Bollywood superstar Salman Khan seems to be basking in the success of Bharat. However, he doesn’t break away from his fitness regime. Recently, Khan took to his Twitter handle to post a picture of himself performing split exercise. He posted it with a witty caption, “In splits . . . ha ha ha.”
The 53-year-old actor has always been a fitness enthusiast and a few days back he also posted a video of himself stretching his legs on an equipment. He had captioned that video saying, “It’s not only about being strong but being flexible too . .”
It’s not only about being strong but being flexible too . . Being strong equipment now installed in over 100 gyms in last 2 months pic.twitter.com/YnbWPHZlUO
— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) June 18, 2019
Khan rightly opines that being flexible is as important as being strong. Split exercises help you attain the flexibility that you desire. That is why this regimen has always been popular among dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders and martial arts practitioners.
Split exercises may seem impossible or tough at the first glance. But they are not as impossible as they seem apparently. A little bit of exercise will help you ace these workouts.
WHAT ARE SPLITS BY THE WAY?
A split exercise is an exercise where you are required to stretch your legs in opposite directions. While stretching, the legs should be in line with each other. A few examples of split exercise include the frog pose, the front body stretch and the side body stretch.
GOLDEN RULES FOR SPLIT EXERCISES
There are many who don’t attempt these workouts out of the sheer fear that they might end up hurting themselves. Follow these rules and you will be able to perform split exercises with ease.
Rule 1: While trying to perform a split exercise it is possible to injure your hamstrings or hip flexors if you are not careful. Stretch slowly by taking time and do not try to force your muscles as they might snap if stretched too hard.
Rule 2: It is important to realize that it will require a large amount of time to get into this position. Have patience and give it time by waiting for your body to change slowly. Practice easing into the pose for three times a week for about twenty seconds.
Rule 3: It is recommended you workout before you start performing static stretching. This will help you warm up your body and ease the motion of your joints, reducing the risk of any possible injury.
BENEFITS OF PERFORMING SPLITS
Apart from lending flexibility to your muscles, split exercises come with multiple benefits.
Provides a deep stretch to your body
Deep stretching of both your hamstrings and quadriceps is required to perform a split. While in this pose your thighs are especially stretched and this provides flexibility. This exercise will help your legs perform better if your they are in continuous use in your day-to -day life.
Improves your body awareness
The splits position is an especially hard one to achieve as aligning your legs can prove to be difficult. If you practise this position over time you will be able to gain an acute awareness of the muscles in your whole body. That’s how split exercises increase your body awareness.
Develops focus and perseverance
The splits pose requires a deep stretch in your thighs along with a strong core. This, added with the need to correctly align your legs makes it essential for you to focus deeply. Split exercises require high efficiency levels and therefore, perseverance is a must.
Makes you more patient with practice
You cannot force your body into this position and it will inevitably take you time to master it. Split exercise demands utmost attention on your muscles. The time you will need to ease into splits will leave you more patient than you were before starting with this regimen.
5 STRETCHES THAT HELP YOU MASTER SPLIT EXERCISES
Here, we take you through 5 stretching workouts that will help you master split exercises. They are quite easy to. However, it will be good if you try them under the guidance of a trainer.
Frog Pose
The frog pose is simple to do and helps to warm up your hips.
How to
- Sit onto all your fours.
- Keeping your feet pointing back separate your knees as far as you can.
- Allow your hips to fall downwards and thighs to slide open.
- You might be holding yourself up or lying all the way down depending on how open your hips are.
Butterfly Pose
This pose stretches your inner thighs and makes your groin area more flexible.
How to
- Put the soles of your feet together by bending your legs while you are sitting straight.
- Hold on to your heels and pull them towards you.
- Allow your knees to fall towards the ground.
- You can bend forward till your chest is over your feet to stretch more.
Half Squat
This exercise helps to work the muscles of your inner thighs and stretches your hips and legs.
How to
- Stand with your legs apart and bend your right knee to squat on the right.
- Place your hands on the ground while you fold forward.
- Point the toes on your left foot outwards.
- Keep most of your weight on your hands if the stretch feels too intense.
Wall Straddle
This position allows a fresh glow of blood towards the hip area and stretches the muscles of the thighs and legs.
How to
- Put your legs straight against the wall and lie down.
- Start putting your legs in a straddle position and stretch.
- Let your legs fall towards the ground while keeping your heels on the wall.
- Place your hands on your inner thighs and gently press down if you want to stretch further.
Pancake Fold
Working this stretch will give you pain free mobility while improving blood circulation around the pelvis and groin area.
How to
- In a straddle position sit upright on the ground.
- Spread apart your legs as far as possible and start leaning forward.
- Try to flatten out your torso on the ground like a pancake.
- You can try to hold on to your feet with your hands if you can.