I Can Open My Hips in a Frog Stretch, But Not Middle Splits - What Gives?
I Can Open My Hips in a Frog Stretch, But Not a Middle Split - What Gives?
Do you find it pretty easy to open your legs out to the sides in a frog stretch, but when you try to open your legs in a middle split or a straddle, your legs don’t go nearly as far (and it feels waaaaay harder)? They’re both inner thigh stretches, so what gives?
There’s two main possible reasons why a middle split can feel more challenging than a frogger:
your muscles aren’t strong enough to support the shearing force being applied to the knee in a straight-leg position, leading to knee pain in your middle splits (ouch!)
you’ve got a tight gracilis muscle
I’ve written about reducing knee discomfort in a middle split before, so today we’re going to talk more about the second scenario.
But First: A Quick Inner Thigh Anatomy Overview
Our adductor muscle group (inner thighs) consists of five main muscles that help adduct or bring our legs closer to our midline (aka squeeze our inner thighs together). These are the inner thigh muscles we typically feel a stretch in in poses like a frog stretch, a straddle, or a middle split.
Four of these muscles start at the bottom/front of the pelvis, and connect to somewhere on the inside of the thigh bone:
Pectineus
Adductor Brevis
Adductor Longus
Adductor Magnus
But we have one adductor muscle that goes past the thigh bone, past the knee, and connects to the very top/inside of one of our shin bones - this is our gracilis muscle:
Gracilis
So we’ve got a bunch of muscles that attach to our thigh bone, and one that’s a little longer and attaches to our shin bone.
What These Muscles Look Like in a Stretch
Let’s take a look at what happens to these muscles in a stretch. My teaching assistant, Pelvis Presley, will demonstrate in a frogger stretch and in a middle split lying on his back (because it’s easier to show):
In a Frogger Stretch:
We can see here in the frog stretch, all the main attach-to-the-thigh-bone adductor muscles (red band) get pulled into a pretty intense stretch when you open your legs out to the side.
The gracilis (green band) also gets a bit of a stretch, but you can see there’s still a little slack left in the band, it’s not pulled as tight as the red band.
In a Middle Split:
However, when we straighten the leg, things change. The red band muscles (the pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, adductor magnus) all are in the same stretched position as before - nothing has changed. But the gracilis (green band) is pulled longer into a stretch when the leg straightens.!
Here’s what that looks like “in action,” going from a bent knee frog stretch to a straight-leg middle split. Watch how the green band (representing our gracilis) is pulled tighter:
You can try this yourself lying on your back: start with your knees bent, opening them out to the side to find an inner thigh stretch, then straighten the legs and notice if the stretch gets more intense. If the straight-leg version feels harder, then you’ve lightly got a tight gracilis, and doing more work to strengthen and stretch that muscle will help make your straddles and middle splits feel more comfortable! Below are some of my suggested go-tos.
Passive Stretches for the Gracilis
Basically any straight-legged straddle type stretch can be a stretch for your gracilis if you’re working on opening your legs wider. Some great variations include:
Chair gracilis stretch
Half middle split
Straddle pancake sitting in a chair (a great modification for folks with super tight hips!)
Straddle pancake on the floor
Legs-up-the-wall straddle
Middle split
Active Stretches for the Gracilis
A friendly reminder (because some of these can be quite intense if you’ve got tight inner thighs): never stretch to the point of (or through) pain. Only stretch through a range that is “comfortably uncomfortable.” Sharp pain, or intense pain (especially in the knees!) is a red flag that you’re pushing too hard and need to dial it back.
Half Middle Split Slides
Start kneeling with one leg straight out to the side, thigh, knee and toes pointing forwards
Slide the straight leg out to the side into a half middle split
Press the straight-leg foot into the ground and squeeze the inner thighs as you slide back to start
Repeat for 8-12 reps
Full Middle Split Slides
Start in a standing wide legged forward fold with your palms on the floor, both legs straight
Slide your feet out into as deep of a middle split as you can comfortably go (feeling a stretch, but no pain!)
Squeeze your inner thighs together to slide your feet closer together back to your starting position
Repeat for 5-10 reps
Middle Split Slides with Chair Support
This is a better option than the above for students with tighter hips:
Start in a shallow forward fold with legs straight, hands on a chair for support
Keeping your heels in line with your hips, slide your feet out into a shallow middle split (you can bend your elbows and lower your torso if that feels more comfortable)
Squeeze your inner thighs together to slide your feet/legs back to your starting position
Repeat for 5-10 reps
Straddle Leg Opens with Ankle Weights
This is a gentler version of the strengthening drills above that uses ankle weights instead of the weight of your torso to strengthen your gracilis.
Wearing ankle weights, lie on your back scoot your butt close to (or for a bigger challenge, touching) the wall, with legs straight up the wall
Slowly open your legs out to the side until you feel an inner thigh stretch
Pull your legs back together back to straight up to the wall
Repeat for 8-12 reps
Straddle Resistance Band Pulses
Start lying on your back with your butt against a wall, legs flopped open into a straddle up the wall, with a stretchy resistance band looped around one ankle/foot
Use your hand to pull the resistance band tight, pulling your straight leg down toward the floor into a deeper stretch
Then resist the stretch by pressing your foot up into the band, trying to slide your foot/leg up the wall for a second
Then relax back into the deeper passive stretch
Repeat for 8-12 slow pulses, pressing the leg up against the resistance of the band, and then relaxing and letting the band pull you into a deeper stretch
Looking for More Stretch Ideas?
Check out the adductor page of the Flexopedia which has a whole slew of passive and active stretches for your adductor (inner thigh) muscles. Remember - the knee has to be straight if you’re looking for stretches that’ll target your gracilis!
Related Content
Recommended On-Demand Workshop
[Edit: New and improved! This workshop was re-recorded and updated in Feb 2024 to include explanations of tailoring drills to better fit different hip anatomies.]
Who this workshop recording is for:
This all-levels 60-minute workshop aimed at students working on flattening their middle splits and widening their straddles.
There are no pre-requisites for this workshop, whether you’re just an inch away or twenty inches away from the floor, you’re welcome to come get split-y! Variations of drills will be given for various flexibility levels (students who struggle to sit up straight or lean forwards in a straddle are recommended to have a chair for some of the modifications offered).
What you’ll learn:
Exercises to strengthen (and stretch) the main muscle groups involved with middle splits (with an emphasis on inner thigh flexibility and hip external rotation)
Progressions and regressions to make the drills more or less challenging to scale with your progress
How to adjust your form to avoid bone-on-bone blockages and pinching
How to choose variations of inner thigh stretches that work best for your hips (which might look different from how another student executes the drills!)
A full 60-minute follow-along middle split training routine
Recommended props:
Yoga mat (or something to pad your knees in frogger stretch work)
2 yoga blocks (or something you can use to prop up your hands/legs like a stack of books)
Chair or bench (for students with tighter hips)
Socks or sliders (something to help your feet slide on the floor)
Note: Because of Squarespace’s file size limitations, upon purchase you will receive a PDF with a link to the recording (a private YouTube link). The PDF also includes some brief tips and best practices for incorporating this stretching routine into your training regimen.
Similar Workshops To Consider:
Starting Middle Splits (45 min) - this is a slightly shorter routine, specifically tailored to beginners
Straddles for Beginners (30 min) - another shorter routine, specifically targeting straddles (butt on the floor), both widening the straddle and forward folding deeper
Straddle Pancake Workshop (60 min) - while this workshop also touches on inner thigh flexibility, the emphasis is on building a deeper straddle pancake (forward fold) and includes considerably more hamstring work
Straddle & Middle Oversplits (75 min) - a more advanced workshop for students who are very close to flat in their middle splits and/or straddle pancakes
