On Love Island USA’s recent eighth season, contestant Kenzie Annis quickly distinguished herself with her ability to perform the splits, abruptly deploying the maneuver in fits of both delight and rage.
Seeing the splits on TV shows such as Love Island and RuPaul’s Drag Race can make people “want to take on that challenge and to push themselves to new heights”, said Ramoni Overton, a yoga instructor and YouTuber based in Los Angeles.
But for most of us, casually busting out a split should not be attempted; slamming your unpractised pelvis into the ground can result in serious pain and injury. Seek help from a qualified trainer if you are unsure.
Here’s how to get started on the splits.
Can anyone do the splits?
The splits take a lot of work. How quickly you can achieve them depends on whether you have been working on your flexibility as well as factors such as age, genetics and bone structure, said Emmet Louis, an acrobat turned flexibility coach based in Ireland and known online as the “Splits Wizard”.
Additionally, not everyone will ultimately be able to do the splits, cautioned David Behm, a kinesiology researcher at the Memorial University of Newfoundland who has written a book about stretching.
“People may inherit skeletal structures that limit range of motion; they may inherit much stiffer ligaments,” he said. While muscles and tendons can experience substantial improvements in extensibility with practice, ligaments are “much more difficult to adapt”, noted Behm.
How long does it take to learn how to do the splits?
“People generally assume that [splits] should come easy,” and that you can achieve them by following along with online instructions that promise mastery in 30 days, said Louis. But while splits are possible for a lot of people, even well into their 50s or 60s, he says, “it takes a lot longer than you think”.
“I’m always encouraging people to think in timescales of 18 months to three years,” he said, accounting for incremental improvements in flexibility and plateaus along the way. That range gives the body time to adjust to extending its range of motion – or the distance that your muscles can stretch.
What are the splits?
There are two main types of splits, Louis said. There is the middle or centre split, where your legs go out sideways. This style primarily stretches the adductors, or inner-thigh muscles, while the glutes on the outside of the hip joint contract to help stabilize and pull the legs apart.
In the second type, the front split, one leg extends forward and the other back. The forward leg engages the hamstrings and calves, while the trailing leg stretches the hip flexors, including the psoas, iliacus and rectus femoris – all muscles in the area of your pelvis and thigh.
How do you prepare to do the splits?
Check in with yourself: before you start, Behm suggested asking yourself why you want to do the splits.
They may be impressive, but “doing the splits doesn’t have much to do with health”, he said. He compared them to running an ultramarathon or maxing out a heavy squat – remarkable achievements, but not magic keys to longevity and wellbeing.
There are some benefits. The splits require a lot of flexibility; being more flexible will allow you to have more efficiency in your movement, and use less energy to go through the daily motions of, say, picking up a book off the floor or chasing your kid on the playground, Behm said. Conversely, “excessive stiffness is definitely disadvantageous to your health in terms of muscular injuries and tendon injuries”.
Yet, “doing the splits does not provide greater benefits than just having a sufficient range of motion in most of your joints”, said Behm.
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Warm up first: Overton suggests warming up before trying the splits or any deep pose – otherwise, you run the risk of pulling a muscle. During her yoga lessons, she likes to start off with a seated butterfly stretch on a yoga mat. “It’s a very gentle way to start opening your hip muscles,” she said, “especially if you’ve been sedentary.”
From there, she recommends forward folds and lunges to pre-stretch the hamstrings and calves, which are central to the splits. These moves stretch both the front and back of your hamstrings. Overton also suggests practicing some ankle flexation, as the ankles are often overlooked in their contribution to splits, she said; flexing them can help you “get a little bit lower” over time.
A basic resting squat is useful for increasing flexibility and stability in your legs and pelvis, said Louis, and it makes a good first step for your splits journey. From standing, squat down low with your feet flat on the floor, arms in front of you, and your back straight, and spend some time in the position daily.
Some discomfort is expected when stretching – but not pain: whenever you feel a sensation during a flexibility exercise, you’re stretching your muscle, says Overton. But to achieve the splits, you do need to get used to toeing the brink of discomfort – very carefully, notes Behm.
“What we normally say is go to your initial point of discomfort, and just hold it there for 30 to 60 seconds. That’s sufficient,” said Behm.
You shouldn’t be going into severe pain in order to achieve the splits, Behm said – if you’re holding your breath, catch yourself grimacing, or feel that the sensation is too intense whatsoever, ease off. Otherwise, you run the risk of straining a muscle or a ligament – especially if you try to bounce or force yourself down.
Ease into it: For the front splits, warm up, then ease into an extended lunge, edging your front leg forward while your back leg stretches behind you, explained Louis. “A successful front split would have the legs parallel to the floor,” said Behm.
For center splits, start sitting with your legs in a wide “V” shape, then walk your hands forward and, over time, gradually develop the hip flexibility to eventually lay your torso down on the ground. Once you have managed that, you can begin working on entering the move from a standing position.
Keep track of progress by monitoring the inches or centimeters between you and the floor week to week.
What do successful splits look like?
A successful split isn’t just about getting your legs flat on the floor, said Overton. “It’s about reaching the position with proper alignment, keeping your hips as square as possible and feeling supported rather than forcing your body into the pose.”
It’s important to stick to a realistic, comfortable pace and remember that success looks different for everyone, she said: “I encourage students to measure progress by improved mobility, comfort and control – not by comparing themselves to someone else’s flexibility.”
