How can a child do the longitudinal splits? How to do the splits for children: stretching for beginners, natural flexibility, a special set of exercises and regular exercises
Instructions
1. The most correct age to start teaching a child the splits is 5-7 years, when the child’s muscles are characterized by good flexibility and elasticity, so there should not be any special problems with doing the splits. At the first stage, you will need to achieve the highest possible active flexibility, which refers to the range of movements formed by muscle efforts. You are required to conduct daily stretching exercises with your child, thanks to which this flexibility will increase.
2. Another useful exercise is leg swing. The child must be placed sideways to the chair, he must use one hand to maintain balance (holding on the back of the chair), and the other should be placed on his side. The child is required to perform dynamic leg swings forward, backward and to the side (each 10 times). Then the position must be changed and the exercise repeated. It is important to control good tension in the child’s toes, straightness of the knees and good posture.
3. At the next stage, you can move on to static stretching. First, you need to familiarize your child with the forward bending exercise. While bending, it is necessary for him to touch the floor with his palms, hold in this position for 10 seconds, and return to the starting position. This exercise must also be repeated 10 times.
4. Then the child should, with the help right hand Grab your right leg bent at the knee and pull your heel towards the muscles of your buttocks. After five repetitions, a similar exercise is performed with the left leg.
5. Another exercise that allows you to increase stretching is when the child places his leg on a chair so that it is at the level of his waist and bends over, trying to touch the floor with his hands. At this time, you must insure your child. After five repetitions, the leg must be changed.
6. Having gone through the whole range of such exercises, you can move on to the splits. The child must carefully begin to lower himself onto the transverse or longitudinal split, and you, again, must secure him by the shoulders. It is necessary to descend to the level until a slight sensation of pain appears. However, you should not overdo it, because sharp pain can discourage the child from all desire to continue practicing.
7. It is recommended to perform such exercises daily, especially since their duration is no more than 30 minutes. It will take only a few weeks for a child aged 5-7 years to be able to do the splits without putting in any serious effort.
Twine is one of complex elements in gymnastics, which is characterized by stretching both legs in different directions or forward and backward. You can learn how to do the splits yourself at home. The main thing in this matter is patience and desire.
Preparing the stretch for the splits
If it so happens that your child is eager to do the splits, then you must do everything to help him with this. You may have a future gymnastics champion on your hands. Therefore, in no case should you be lazy or dissuade your child from this idea. So, before you start doing physical activity, you need to warm up your muscles, then stretch them. Getting a child to do the splits, as it turns out, is not an easy task, and it takes a lot of time.
Help your child stretch his entire body with massage movements. When he feels a slight warmth, you can start stretching.
Longitudinal twine, unlike transverse twine, has practically no contraindications. Therefore stretch muscle mass you need to start with it. Over time, the muscles will become more elastic and pliable. We place the child in a kneeling position, take his legs one at a time and stretch them forward in front of him. At this time, the pelvis should be lowered to the floor as much as possible. This exercise is perfect as a splits stretch for beginners. The leg that extends forward should be completely straight.
Cross twine
The split, in which the legs need to be spread across, is considered more difficult, and it takes a long time to prepare for it. This kind of twine helps the child develop hip joints and improves blood circulation in the abdominal cavity. Of course, it is possible to do the splits for both children and adults. But this task is much easier for children. Their body is more pliable and obedient.
Cross splits can also strengthen the abdominal and leg muscles. When stretching before this type of split, the child needs to spread his legs as wide as possible, gradually moving them further apart. When spreading the legs, you need to help the young athlete lean on his hands on the floor. They must be gradually bent at the elbows until they are completely on the floor.
Basic exercises for stretching muscles
To properly prepare your body for the splits, you need to learn how to perform basic exercises. Eg:
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The question “How to put a child into the splits” will gradually be resolved after such stretching. Over time, your child will begin to perform all the techniques more independently, and it will be much easier for him to do the half-split, and then the split.
The child's preparation should take place in a room where the air temperature is not lower than 20 degrees. At first, you need to stretch every other day. Then you can increase the strength of the loads and perform them daily.
The child's clothing should be loose and light. It is very important to give your baby plenty of water to drink during physical activity. This is necessary to prevent dehydration of the small organism.
When bending forward, you need to watch the baby's back; it should be perfectly straight. To ensure that the blood is maximally saturated with oxygen, children are advised to breathe correctly when stretching: inhale through the mouth, exhale through the mouth at the strongest load. For example, when tilting to the side. This breathing rhythm can also make exercise easier.
Before a child fully masters the splits, it is necessary to consult a professional who will assess his physical abilities. An experienced person will be able to give practical advice on the correct training and performance of the necessary exercises. This will help in the future to put the child on the splits. As a rule, this takes from 4 to 6 months. Also, expert advice can prevent unwanted injuries that often occur when exercising at home.
We hope you found our tips for beginners on stretching for the splits helpful.
The dream of many parents is for their child to do the splits. And the kids themselves often want to learn how to perform this beautiful exercise. In addition to the aesthetic component, twine is also beneficial for the body. It makes the baby's muscles strong and flexible, improves joint mobility and coordination of movements, which reduces the risk of the child getting injured when falling. But we know that children and falls are practically synonymous.
Features of children's twine
Doing the splits is very useful, and this applies to both adults and children. Let's highlight the following advantages this:
- Babies, of course, do not suffer from arthritis and arthrosis. However, over time, the risks of these diseases will appear in them, and the splits are a wonderful way to prevent them.
- Exercise improves the functioning of the joints, sacrum, and pelvis.
- When performing the exercise, blood circulation in the pelvis and abdominal area improves, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the genitourinary system.
- There is a connection between flexibility and proper bowel function. If the baby masters the splits, then his digestive system will thank you for it.
- The benefits of this exercise for the spine are enormous. It stretches, which improves posture and reduces the risk of scoliosis.
- As we have already said, splits improve coordination of movements, thereby preventing injuries when falling.
- And, of course, it's just beautiful.
Children do the splits much easier and faster than adults, since their ligaments are more mobile and elastic. But parents need to know how to approach this issue correctly and teach their child, doing everything safely. The optimal age for a child to do the splits is 4-7 years old, when the muscles are very flexible and elastic. The main thing in the splits is flexibility training.
You need to work out with your baby every day - infrequent workouts, even if they are very active, will not bring benefits.
Please note that you should not stretch on an unheated body - this can cause injury. First, devote 10-15 minutes to warming up. It can include running, jumping, leg swings, squats, and so on.
Split stretching for children will be determined by the type of exercise. As you know, twine can be longitudinal or transverse. The longitudinal one is easier to perform, so it is generally recommended to start with it.
- To help a child sit on the longitudinal splits, Pay special attention to kneeling exercises. You need to stretch each leg one by one. The main goal is to bring the baby’s pelvis as close to the floor as possible. When performing such exercises, it is important that the leg remains straight and does not bend at the knee.
- For cross twine It is necessary for the baby’s legs to spread as far as possible with his arms extended forward. At the same time, it is extremely important that the child knows how to transfer weight from his arms to his legs. The arms should bend slowly, and their lift off the floor should be reduced.
Very popular exercises to improve flexibility are various swings and bends. At first, don’t chase quantity. Let the child repeat the proposed exercise a small number of times, but technically do everything correctly. Also, you should not try to achieve results extremely quickly - let the child stretch at least a little more each time, and even a couple of millimeters will be progress.
During classes, be sure to talk to your baby. You must explain to him that severe pain cannot be allowed. Let him always tell you about his feelings. If he feels severe pain, stop the exercise and move on to another complex. In addition, you should interest your child in learning how to do the splits. It will be easier for you to teach him this by positioning the lessons as exciting game, having interested the baby. Accompany the exercises with fun music that your child enjoys.
Split exercises for children
By choosing the right exercises for children to do the splits, you can see considerable progress in your child. First, as we have already said, it is worth doing a short warm-up, and only then moving on to the actual complex.
Exercise 1
Leg swings are very useful for splits. The baby needs to hold on to the back of the chair with one hand, and let him place the other on his belt. Swings are made with each leg, changing position near the chair to the opposite side. You can do them backwards, forwards, to the sides. Repeat by 10 times for each leg. The back should remain straight while performing the exercise. Keep your knees straight and your toes pointed out.
Exercise 2
This exercise is first performed shoulder-width apart, and then in the sixth position. The baby needs to bend forward to touch the floor with his palms. In this position you need to stay for about 6-10 counts, then return to the original.
Exercise 3
To perform this exercise you need to kneel. Stretch forward first one and then the other leg. The knees should remain straight. You should try to get your pelvis as close to the floor as possible. Lower the pelvis with a straight leg for 6-10 counts.
Exercise 4
You need to sit in a position like for a cross split. Stretch your arms forward. You must first spring your whole body forward, and then to the sides, alternately to each of your legs. Over time, you can begin to bend your arms, gradually reducing the distance to the floor.
Exercise 5
You need to sit down and spread your legs to the side. Leaning on your hands, let the baby crawl forward, almost on his stomach. Over time, you need to try less and less to lift your pelvis off the floor.
Exercise 6
To perform this exercise, you need to sit on your buttocks with your feet together at the groin. Now try to move them as close to the groin area as possible and reach the floor with your knees. Do knee swings like wings, for 6-10 counts.
By regularly performing this set of exercises with your baby, you will soon be able to boast of his excellent achievements. When it’s time to do the splits, hold your child by the shoulders. And remember not to allow too much stretching or sharp pain. We invite you to watch several videos of kids doing the splits.
Video lessons on split stretching for children