How to Practice Splits in a Day

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The split technique requires flexible hips. Regularly doing deep leg stretches can help you get the flexibility you need to do splits. Depending on the amount of time spent on stretching and your initial flexibility, you can get into splits relatively quickly.

Table of Contents

Prepare

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Wear comfortable elastic clothing. You should wear shorts or long pants with high elasticity so that you can move with your body. Yoga pants, athletic shorts or elastic pants are great options. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Buy an exercise or yoga mattress, a yoga pillow, and a throw pillow. Find an open place to put the mattress before you begin. If the floor is carpeted, you probably don’t need a mattress.

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Have a bottle of drinking water nearby. Staying hydrated is important for any physical activity. Dehydration can cause muscle fatigue, reducing muscle relaxation to the maximum extent. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Warm up

Warm up the whole body. Spend about 5-10 minutes jogging or dancing to warm up your body and increase your heart rate. The warm-up will loosen the muscles in preparation for a deeper stretch.

Begin stretching your leg muscles with a forward lunge and squat. Performing variations of the front lunge and squat will help stretch the leg muscles in preparation for the split. The type of split you want to work on will determine which leg exercise you choose. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

To do a side split, you need to do an open leg squat, a side lunge, and a deep plies.
To do a split, you do a lunge jump, a reverse lunge, and a traditional squat.

Practice sitting frogs to expand the hip flexors. If you want to stretch more deeply, push your feet close to your body while sitting frog. Remember to do slow stretches to avoid injury. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Sit with your knees bent so that they point outward and form a “v”.
Touch the soles of your feet together and place your hands on your feet or ankles.
Bend over, bring your head as close to your feet as possible, holding that position while taking a few deep breaths.
Use your elbows to gently push your knees to the floor.

Stretch to split legs

Stretch in a low knee bend or lizard pose. Lizard Pose is a yoga pose that helps open up the hip muscles. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Step one foot forward and bend your knee so that it is in line with your toes.
Stretch the back leg.
Place your fingertips on the ground on both sides of the front foot.
Gently bring both hands to the insides of the front feet and place them on the floor.
Take a few deep breaths and allow your muscles to relax with each breath.
If possible, place your forearms on the floor for a deeper stretch.

Sit legged. Sit up straight with your legs as wide as possible without bending your knees. Take a few deep breaths while stretching and feel the muscles relax more with each exhale. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Spread your legs wide and keep your knees straight.
Bend to push the upper body to the floor.
Breathe deeply and relax your muscles more with each breath.
Raise your body back to a sitting position with your back straight and gently bend your knees back to the frog position.
Repeat the above stretch 3 to 5 times.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) technique. The neuromuscular sonosensory stimulation technique is a stretch-and-release technique that inhibits the stretch reflex so that the muscle does not resist the stretching force as much as it normally does. With the PNF technique, the muscle is stretched from a few seconds to a few minutes in each cycle. After each stretch-relax the muscle, then immediately stretch it more than the last time. Repeat this cycle until you can no longer stretch the muscle. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Lie on your back and bring one leg up to your head, as close to your head as possible.
Hold your feet with both hands for 20 seconds.
Release your legs and relax for 20 seconds.
Lift your legs up again and try to push your head closer each time.

Starting to split legs

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Place a pillow in the center of the mattress with two yoga pillows on either side. Use yoga pillows and throw pillows to support your body as you lower into a split.

Kneel behind a hug pillow.
Rest your hands on a yoga pillow to support your body.
Place one foot in front of the pillow with the back knee resting on the ground.
Gently straighten your front leg as you slide your back foot back, flexing your toes inward.
Let pillows support your legs to relieve some of the strain.
Take 3-6 deep breaths and stretch your legs further out with each breath.
Repeat 3-5 times, alternating legs in front.

Remove the pillow and try the leg split again. Once you no longer feel the tension of using a pillow, you can try a split without a pillow. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Get into a forward lunge position with your hands on the floor on either side of your front foot.
Slowly slide your front foot into a split.
Lower the person to the ground.
If you feel a stretch, don’t push yourself too hard, or you may end up straining your muscles.
Hold this position for a few seconds and then relax on your knees.
Repeat 3-5 times, trying to lower yourself down after each rep.

Repeat the splits and stretches. It is important that you continuously stretch every day to be able to split your legs. Some people can succeed in a day, but most need time to build up their flexibility before they can fully straighten their legs. All you need for a successful split is 20-30 minutes a day of stretching and splits. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Advice

Exercise every day to keep the muscles flexible and to be able to split legs faster.
For each leg stretch, do it twice, holding each time for 30-60 seconds. The first time you won’t stretch your legs very deeply, and the second time you stretch deeper. After doing the first rep, switch to the other leg and back to the first leg for the second set, and switch legs again for the second set on the other leg.
Always stretch your legs before and after an exercise session. This is to reduce your chances of injury.
If you’ve been doing leg stretches for more than a week, try other leg stretches. Practice the old stretch first, then do the new one. Keep practicing until you feel hip pain. Drink water and then you should go back to the old way of stretching.
Breathe while doing leg stretches. Breathing helps you relax your muscles and stretch your legs deeper. When you exhale, your muscles will naturally release tension, so you should breathe deeply to be able to split your legs more deeply. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Try to do splits after each exercise session. This is the best time to split because the muscles are warmed up and ready to enter the split. ^{[11] X Research Source}
Bathing before stretching can be helpful for body flexibility. A hot bath warms up the muscles and helps them relax better. Muscles are relaxed after a hot bath, so you can do deeper splits.
Use a timer to make sure you hold the stretch long enough. Most stretches need to be maintained for 30-60 seconds to be effective. Be careful not to force yourself to speed things up. Do it slowly so as not to injure yourself. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Warning

Do not stretch your legs too deeply. Most people can’t do splits in a day. If your initial flexibility is very poor, it will take more time to achieve the flexibility needed for the split. Be gentle with yourself. If you practice stretching your legs a little bit every day, you will soon have the desired flexibility.
Consult your doctor before starting leg stretching exercises. Before performing you need to make sure you are healthy enough and can do stretching exercises.
Stop stretching your legs when you feel pain. When you stretch your legs, you usually feel a stretch or pull in your muscles, not pain. If you feel pain or too much tension, try to ease the pulling or rest. If you feel a sharp pain you must stop exercising immediately. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Steps