10-Minute Middle Split & Straddle Routine
10-Minute Middle Split & Straddle Routine
This post is a long overdue follow up to my 10 Minute Front Splits Routine post from a couple of years ago. Below is a nice short stretching routine that’s a great foundation for working on your straddles and middle splits. Because both straddles and middle splits require inner thigh flexibility (quite a bit) and hamstring flexibility (straddle pancakes require a lot, middle splits just a little) - it’s helpful to work on them both at the same time.
Make Sure You Warm Up First!
As always, make sure you start with a 5-10 minute warm up before doing any intense flexibility training (unless you’re doing it right after some other exercise, like cycling or weightlifting). On days that I’m working on middle splits and straddles, I like to make sure I do exercises that warm up my hip abduction like hip circles and fire hydrants, as well as drills that warm up my internal and external hip rotation.
10-Min Straddle & Middle Split Routine
1. Supine Half Frogger (or Straddle) Leg Opens (60s)
Start lying on your back with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor
Lift your right knee over your right hip, keeping your knee bent 90 degrees
Keeping your knee in line with your hip, let the right knee start to drift over to the right side, letting it lower as much as is comfortable toward the ground. Make sure to keep both hip bones planted on the floor, don’t let your hips start to tilt when you drop your knee. You should feel a bit of a stretch in the right inner thigh
Lightly engage the inner thigh to pull the knee back up to start (knee stacked over your hip)
Do 30 seconds of leg opens and closes on one side, then switch sides for another 30 seconds
Want to make it harder? Straighten the working leg (instead of keeping the knee bent). Be sure to still keep the knee at hip height for the whole exercise.
2. Supine Full Frogger (or Straddle Leg) Opens (30s)
Start lying on your back with both knees lifted above your hips, knees bent 90 degrees
Open both knees out to the side until you feel a stretch in your inner thighs - your legs should look like you’re doing a frogger stretch (but upside down / on your back)
Pull both knees back together to reset
Repeat opening and closing your legs for 30 seconds
Want to make it harder? Straighten both legs. Start with straight legs, toes pointed towards the ceiling, and open them out into a wide straddle, then close them back together.
3. Wide Legged Good Mornings (30s)
Start standing with feet far apart (the angle between your inner thighs should be at least 90 degrees). If you have tight hamstrings, keep a slight bend in your knees
Keeping your back flat, start to lean forwards as far as you can without rounding your back, until you feel a hamstring stretch. Don’t worry if you’re not leaning very far! The goal is to be tilting your pelvis forwards to stretch your hamstrings, not just to reach your hands as far as you can toward the floor.
Press both feet firmly into the ground to engage your hamstrings as you lift your torso back up to standing
Repeat, lowering and lifting your torso, for 30 seconds
Need to make it easier? Bend your knees a bit more, don’t lean quite as far forwards, and/or place your hands on your thighs to support the weight of your upper body as you lean forwards
Want to make it harder? Reach your arms out to the side, or all the way overhead to make your hamstrings work even harder to lift your torso back up to upright
4. Horse Stance (30s)
Start standing with your feet as far apart. Bend your knees slightly and tilt your pelvis forwards (lifting your tailbone, slightly arching your low back) as if you were doing an extremely wide-legged squat
Heel-toe your feet as wide as you can while keeping your knees bent and torso lifted, making sure you end with your toes pointing forwards
Hold your horse stance for 30 seconds
5. Straddle Side-to-Side Reaches(30s)
Start in a seated straddle. If you have tight hamstrings this exercise will be more comfortable if you elevate your hips by sitting on 1-2 yoga blocks, or sitting in a chair
Keeping your back flat, reach over to your right leg to find a hamstring stretch (you may also feel a stretch in your inner thighs)
Keep a forward lean while you walk your hands from your right leg, through the middle, over to the left leg
Hold the stretch for just a moment before you walk your hands back to the right leg, leaning forwards enough to continue feeling a stretch even while you’re transitioning from one leg to the other
Repeat walking your hands side-to-side for 30 seconds
Need to make it easier? Bend your knees a bit
Want to make it harder? See how little weight you can put in your hands as you reach side to side. Or for a real challenge, lift your hands off the floor and float side to side without touching your hands to the ground
6. Straddle Rainbow Leg Lifts (30s)
Start in a comfortable seated straddle (on the floor, on a yoga block or two, or in a chair)
Place one yoga block on the floor just inside each foot (a lower height will be easier, taller height will be harder)
Brace your torso for leg lifts - placing your hands behind your back and slightly leaning backwards will make the leg lifts a bit easier (recommended especially if you have your hips elevated on blocks or are sitting in a chair), leaning forwards and placing your hands on the floor in front of your groin will make the leg lifts more challenging
With your hands on the floor for support (behind or in front of you), lift your legs up and to the inside of your blocks, placing your feet back on the floor. Then reverse the movement: lift your legs up, lifting your feet up and over back to the outside of your blocks
Continue to “rainbow” your legs over your blocks for 30 seconds
Need to make it easier? Bend your knees a bit, and lean back with your torso
Want to make it harder? Keep your legs as straight as you can, and lean forwards more
7. Straddle Pancake (30s)
Open your legs into a wide straddle, with your knees and thighs pointing up toward the ceiling. If you have tighter hamstrings, sit on 1-2 yoga blocks, or a chair
Keeping your knees pointing towards the ceiling, and keeping your back flat, lean forwards as far as you can. Depending on your flexibility, you might be leaning just a little bit (flexier folks may lean forwards a lot, getting their elbows or even chest to the floor) - don’t worry about how far or not far you’re able to go, just focus on leaning enough to find an inner thigh and/or hamstring stretch while keeping your back flat
Hold this passive stretch for 30 seconds
8. Frogger Stretch + Hip Rocks (30s)
Start in a frogger stretch: from kneeling on hands and knees, open your knees out as wide as they’ll go. Keep your knees bent 90 degrees so your feet are directly under/behind your knees, and not pointing towards each other or touching. Keep your knees in line with your hips (avoid leaning too far forwards just yet). You can support yourself on your hands keeping arms straight, or drop down to your elbows if you prefer. You should feel a stretch in your inner thigh muscles
Once you’ve found your frogger stretch, start to add a small rock with your hips, leaning your hips forwards about an inch, then pushing them back to neutral, and just about an inch past neutral towards your heels
9. Relaxed Frogger Stretch (30s)
After doing 30 seconds of frogger hip rocks (see above), choose the hip position that feels like the deepest stretch for you (hips slightly forwards, hips neutral, or hips slightly pushing back towards your heels), and hold that stretch for 30 more seconds
10. Half Frogger Leg Lifts + Slides - Right Leg (60s)
Start kneeling in a tabletop position with your right leg extended out to the side: kneeling with your left knee bent, left hip stacked on top of the left knee (so your left thigh should be vertical, not leaning out into a frogger stretch), right leg extended straight out to the side with knees and toes pointing forwards, and hands on the floor. If you need some extra padding for your left knee, you can roll your yoga mat a couple of times to give it some more cushion, or use a pillow (if you’re at home). We’ll be sliding the right foot, so make sure your right foot can slide on the floor that you’re on (ex. wear socks or put a slider under that foot)
Start with a leg lift: pressing into your hands for support, engage your glutes to lift the outside of your right leg and right foot away from the floor for a moment (keep your right toes and knee pointing forwards)
Slide the right leg out to a half frogger / half middle split: immediately after your leg lift, lower your right foot to the ground (foot flexed, toes still pointing forwards), and slide the right foot out as far as you comfortably can to find a deep inner thigh stretch. The end position will be a “half middle split” aka “half frogger” - your left knee will be bent 90 degrees (just like in your frogger stretch) and your right leg will be straight (just like in a middle split). You do not need to slide out to your maximum stretch, aim for something that feels like 75% of your maximum stretch
Slide the right leg back to start: From your half frogger stretch, press the inside of the right foot into the floor to engage your inner thighs, and use that inner thigh squeeze to slide your right foot and your hips back to the starting position (hips sliding back to stack over your left knee)
That’s one rep. Repeat the leg lift, sliding out to your half frogger, and engaging your inner thighs to slide your legs back to the starting position for 60 seconds. Keep it slow!
11. Half Frogger Passive Stretch - Right Leg (30s)
After one minute of half frogger leg lifts and slides (see above), after your last leg lift, slide your right leg out as far as it will go (now you can find your deeper stretch!), and hold your half frogger / half middle split passive stretch for 30 seconds
12. Half Frogger Leg Lifts + Slides - Left Leg (60s)
Repeat what you did for the right leg, now with the left leg straight instead
13. Half Frogger Passive Stretch - Left Leg (30s)
Repeat what you did for the right leg, now with the left leg straight instead
14. Frogger Inner Thigh Contract-Relax (60s)
Start in your frogger stretch: hands and knees on the floor, opening your knees out to the side, both knees bent 90 degrees with a 90 degree angle between your thighs and shins. If you have sensitive knees, feel free to roll your yoga mat for some extra knee padding (or put pillows under your knees)
Contract your inner thighs for 10 seconds: engage your inner thighs (aim for a 50% intensity squeeze, not 100% intensity) while in your frogger stretch by pressing the insides of your knees into the floor, as if you were going to pull your knees closer together. Hold this inner thigh engagement/squeeze for 10 seconds
Relax for 20 seconds: relax your inner thighs (stop squeezing) and hold your passive frogger stretch for 20 seconds. If it’s starting to feel more comfortable, you might even be able to slide your knees a little bit wider
Contract your inner thighs for 10 more seconds: (same as above, we’re just doing it one more time)
Relax for 20 seconds: Then relax those inner thighs one last time and just try and relax into your frogger stretch for the last 20 seconds. If you like some movement while you stretch, you can add in some hip rocks/sways (see #8 Frogger Stretch + Hip Rocks above)
15. Middle Split Hold (60s)
From kneeling with hands on the floor, or a low squat with hands on the floor, extend one leg out to the side, then the other to find your middle split. In our middle split your hands should be supporting some of your weight (hands or elbows on the floor, on blocks, or you can even lean into a chair), both legs straight, feet flexed, knees and toes pointing forwards (not up to the ceiling!), and tailbone lifted away from the floor so your torso is leaning forwards and pelvis is parallel to the floor (the front of your hip bones should be facing the floor). If you experience any knee pain when you straighten both of your legs into your middle split, try one of these modifications
Hold for 60 seconds. If a minute long hold feels a bit too challenging, hold your regular middle split as long as you can with good form, then bend your knees and lower into your frogger stretch for the rest of the minute
Lather, rinse, and repeat!
This is a great start to a middle split routine, especially if you’re crunched for time. If you have more time, repeat this routine another 2-3 times, or tack on some additional stretches like these straddle pancake drills or these middle split exercises.
