Flat Split on the Floor but Not in the Air - What Gives?
Flat Split on the Floor but Not in the Air - What Gives?
Are you working on flatter, split-ier legs in your inversions? Being able to nail a flat split in a handstand, dangling from the top bar of a lyra, or virtually any instance where your body is upside down is a major active flexibility challenge!
Unlike a regular ol’ split on the floor, where we have the helpful force of gravity literally helping push us into a flat front split, in an aerial split we need to use our leg muscles to pull our legs into this position. If you think of the muscles involved in a front split, this means we need strong hip flexors and glutes to pull our legs into a split-ier split:
So to help get our active/aerial splits flatter, we need to train the bejezus out of our active flexibility for the muscles that are in a shortened position in our front split.
Lucky for you I’ve got a couple of recommended exercises!
Active Drills for Flatter Aerial Splits
1. Standing Split Kicks
Strengthening focus: Glutes (back leg)
Stretching focus: Hip flexors (back leg), hamstrings (front leg)
2. Rounded Back Leg Extensions
Strengthening focus: Glutes (back leg)
Stretching focus: Hip flexors (back leg)
3. Arched Back Pike Leg Lifts
Strengthening focus: Hip flexors (front leg)
Stretching focus: Hamstrings (front leg)
4. Arched Back Supine Leg Lifts
Strengthening focus: Hip flexors (front leg)
Stretching focus: Hamstrings (front leg)
5. Arched Back Supine Leg Straightens
Strengthening focus: Hip flexors (front leg), quads (front leg)
Stretching focus: Hamstrings (front leg)
6. Wall Split Handstand Back Leg Pulses
Strengthening focus: Glutes (back leg)
Stretching focus: Hip flexors (back leg), hamstrings (front leg)
7. Wall Split Handstand Front Leg Pulses
Strengthening focus: Hip flexors (front leg)
Stretching focus: Hamstrings (front leg)
And Keep Working on Your Oversplits!
Passive stretching belongs in your training routine too! Ultimately our active flexibility will only ever be a smaller portion of the range we can achieve passively, so continuing to increase your passive range of motion for your splits by training oversplits will help too.
The split-ier you can get your oversplits, the less tightness/resistance your hip flexors and glutes will have to fight against to pull your legs into a spitier spilt in the air.
