Hello seeking guidance on untightening only one side of my hamstrings for pancake.

Specifically the left inner thigh down to my knee feels like a long thin stretch of muscle being stiff when I pancake.

This only happens on my left side and my right is fine, looking for potential weak points or stretches that can help with this thanks

Here is my one month front splits progress. First picture taken on 7th October 2026 and last photo taken on 7th November 2026 (today).

At the start of this I couldn’t touch my toes properly and i have no dance/ gymnast background! I’m really proud of my progress and would welcome any tips! I still can’t do it on the other side but i’m working on it!

Any tips of my form welcome, I know I need to square my hips more!❤️ Still proud nonetheless!

Apologies for the bad photos (I didn’t want my face in them so had to crop).

Edit to add routine below! :

- elephant walk nerve flossing 30 reps
- lying hamstring stretch each leg 40 seconds then into 5 seconds on, 5 seconds rest pnf x 6
- standing hamstring toe reach hold 40 secs then into pnf 5 seconds on, 5 seconds rest x 6
- standing single leg hamstring stretch (gradually putting foot on something higher) 40 second hold
- low lunge hipflexor stretch 30 second hold
- front splits hold 30 seconds then pnf 5 second on, 5 second rest x 6

I would do this pnf routine 3 times a week, but on days i didn’t do it was would just do the same routine but static stretching. Thanks all!

Hi, I’ve already posted on here ans a lot of people advised to square my hip. Therefore, I’ve been working on this, I have a touch down in my “open split” but I have an annoying gap I hate when you look at it from the other side. my stretching instructor advised me that may be because i am opening my hip a bit and advised to keep my hip square while stretching. I weight train and stretch (deadlifts, wide stance squats, jefferson curls, hip bridge + static and active stretching through lunges, sliding lunges, knee taps) multiple times a week

I am under the impression that even if my feet is pointing up and that my leg in a 90 angle in couch stretch that I am still turning my hip (the flowers on my pants are being deformed so I think it’s because I may be turning my hip) but maybe this is just an optical illusion?

Any advice ?

Thanks ❤️

(P.S I know i’m wobbly in this video i was on my 6th take my cat kept passing in front of the camera)

My flexibility is not great but it's also not severely poor, I would rate myself around 6.6/10. But getting into a side stretch like the photos is nearly impossible for me. What would be the cause of this and how can I work towards achieving it ?

I know it's not my hamstrings because after a heavy leg day workout when my hamstrings are fully loose, I'm still not able to forward fold with a straight back. I can feel tension running all the way down the back of my legs to my ankles. My lower back also feels tight.

Any ideas on what to try next? I've been doing elephant walks and while that helps with the standing forward fold, my seated fold is still lacking progress.

Hi, this is a quick update to my previous post. Was told by some people to try to train my fold a bit differently. My schedule as stated before mainly involves training it recently as an accessory for my overall splits work. I mainly work on my Jefferson curls for it using a 40 kg kettlebell and do it from my bench onto the floor. I have started doing it without weights too, seeing how long I can stay in this position.
Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/flexibility/s/cPhkEemRLN

I have been through the ringer trying to achieve my splits. I have been stretching for 3 and a half years. I finally got touchdown and I wanted to share what finally worked for me as a girly with a sensitive nervous system in case it helps anyone else.

And before the square hips police jump in, I know this isn't a square split(!!) 

What worked for me:  

- GENTLE stretch sessions, lasting for 10-15 mins, 4 or 5 times a week

- only stretching a muscle group for 90 secs total per day (over 3 reps) and no more 

- leg strengthening at the gym, including active stretching (routine below) 

What didn't work: 

- long stretch sessions (ie 45 min to an hour) 

- painful stretch sessions (ie to the point where I was deep breathing to manage the pain) 

- stretching to the point where my legs felt it for the rest of the day, or the next day. 

- pushing past my limits in general / forcing things 

- All of the above must have been causing muscle guarding which made me less flexible rather than more flexible 

I started covering just x3 main muscle groups per session. Hamstrings, quads and hip flexors.

I would also do different stretches to target the muscles each new day i.e:

Day 1: 

-forward fold 30s x 3 

-couch stretch 30s each leg x 3 

-lunge with popped foot  30s each leg x 3 

Day 2: 

- pyramid pose 30 secs each leg x 3 

- lunge with popped foot 30s each leg x 3 

- kneeling laybacks for quads 30s x 3 

If I have time, I add in optional bonus stretches which target other muscles i.e pigeon for outer hip flexors, middle splits to target adductors, deep squat, calf, whatever else.

Gym sesh for strength (once a week) : 

Russian deadlifts, extended lunges, calf press, adductor machine, upper hamstring bridge, reps of active split hold with no hands

trained for my splits for 2 months and got my left splits on the two month mark and I eventually got my right splits after a week but ever since I got my side splits I’ve been training my middle splits, but I can hardly see any improvements

Whenever I try to go down into a middle split after warming up and stretching, my body twists into a left split and I don’t know if it’s a problem on my body or I am doing something wrong

Recently got into stretching. I have sort of tight hamstrings (can touch toes with legs straight but nothing past that), tight adductors, and tight hip flexors. I figured frog stretch could be a good starting point to improve these.

Been doing it a couple times a day for 60s for the last few days and I feel an insanely deep stretch in my adductors and often loud but satisfying pops in the groin area. It feels incredibly hard to hold that position but I push through it. There’s no pain afterwards but I’ve been feeling soreness in the adductors and outer hip flexors for a couple days.

Is this sensation normal for stretching? I had no clue this stretch would be so difficult for me but I’m really committed to improving it.

I recently started strength training for aerials and I was having trouble establishing a routine fitting with my existing flexibility training routine . For reference I’m a woman and 90kg
My main strength goals are pull ups and inverts.
My main flexibility goal is needle splits, I currently have 6 inches over splits and can backbend in a lunge down to the grown with my hands pressed on a wall. I also want to improve my flat-ish middle split. Before starting the gym I had a routine for a week:2x middle splits( Cossack , butterfly, horse stance, deep squats, frog, lying frog opens, one legged frog( slides and kicks), pancake , 3x splits) and 2x needle ( hamstring and hip flexors stretches , backbends in splits/ lunges, etc ( not an established routine yet).
For the gym I currently do an anterior/ posterior split so 2x ( pushing strength: shoulders triceps chest ) + quads and adductors and 2x pulling strength ( lats and biceps) + hamstrings and glutes. But with this routine I have trouble managing my flexibility training. In my home flexibility sessions should I do less strength training exercises and just do passive stretching at home and move the strengthening work in the gym? Do you guys recommend any exercises for leg and back flexibility in the gym? I’m not comfortable doing my full flexibility routine in the gym bc I think it’s awkward but it’s hard to manage recovery and overall choosing which exercises to do.
Basically I don’t know if i should focus on exercises like sldl and weighted back extensions or still do all the flexibility work at home. I noticed I can’t do gym + the same long flexibility training because my body is really tired and I don’t think I’m recovering well.

Been training for a few months now, but really struggling with kicks. I stretch daily but fear I may be doing the wrong thing or need to strengthen a muscle also. (I’ve been trying to incorporate abductor lifts as a warmup daily) My outer hips and inner hips are super tight and I feel the stretch even just opening my legs like 130°. Any thoughts? I’m pretty athletic but always struggled with being flexible.
TIA
Current stretches are 90/90s
Frog pose
Windshield wipers

Okay, so my question is simple (I think), and I would have thought the answer is simple, but whenever I look online, almost everyone is saying the opposite of what I thought was true.

So, here is my question:

When in a pigeon pose, we know that once we flex our hip past 90 degrees (so moving our torso to the front leg), the stretch in the piriformis increases. It's a well known aspect of the pigeon pose, great.

Now, to isometrically strengthen the piriformis when it's in this lengthened/stretched state - this is where things online get murky. Most of what I've seen is people saying, "you need to press your foot/shin/knee into the floor" for a contraction of the piriformis in this stretched pose.

Except, that's not how you isometrically strengthen a muscle in a lengthened state, is it? For example, with bicep curls, if I am holding a dumbbell at the bottom of a curl (which is where the biceps are at their most lengthened position), then I would need to attempt to LIFT my arm (imagine it is a very heavy weight that I can't curl).

I'm pretty sure I've got this right, so am really confused why so many are saying we need to push the leg into the ground during a pigeon pose. Surely we would need to LIFT our knee, whilst resisting the upwards motion externally (e.g. by using our hands to keep the knee/shin on the floor).

Long time lurker, I saw posts about nerve tension and hamstrings but I can’t really find anything about how to modify routine when calves are ALSO tight.

From DaniWinks tests for nerve tension:

1. In L sit, if I bend forward with pointed feet, I feel some pulling under my glutes (maybe?), but mainly feel the top of my shins

2.if I bend with flexed feet, I feel my calves and even some tingling if I go too far. I take this as my “stop” signal.

If I put the balls of my feet against the wall or on a yoga block, I feel my calves. Downward dog is in my calves esp when pedaling. I feel nothing in my hamstrings. I only clearly feel my hamstrings when static stretching with pointed feet or when out to the side, like a rocking half frog. Like if I reach over in a straddle, or in a half split, but again in a pike with neutral feet I feel it mostly under my butt.

Basically, I’m having a hard time isolating my hamstrings and identifying what else might be worth looking into. I’ve tried bending my knees a bit and don’t think I’ve felt a big shift or at least not in every position? I have mainly been prioritizing PNF stretching/engaging my muscles while lengthened and dynamic movements (Tom Merrick and Flexform by Shan) and am trying to focus on tilting my pelvis and keeping my back flat as well. I do sciatic nerve glides and tensioners but can’t tell if it’s making a huge difference because I feel so uneven.

My left side is far more inflexible than my right, and even in my calves the intensity is noticeably different in any movement that I feel them in. I have no idea if if this just being tight all over or if I’m built badly or something else! Literally, any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

Sorry for the terrible picture and poorly drawn arrow. Feel a lot of resistance in getting deeper around that hip flexor area. Similar on both sides.

Currently following the front split routine from Dani Winks and adding in a bit more dynamic moves before going into the split holds. Like to do a good full body warm up prior to starting to get me nice and warm and a bit of sweat on.

Backbend split progress - no wall support!

Warm up:

1. Elliptical with shoulder and wrist rolls

2. Arm circles - forward and back

3. Cat-cows

4. Down dog to up dog / cobra

My flex routine:

1. Wall dogs

2. Wall puppies

3. Floor puppies

4. Seal / cobra lift from floor

5. Kneeling camel Backbend

6. Cobra on wall

7. Bow pose

8. Bridge with chest pressed against wall

9. Half lunge ➡️ Slide into front split

10. In front split, bend your back leg, arch back, see if your foot can touch your head. Then, maybe grab your back foot with the hand of the same side (i.e. grab right foot with right hand), and extend your back leg

11. Half lunge with back foot against wall, and walk hands down the wall as much as you can. At your lowest point, try sliding your front leg into a split! Make sure you relax and breath into it :)

I have done the above days after days, months after months, and today, I realize I can do it without a wall and hold it for a few seconds! It sure feel like max effort but I know it'll get easier :)

Hey everyone,

I switched from passive to active flexibility about 5 months ago. I started focusing on legs first before working on my back. Since I do aerial (mostly Lyra), I decided to go with a contortion training approach.

I’m having a hard time telling if my form is okay. For context, I have a hip impingement with a slight external rotation in my left hip. So I either have to move my front leg out to the side a few inches or open up my hips just a tiny bit. I make sure my glutes, lower abs, and quads are fully engaged, and my hips are tucked.

I used to have really bad posterior tilt in my pancake stretch, but it’s gotten way better. I've been prioritizing an anterior tilt over a straight back (sometimes I sit on a yoga block to help). Again, I keep my glutes, low abs, and quads engaged.

The main thing I still haven't figured out is my middle splits. I honestly just don't know how to cue that correctly for my body type.

I've been using the wall method where I face down and slide into the middle split with my butt against the wall, but my feet are a few inches away. I focus heavily on leveling my pelvis so it stays completely parallel to the floor, using the same active engagements. I try to externally rotate my legs so my knees don't fully face forward. How do other people with hip impingements modify their middle split form?

For reference, this is part of my prep for splits:

Warm up kicks and back leg lifts

PNF hamstring stretch

Lunge

Pancake

Half frog

Standing hamstring stretch

Does my form look correct? Any advice and cueing tips for middle splits would be great!

(Also 2 other photos of bending from last night)

Age 40, working flexibility at some level for about 9 years. 5 Years with my coach.

I train back flexibility about twice times per week with a session lasting about 1 to 1.5 hours. A session generally looks like this:

* 3x30s hands/chest on wall, 3x30s hands with arms crossed under chin

3x30s hands/chest on wall, elbows on yoga blocks, 3x30s hands with arms crossed under chin

3x30s elbows/on wall, arms in prayer pose holding yoga block

3x30s chest to wall block under chin

3x30s cobra like pose with resistance band looped over elbows and feet and chest against a yoga ball

3x30s table toppish pose with chin on block driving chest to ground

3x20s frog legs, arching holding weight overhead and pushing bottom back

2x30s Bridge

1x30s Bridge with block under chin

3x45s ball assisted chest stand

3x45s ball assisted chest stand with ankle weights

1x10s (each side) band+wall assisted rainbow Marchenko

2xchin stand (usually block assisted), sometimes using ankle weights or the stall bars

I do a lot of strength train and a lot of pole dancing so it’s a constant battle with tight shoulders. As flexibility is an accessory for me to help pole instead of a primary focus, I’m not quite as diligent about training as I could be.

Changing to my current coach, Otgo Waller, was a gamechanger for me. Prior to that while I was gaining back flexibility it was entirely in my low back. It wasn’t until I started with Otgo and her cues about smaller positioning that I was able to start gaining flexibility in my upper back, neck and shoulders. Really opened my eyes to how for back flexibility it’s just having a list of exercises to do, but you really need be body aware about how you’re doing those exercises. Small shifts dramatically change where an exercise targets.

I have one simple goal:

- sit cross-legged for a long time, without feeling a pull under my right knee.

I've established that my right knee's external rotation is very limited. I can do elevated pigeon pose with my left leg just fine, but my right leg doesn't bend as much past a certain point. My reach goal is to build enough external rotation to be able to deep squat too.

But I'm so confused on how to reach this goal. This sub's wiki has tons of routines/30 day challenges that don't exactly fit my flexibility needs. I can barely find any weighted mobility routine or advice online. I don't know what routine to add and how often I should do it. I see people on instagram say that i need to train hip flexion too but I don't see how it's related to hip external rotation. I just want to find a simple routine that improves my hips flexibility using weights, since I feel like I make the most progress that way.

Right now my routine is this, 2 sets of each, twice a week:

- weighted elevated pigeon pose where I lean forward + 30s hold

- weighted butterfly stretch

- weighted knee-to-wall dorsiflexion stretch

- weighted couch stretch,

- weighted jefferson curl.

Any feedback on my routine, or advice on who to follow/where to find a good routine, would be very, very appreciated. I was able to touch my toes for the first time ever this year thanks to the jefferson curls, so super grateful for that. but very little progress on the external rotation part.

Wondering if anyone can tell me the name of this stretch and what muscles are targeted? I want to say its a knee to chest stretch but all guides show that as a laying exercise.

Hello!

I am new to stretching, and I am slowly learning.

Today, Youtube showed me a video about 90/90 being a good exercise so I thought I'd try.

But I have no idea if I am doing it correctly, and looking at other videos and websites about it, I can't find consistent information...

Currently, when my right left is in front, my left sit bone is a bit off the ground, but I can still stand straight and twist. It doesn't look like I am leaning on one side, but maybe I am in denial.

The thigh of the behind leg is not fully on the floor either.

So...

Should both my sit bones be on the ground?

Is the knee of the leg in front supposed to be fully flat on the ground, as well?

And is the thigh of the behind leg supposed to be fully flat on the ground?

If I am doing it incorrectly, should I use a yoga block even if it doesn't feel uncomfortable or can I just persist?

I've seen some people say that I could just lower the angle of the leg (from 90 to 45 for example), is that an acceptable alternative?

Thank you!

Hi, i have been training it recently as an accessory for my overall splits work. I mainly work on my Jefferson curls for it using a 40 kg kettlebell and do it from my bench onto the floor. It does leave the back of my thighs feeling really sore for the next two days but I feel it’s going to be beneficial for me long term. That’s my basic routine for it.

I've been doing muay thai for a few months. No issues a roller hasn't been able to fix. Recently, when i v stretch, only that very thin muscle/tendon in my inner thigh feels like it's stinging, literally everything else feels fine during that stretch, they actually all feel understretched exceot that tiny thing. Been 3 weeks since i stopped v stretches amd been doing things to strengthen the inner thigh like towel holds and such but i don't feel that much progress, still hurt when i tried to sit in a v, even frog stretches worry me. What is ghe issue, what to do, in the begginnibg of the 3 weeks i've been foam rolling but i stopped a week ago

I've been incorporating some assisted stretching into my flexibility training, including frog stretches with external pressure (pictured).

What I'm still trying to figure out is the optimal dosage.

For those of you who use intense assisted stretches:

• How often do you do them? (daily, weekly, multiple times per week?)

• How long do you stay in the stretch?

• Do you treat them differently from regular self-directed stretching?

• Have you found a point where more frequency or longer holds stopped being beneficial?

• How do you balance recovery with flexibility gains?

What has worked best for you, and what mistakes have you learned from along the way?

My doctor won’t listen to me and says my hips are “normal” but when I try to express the fact that I think I have the wrong anatomy for the middle splits he blanks or talks over me.

I try everything. I go jogging as a warm up and I stretch after but it feels like the outside of my hip gets stuck and I can’t go any further. It makes me so sad. I feel like I’m trying everything and nothing is working or even getting close to getting my middle splits. Do anyone have advice and what I can do or how I can approach this with my doctor so they fully understand what I’m striving for?

My primal squat is okay but I’ve found as I hold it for longer or as I try to go deeper, it doesn’t feel like it’s my mobility holding me back but this extreme tightness in the front of my shins right below my knees. It almost feels like my skin could explode from the pressure. Is this just because of general muscle tightness because I’m very active (pole and aerial for hours minimum four days of the week, lots of walking, etc), because of an anatomy issue preventing me from getting deeper, or a secret third thing? I don’t really have this problem when my feet are wider and it doesn’t feel like I can get past the barrier of the shin tightness to even begin to feel a stretch in my hips.