Stop Leaning Forwards in Your Front Splits!
Stop Leaning Forwards in Your Front Splits!
If there’s one correction I have to give just about every leg/hip flexibility class I teach, it’s for some students to lean back a bit more in their front split (or lunge, or pigeon, or any hip flexor stretch for that matter…).
So please, for the love of god,
stop leaning forwards in your front splits.
Unless you are intentionally trying to increase the stretch in your hamstrings. In which case, go for it.
Why Leaning Forwards in a Front Split May Be Sabotaging Your Progress
Leaning forward in your front split isn’t necessarily “bad” or “wrong” - BUT it may be robbing you of a well-needed hip flexor stretch.
First we need to review our front split anatomy. In a front split:
The hip flexors are pulled into a stretch over the front of the hip in the back leg
The hamstrings are pulled into stretch along the underside of the front leg
When we lean forwards in this position (by tilting our hips forwards), it:
increases the hamstring stretch in the front leg
decreases the hip flexor stretch in the back leg
Imagine the red TheraBand in this GIF below is your hip flexors. You can see that there’s less tension in the band when you lean forwards, but when you sit up straight more tension is pulled into the band - that's the deeper stretch!
Most students tend to lean forwards when practicing front splits because it's an easier stretch, using it as an unintentional modification to avoid a challenging hip flexor stretch in that back leg. While of course you’ll still feel a stretch in the front leg when you lean forwards, we really only need "so much" hamstring flexibility for a flat split, but we need quite a lot of hip flexor flexibility!
So if you find keeping your torso lifted challenging, that's probably because your hip flexors are tight and you should practice that position more!
On the other side of the spectrum, if you typically only ever feel your front splits in your hamstrings (even when your torso is lifted) then it's OK to keep your stretches biased towards working on your hamstring flexibility (leaning forwards).
At the end of the day, it’s about choosing the version that makes more sense for YOUR personal goals.
Tips to Help Stop Leaning Forwards
Method #1: Hip Eyeballs
Step 1: Imagine you have eyeballs on the front of your hips:
Step 2: When you slide out into your front split, make sure your “hip eyeballs” are looking straight up!
“Hip Eyeballs Looking Down”
Aka "tilting the hips forwards" gives us more of a hamstring stretch in the front leg, but reduces the hip flexor stretch in the back leg.
“Hip Eyeballs Looking Up”
Aka "tucking the tailbone" or "tilting the hips back" gives us more of a hip flexor stretch in the back leg, but reduces the hamstring stretch in the front leg.
Method #2: Shoulder Stack
You’d be surprised how hard it is to tell whether your torso is actually upright enough - if thinking about your “hip eyes” doesn’t work for you, the best form self-check is making sure your shoulders are stacked on top of your hips. The catch is you’re not allowed to backbend to bring the shoulders back!
Related Content
Recommended Recorded Workshop
Note: this class is also a part of a 2-class bundle! If you also want to work on your middle splits and straddles too, you should check out the “Starting Splits” Front & Middle Splits recording bundle.
Who this class recording is for:
This 45-minute class is intended for “beginner” to “begintermediate” students interested in working on their front splits. For more intermediate/advanced students who are 3 inches or closer to the ground in their front splits, I suggest you check out the Splits Clinic: Getting Flat Splits workshop instead which has drills aimed at slightly more flexible hips.
This workshop is a better fit for students who’s hips are 4 inches or higher away from the floor when doing a front split with their torso lifted.
Even if you are a super beginner and can’t touch your toes, this video has stretches and modifications for a variety of levels.
What this class includes:
A quick full-body warm-up to get you ready to stretch
Active flexibility exercises focusing on the two main muscles groups needed for square front splits: hamstrings and hip flexors
A full 45-minute stretching routine you can follow 1-3 days per week to work on your front splits (due to the amount of strengthening involved, I don’t recommend doing this routine every day - your body will benefit more from rest days!)
Recommended props:
A chair (or a bench or low table)
Yoga blocks - totally optional, but they are a wonderful prop, especially if you’re a beginner. If you don’t have blocks, I recommend practicing next to a chair, your bed, or a wall so you can reach your hand out for balance if you need to
Note: Because of Squarespace’s file size limitations (which is what I use for this wonderful website!), upon purchase you will receive a PDF with a link to the recording. You can then stream the recording online from the private link.
Related Blog Posts
How to Tell if Your Split is “Square” (the “Butt Cheek Test” and More!)
Controlling Rogue Hips - Keeping Your Hips Square in a Split
Related Flexopedia Entries
Forward Fold Half Split Slides (for when you do want to intentionally add a forward fold!)
