If you do rhythmic, you know you can never be flexible enough. In a competition you may get deductions due to "lack of amplitude", as they say, meaning that the skills were lacking on flexibility. Rhythmic is possibly one of the most demanding sports when it comes to bendiness, but many disciplines require what the average person would consider 'insane' flexibility. Artistic gymnastics, Acrobatic gymnastics, figure skating, ballet, artistic swimming, aerobic gymnastics, aesthetic groups, or circus just to name a few.
This week we are showing you some exercises to improve your flexibility, so get some comfy clothes, warm-up, and get ready to stretch!
Before trying any of these exercises, make sure you are well warmed up and you have done some gentle stretching first. Take at least twenty minutes before attempting any over splits.
1.Kicks: High kicks is a common way to practice our dynamic flexibility. This is necessary for elements like leaps, for instance. How high can your legs go while you move? You can do kicks standing with the help of a wall or a barre, walking in a straight line or lying on the floor. The key to master them is to do as many reps as possible.
2.Over Splits: Over splits consist of holding a split with one or two of our legs on a surface that is at a higher level than our hips. It allows your muscles to stay static (still) and to get a very deep stretch. Holding the position can be challenging not only because of how uncomfortable the stretch is but also because sometimes it can be hard to not twist our hips or keep our chest up while doing them.
3.Stretches on the barre or against a wall: These are great to develop our balance and help us get a real feel of what a skill we are working towards feels like. Practising penches and super-mans are very common ways to get flexible.
Check the tutorial with some ideas we propose to get very flexible!
Bear in mind that flexibility is something that we need to work on every day. Doing dramatic stretches that are too advanced for our level inconsistently will not only be useless, but it will make us more prone to injuries too. Being patient and working hard is the only way toward success, after all.
Do not attempt to perform oversplits if you are not able to do your splits yet and raise the height of your oversplit as you improve only. Safety always comes first.
What other exercises do you do to improve your flexibility? Let us know in the comments!
Brilliant! 🥰