Gymnastics

Flexibility Training; Front Splits (Stretching)

Before

After

Flexibility training is very important in gymnastics. Flexibility makes almost all skills possible to perform properly. One very important element is the front splits, also known as side splits. A split with neutral spine, even stretch coming from front and rear leg. In these pictures, I’m showing before I used stretching advice from the book, and after. You can see a clear difference from the first picture where I am struggling to push far down, to the second picture where I have my complete splits after stretching. The text from the book by Llyod Readhead, Crowood Sports Guides Gymnastics: Skills-Techniques-Training, told me, “Always warm up the whole body before flexibility training. The exercises must be slow and progressive over time. Ensure correct alignment or position of the body part being stretched.” (pg. 30). I used this text to help me warm up and take my time and do some quality stretching. The part I focused on most from the text was, “The exercises may elicit slight feelings of burning or discomfort, but must not e painful. Specific flexibility training should be included in the training program as a separate session or after the main aspects of the training session.” (pg. 30). Using this section helped me realize the difference between hurting muscles and training them. I also took these pictures after first warm up at the very beginning of practice, and after practice when I was all warmed up, loosened and stretched. Let me know any techniques or tips for front split stretching in the comments!