Thread: Mastering the Splits

Originally Posted by Fotia

Unless you want to raqs beaver? Sorry, I couldn't resist. . ...l;,..l;,

someone had to say it ..l;,

I've avoided harem pants until this week. Doing a troupe performance and we're all wearing black ones. I wonder how fast a match would smoke these babies up. Just kidding...At least we're adding knee-length fringe and that kind-of helps. Sort of.

hehe mayliz. i'm lucky enough ahlaam hasn't had harem pants thus far...99% of the time, i hate them. i hate them on ME more than anything, they always look cuter on everyone else. wendy is actually making me an alternate for a sword piece..tight velvet flair pants with hot slits/cut outs on the sides ;)

*back to topic* yah i totally haven't practiced my splits either :(
bad Žana, bad :(

I'm going to talk to Suspira...see if we can get you girls some next season! LOL.

Originally Posted by Mayliz

I'm going to talk to Suspira...see if we can get you girls some next season! LOL.

nooooo
haha
odt has to wear harem pants for the opening b/c they're the 'warriors' and we get to wear pretty purple and gold mermaid skirts cuz we're the 'princesses' ..l;,
it's gonna be an awesome opening, suspira is so creative. i can't wait for next saturday!

sorry satin, don't mean to hijack ur thread :( back to topic!

Originally Posted by Mayliz

I'm going to talk to Suspira...see if we can get you girls some next season! LOL.

Ack! Mayliz don't you dare! lol

That's OK if you Florida gals get to wear harem pants for your next show. Just make sure y'all get it out of your system before I move there!!! LOL

Originally Posted by Bellydancingcaroline

Me too. Hate hate hate Harem pants. *I* am a *lady* I wear swirly skirty things, not two tea-bags, one on each leg. :-)

*snort* That's EXACTLY what harem pants look like!!!

Not to mention, how awful the tea bags look when you're under 5'2" ..c::

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Among the many dance goals I've set out to achieve while I'm glamorously unemployed, I'd love to work up the flexibility to do the splits. I can get about halfway down...then, I get stuck

Can anyone point me toward some good stretches to help me loosen up my hips?

Is it even possible, at the "ancient" age of 26 and with zero gymnastics experience, to eventually get yourself into a split over the course of weeks or months?

Talk to me!

You can do it! My dad taught himself when he was 40! He can still do them at 64. We learned in our karate training. Have to be very warmed up, your muscles should fel warm. We used to have someone push our legs out just an extra inch and hold it there. Every few classes an extra inch. sooner or later you are all the way down. (incidentally, nowadays pigeon pos helps me...)

oh, I see this thread for a first tim and I missread the title as "Mastering the slits" - I thought it will be about skirt sewing...

I was really confused when I read the first article :DDD

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

*snort* That's EXACTLY what harem pants look like!!!

Not to mention, how awful the tea bags look when you're under 5'2" ..c::

Hihi, I am 170cm (no idea what it is in feet and inches) and every harem pants I tried, ended 5cm above my ankles. I always looked like I was wearing some younger sister's weird pyjamas pants :D

Tea bags! Boy did this conversation go wrong. I'm 5'2, too. Help, somebody throw me a bedlah, I'm drowning in my pants.

Okay, Back to Topic. I'm still looking for the video.

Hey, one more question for you, Satin, how is the job market in CT? The job market in Florida has gone to the pits. I believe unemployment is at 12%. Not a good time to move down unless you already have something lined up. My husband has been looking for a job for three months and finally it looks like he has a good prospect coming up. We're on pins and needles right now, waiting.

I found an adult male on YT who has a few videos on front splits:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edK0x4Hela8"]YouTube - Front Split[/ame]

Bodyweightculturist

The last exercise was the one that helped open up. Matter of fact, once I was warmed up and did this exercise, I realized that I could go all the way down into my front splits very fast. Do both legs before attempting the split. I wouldn't force them more than it feels comfortable to go, this will only cause more damage in the long run. It's a stretch, not a competition ;-) In the beginning, I'd recommend doing it two to three times a week, even if you're just doing 5 min warmup, 10 min stretches and 5 min splits. Hold it for as long as you can but don't push for glory, like the guy from P90X says. I also recommend doing this in a carpeted area or using a rug or mat (not a flimsy yoga mat, though). Protect your knees, too. I like this time of the year because I can wear leg warmers w/out suffocating (it was blazing hot last week). It's 60 degrees today and I'm loving it!

Originally Posted by Mayliz

Tea bags! Boy did this conversation go wrong. I'm 5'2, too. Help, somebody throw me a bedlah, I'm drowning in my pants.

Okay, Back to Topic. I'm still looking for the video.

Hey, one more question for you, Satin, how is the job market in CT? The job market in Florida has gone to the pits. I believe unemployment is at 12%. Not a good time to move down unless you already have something lined up. My husband has been looking for a job for three months and finally it looks like he has a good prospect coming up. We're on pins and needles right now, waiting.

Yes, no comment on alternate meanings of "tea bag!" .w.: Now, my hatred of harem pants has truly gone through the roof! ..c::

Last time I checked the stats, the unemployment rate in CT is nearly 11%. The job market is truly sh*t-tastic here, combined with the high cost of living. My boyfriend's boss is holding him hostage in Cincinnati for a couple more months, which I guess is good. I kinda want to delay this whole moving thing until 1. I figure out if I want to move, and 2. the economic situation at least starts to improve. My man wants to leave Connecticut ASAP, and I fully understand the sentiment, but at the same time I'm not entirely convinced that it's a smart idea just yet...,r:;

And LMAO at the splits video. Usually, they pick a buff piece of eye candy to demonstrate the splits. I love how they used kind of a wimpy Pee Wee Herman looking dude here. But he can do the splits and I can't. So who am I to judge? ..l;,

Poor guy, Just listen to the instruction instead of judging the guy. Jeez! LOL. Mr. Pee Wee here could probably kick Buff Man's forehead. Buff Man probably can't get within six inches off the floor, either. BTW, Mr. PW has a few other videos on YT. Check them out and let me know what you think. I didn't go through all of them. Give me an update next month and let me know how you're doing.

CT sounds just like our market. A degree means nothing here, we're oversaturated, over-qualified, and not enough opportunities for higher paying jobs. You can't live on a $10 an hour salary, and 60K and up means you'll be available 24/7. There have been some signs of improvement in the last month, but not fast enough.

Satin, I'm unemployed for the second time in a year; just lost my job last week. I'm going back to school--I enrolled yesterday and am applying to the physical therapy assisting program. Sucks to go back but hey sometimes you need a change!

This thread has been really helpful. I worked last winter toward getting splits and I ended up a couple inches from the ground, but I stopped stretching and lost all my flexibility. Maybe this will be my winter project while I wait for spring semester to start!

I've been unemployed for almost three years now. Unemployment rate in CA is almost 12%.

As for the splits, I can stretch out the leg that goes forward but the back leg - that's the hardest. The stretches on the elasticeel.net video look good. I'm going to start doing them.

This is all great advise guys...I've always wondered if I'd ever be able to do them too...I'm going to start practicing now!! I just had surgery on my foot so I've got PLENTY of time :)

I went with Elastic Steel for split flexibility a long time ago. I can still do them at 50, so that would be the first thing I'd suggest.

Thanks for posting all the links! So very helpful. I would like to start practicing splits again. When I was a bit younger I was able to get fairly close and then for some reason quit practicing. It's good to know that it's never too late in life to master them.

Originally Posted by SandraCZ

oh, I see this thread for a first tim and I missread the title as "Mastering the slits" - I thought it will be about skirt sewing...

I was really confused when I read the first article :DDD

It could have been much much worse .w.:

Tea bags! That's exactly what harem pants look like!! And unless you are long waisted and long legged in one body harem pants are not flattering to just about anybody.