How to Do the Splits in 3 Weeks

Gymnast performs a side split

Along with strength and endurance, flexibility is a key parameter of good fitness. A healthy range of motion in your joints helps to protect you against injuries and promotes better posture. Stretching regularly can even help maintain mental health, as is the case with yoga.



Some individuals are naturally flexible and require little practice to achieve the most difficult positions, such as the side splits. For other people, a consistent regimen of stretches is required to attain such postures. Whether or not you are naturally flexible, exercises such as the lying V stretch will help develop your range of motion and help you do the splits in three weeks.

Instructions

1. Lay on your back with your legs together and at a 90-degree angle in the air.

2. Turn out your legs from your hips so that your knees face away from each other.

3. Part your legs, moving them toward the floor on both sides of yourself.

4. Hold your legs in this straight, parted and turned out position when you cannot move them farther toward the floor.

5. Grab each leg at the base of the calf with your arms. Your left arm should hold your left leg, and your right arm should hold your right leg.

6. Exhale, and use your arms to push your legs firmly toward the floor. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds when you can push no farther.

7. Perform this stretch daily to improve your flexibility.

Tips & Warnings

• Have a partner push your legs to either side for a more intense stretch.

• Keep well-hydrated to improve your range of motion.

• If you feel severe pain, stop the stretch immediately.

References

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tae Kwon Do Club: Stretching and Flexibility -- Working Toward the Splits; Brad Appleton; 1996

Resources

• "Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Stretching and Flexibility;" Brad Appleton