended.
For a front split, make sure again that your hips are aligned correctly. They should face forward. A lot of people cheat on this, which takes away from the stretch. The front knee should face straight up to the ceiling, and in a proper front split, the back knee should face the floor (although it can face the side, which would put more of a stretch on the inner thigh). You should try to point your toes to fully maximise the stretch and take pressure off of the knee.

And again, you should feel the stretch, but if you feel pain, you should stop right away.

Hope this helps!

amazingemmet

The problem with the martial art split rather then a gym split is that they allow the back hip to open and this in turn puts strain ligaments on the inside of the knee. Do as advise above not letting the knee to turn out and work on your hip flexor and hamstring flexibilty seperately. I'd reccomend pavel tsatoulinev book "relax into stretch" and "fast and loose"as its very comprehensive and they are aimed at martial artists.

I'd disagree with metabolivia though and say embrace the pain when it comes to stretching its the only way to achieve a good level fast, but with the warning to avoid sharp shooting pain.

**Timbuk2**

amazingemmet wrote: »

I'd disagree with metabolivia though and say embrace the pain when it comes to stretching its the only way to achieve a good level fast, but with the warning to avoid sharp shooting pain.

Pain is bad. It should burn, but it certainly shouldn't hurt. Stretching enough to be able to do the splits takes time - it can't be rushed by pushing through pain. Anything that can cause pain can cause injury, and injury can really set back your progress on being able to do the splits.

amazingemmet

I'm gonna pull rank here and ask anyone who is saying stretching shouldn't hurt to quantify their experience in getting people flexible? There's two pains to avoid when stretching a sudden sharp one, and pain crossing a joint other then that its fair game and the more pain you can stand the faster your results.

metaoblivia

I trained in gymnastics for years, including the rhythmic varient which requires more flexibility than any other sport. This may simply be a matter of language though. I agree with Timbuk2 - I would say you should feel the stretch or feel a burn. It shouldn't be comfortable. But it shouldn't be painful either. Building flexibility takes time and forcing your way through it can do damage to the ligaments.

claraBellaz

I think metaoblivia has given you some sound advice here, and a good book to read if you need to know more about stretching safely is Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz which would be suited to your type of training.

Metaoblivia - are you still involved in rhythmic gymnastics, or would you like to be if you are in around the Leinster area?

itsallaboutheL

claraBellaz wrote: »

Metaoblivia - are you still involved in rhythmic gymnastics, or would you like to be if you are in around the Leinster area?

Thread's two years old, she's probably dead.

the drifter

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

Thread's two years old, she's probably dead.

You need to get laid lad...