Doing the splits might seem quite a
daunting feat, especially if you're a guy who can't even
bend over to
touch your toes. But there are a few easy
stretches you can do that should eventually get you to the point of being able to do a
split without any
pain.
Preparatory stretching
- Stand with your feet shoulder width. Just bend over forward and reach for your toes. Don't strain, just relax and let your torso bounce a bit. Do this to the center, right and left. This should be a good stretch for most of the backs of your legs.
- Spread your legs apart so that they form a triangle with the floor. Keeping your back and legs straight, turn your upper body to the right and lean forward over your right leg. Your right foot should point straight forward and your left foot should be perpendicular to your right foot. Repeat on the left leg.
- Keeping your legs spread at that same distance, face towards the right and lean on your right knee, letting both legs bend and letting your left heel come off the floor. Keep your upper body straight for the best stretch. You should feel this in the top front muscles in your left leg (if you can't do a split yet, you probably don't know what that muscle is called either...).
- With your legs at the same distance again, let your right leg bend and keep your left leg straight and lower yourself to the floor. Try to keep your right foot entirely on the floor. If you can't do this without your heel coming off the floor, you should open your thighs more, trying to push your right knee back behind you. This should stretch your left leg and the inside of your right thigh.
All of these stretches should be
effortless and
painless. Just relax in all of them and
let gravity do the work for you, and after a few weeks your legs should be
flexible enough to begin
attempting a split.
Attempting a split
Spread your now-more-flexible legs as far apart to the side as you can. At this point you should be flexible enough to reach the floor with your hands so that all of your weight isn't on your legs. Now slowly use your hands to walk yourself back into a sitting position, trying to keep your pelvis as far forward as you can while still managing to sit. Now you can lean forward or to the sides to stretch yourself. Again, relax into the stretch, don't make it hurt.
There. Now just keep at it, and you have a lovely conversation starter.